Reading Notes: Persian Folktales and Fairy Tales Part B

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Fayiz and the Peri Wife:

• There was a man named Fayiz. He was very true-hearted and handsome 
• He went to the mountains one day with the flocks 
• There he met a girl and they fell in love
• She told him to come to her home in the mountains and he asked her who she was
• She told him that she would tell him later 
• At her home, she sent for a mulla and asked the mulla to marry her to Fayiz
• She told the man that if she married her he would be happy forever but if he cheated then he will never see her again and he would always be in trouble 
• They were married and years later they had two sons. The man figured they were of the Peri stock 
• His wife warned him to never tell her secret and he swore he wouldn’t 
• Years later he longed to go home and his wife told him that he would regret it if he left and that he would never see her again if he did 
• He returned home and his wife there kept asking him where he has been all these years 
• She told him that if he told her she would keep it secret but if he didn’t tell her she would kill herself 
• He still refused 
• She then threatened to kill his sons so he told her everything 
• He returned to his Peri wife every day and she would not see him. He always played the flute and sang songs but he never saw her. 

The Hemp-Smoker’s Dream: 

• There was a man who smoked hemp every day
• He realized that he was very handsome one day and decided that he should marry the king of China’s daughter 
• On his way to the king, he saw a man on the roadside and brought him along his journey to China 
• They told the king that if he did not give them his daughter they would destroy the town 
• The king wagered that if he could consume seventy pots of ash then he could take his daughter 
• The man won and was getting ready to leave with his prize when all of the sudden he realized he was still in the barber’s shop the entire time
• He told the barber he was intoxicated and apologized for making a scene 

The Story of the Wolf-Bride:

• There was a man whose son was fated to be torn apart by wolves 
• The father built a chamber to put his son into and he brought an akhund to teach his child 
• The boy learned to read and write as he grew and was soon ready to take a wife 
• He got married to his father’s brother’s daughter and they celebrated for days 
• Suddenly the new wife turned into a wolf and tore the son to pieces 
• She had no idea why she turned to a wolf and killed him but the father knew it was an inescapable fate 

The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck: 

• There was once two brothers, one was very rich and one was very poor 
• The poor brother met a horseherd that said he was his brother’s luck 
• He asked him if he had seen his luck anywhere 
• The horseherd told him that his luck was due to wake up any time now and he told the poor brother that he was asleep in a cave 
• The poor brother set off to find him and came to a kingdom where the king was a woman but the people did not know she was a woman. She told him to ask his luck why her people don’t obey her orders 
• The poor brother met a wolf and a Thorn-gatherer as well and both had questions for him to ask his luck 
• Once he found his luck he woke him up.  His luck told him he was still due to sleep for some years 
• He asked luck all the questions for the people he met along the way and luck answered all of them 
• He left and told everyone their answers and when he got to the wolf who wanted to know why they never got their portion he told the wolf that luck had said to eat any fool they encounter
• So the wolf quickly killed and ate the poor brother 

Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox: 

• Bowl-on-the-back was planting seeds for his crops when a fox walked by and said “God give you strength”
• This happened again when the sown has risen and again when he was reaping it 
• He showed up again during harvest time and told bowl-on-the-back he was here for his share 
• Bowl-on-the-back told him no and they agreed to a race. Whoever made it back first was the owner of all the grain 
• Bowl-on-the-back told his brother of this and told him to wait there because he knew he could never beat a fox 
• During the race, bowl-on-the-back hid and his brother pretended to win the race. 
• The fox walked away in shame for his greed 

The Shepard Who Found a Treasure: 

• There were two Shepards with their flocks. One went to sleep and the other stayed with the sheep when he saw green fly come out of its nose 
• The fly ignited the middle of three stones.
• The Shepard watching the flock cried out to the other that was sleeping. He told him that he would by his dream off of him and would give him his wages that he gets from the livestock 
• He agreed and told the Shepard his dream. The Shepard quickly paid him and left. 
• He went to where the stones were and picked up the middle one that the fly had ignited. Under the stone was four jars of jewels and stones and he never worked again 

The Merchant and the Saffron: 

• There was a wealthy merchant named Malik Ahman 
• One day he noticed a hundred loaded camels coming in and ordered a savant to go and see who they belonged to 
• He found out that they were loads of saffron. The merchant told a servant to go and bring the man selling to him
• The merchant paid for all the saffron with jewels 
• Years later he had terrible luck and everything he owned was slowly lost by the wind of annihilation 
• He saw the man who he had purchased the saffron from and he was invited to join him as a guest 
• Malik was treated with great respect and told him of his bad luck 
• The man told Malik to stay with him until his bad luck was gone. The man spent the year purchasing things for Malik and then finally told Malik that his luck was now awake again 
• Malik was smart with his things and again became a wealthy man 

Shah Abbas and the Poor Mother: 

• Shah wandered one night until he came upon some ruins where he heard some children crying 
• Shah heard the children begging for their mother to be slain because she had no food for them 
• Shah listened and approached the mother in dervish clothing. He gave her and her children food and one of his rings to exchange for more food 
• The mother exchanged it with a baker for bread every night. He accused her of stealing the ring and took her to the police 
• She was arrested and her ears were cut off then she was released 
• Shah returned and brought the mother and her children back to his home with him
• He handed them over to the eunuch in charge of the harem and told him to take care of the mother and her kids 
• Shah had the baker killed and took all his wealth and gave it to the mother and her kids 

The Apparition of the Prophet Khizr: 

• There was a poor man who was very much in debt 
• There was a king who was offering rewards for someone to show him the prophet Khizr 
• The poor man told him he would for a thousand tumans 
• The king agreed and said he would cut off the poor mans head if he failed to show him the prophet 
• The poor man took the tumans and returned home and enjoyed himself 
• Forty days passed and he told his wife he was to be executed because of the arrangement 
• He returned to the king and told him that he did not have the prophet 
• Many Wazir rose and gave the king an idea of how to torture the poor man but the fourth suggested that the king give him money and a village 
• The king asked an old man what he should do and the old man said to give him riches because the fourth Wazir was the prophet 
• The king then gave the poor man a village and money 

The Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish:

• Every morning a baker mixed his dough and threw the burnt bread into the river for the fish to eat 
• A traveling merchant asked the baker to be a servant for him and he would pay him 100 tumans a month and he would not have to work the first forty days
• The baker agreed and when the forty days were up the merchant gathered the baker and they left 
• When they reached a mountain they lit a fire and the merchant asked the baker to get into a cow skin so he could see how much it held 
• The merchant tied the top closed as soon as the baker got inside 
• A bird came and grabbed the skin with the baker in it and placed him on top of the mountain before he tore a hole in the skin and flew away 
• The baker came out of the skin and asked the merchant how he was to get down from the mountain 
• The merchant told him to throw down the jewels and he would him the way down
• The baker threw down a large number of jewels that were all around him and then asked the merchant how to get down 
• The merchant told him he would not be able to and that he must die up there like all the others. The merchant told him this and then left with all of the jewels 
• He threw himself into the river knowing that the fish would eat him but that it was better than dying up on the mountain 
• The fish recognized him and carried him home to safety 
• Months after he had returned home, the baker saw the merchant and once again offered to be his servant 
• The merchant did not recognize him 
• When the merchant asked him to get into the skin the baker said he did not know how and asked the merchant to show him 
• The bird carried the merchant in the skin off to the mountain where the baker told him that he was the same man from before
• He told the merchant to throw down the jewels and he will tell him how to get down so he did 
• The baker told him he must either stay there or throw himself to the fish and he left the merchant on the mountain 
• The merchant flung himself into the river where he drowned and the baker went home  

Story Source:  Persian Tales,  translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919).