<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_story
<b>Many of the classic frame tale collections, such as the Arabian Nights, The Decameron, Canterbury Tales and others can be traced back to ancient India sometime in the first millennium BC, </b>when the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra, Syntipas' The Seven Wise Masters, and the fable collections Hitopadesha and Vikram and The Vampire were written.[1] <b>These frame tale collections gradually spread west through the centuries and were popular because of their inherent structure and flexibility</b>[citation needed]. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Many of the classic frame tale collections, such as the Arabian Nights, The Decameron, Canterbury Tales and others can be traced back to ancient India sometime in the first millennium BC, </b>when the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra, Syntipas' The Seven Wise Masters, and the fable collections Hitopadesha and Vikram and The Vampire were written.[1] <b>These frame tale collections gradually spread west through the centuries and were popular because of their inherent structure and flexibility</b>[citation needed]. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->