An Anthology of Persian Stories & Anecdotes
Page 4
serious otherwise the servant may not obey my orders." The man thought, lost in a fancy world.
"If she ever disobeys, I hit her with a stick." He said to himself, moving his hand as if he wanted to hit someone.
But, all of a sudden, he came out of his fancy world just to see he had hit and broken the oil bottle. All his fancy ended in pieces of glass.
From Kelileh o Demneh, by Nasr Allah Munshi, 13th century, Persian author and translator, originally from Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose, 3rd century BCE.
Bad luck
Once a king and his companions were hunting when they came across an ugly woodcutter.
"Go away! You bring bad luck if you keep looking at the king." One of the king's advisors commanded.
The poor woodcutter got really upset and left. He couldn’t forget what he was told.
"I'm an honest man. I work hard everyday. How can I bring bad luck to someone?" The woodcutter asked his brother.
Then, they put their heads together to give the advisor a lesson. In the evening, when the king and his companions were returning, the woodcutter once appeared before the king and asked him how his hunt was. He told the man that everything had been great.
"So why did your advisor tell me I would bring bad luck?" The woodcutter asked the king.
"I've been upset since I saw you but you've had a wonderful day. So, who brings bad luck?" The man added.
The king realized that his advisor had been unfair and impolite to the woodcutter. He ordered his advisor to apologize to the man.
From Marzban-Nama by Saʿd-al-Din Varavini, Persian author and translator, 13th century originally by Marzban b. Rostam, a Persian prince, 4th century.
Worried cow
Once upon a time there was a cow that lived in an evergreen meadow. Every morning she began to graze in the meadow until sunset. During the day, she ate eagerly and gained weight. At night, when the cow was going to sleep, she got worried about her tomorrow.
"Will tomorrow be enough food for me to eat in this meadow?" She thought every night.
The cow became so nervous that she lost much of her weight overnight. Again, tomorrow she began to graze as usual and gained weight. She gained and lost weight for years. But the poor animal never understood that she could have lived for years in this evergreen meadow without worrying about tomorrow which was a day like all other days she had grazed well in the meadow.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Wise enemy
Several children were playing hide-and-seek, when, suddenly, one of them fell down and hurt his back badly. He was so injured that he couldn't get up. The other children were really afraid.
"Let's drop Arash into a well and keep it secret. Otherwise, our parents blame us why we played carelessly." A friend of the injured boy told the others.
There was a boy among the children who didn't like Arash and had quarreled with him many times.
"No, everybody knows he and I are not friends, his parents would suspect me for his absence. Let's tell his father." That boy said.
The children agreed and informed his father to take him home. Several weeks later the boy got well. As it's said a wise enemy is better than a stupid friend.
From Makhzan-al-Asrar by Nizami Ganjavi, great Persian poet, 12th century.
Poor but kind
Once upon a time there lived a young prince who was fond of mountain climbing. One day, he was reaching the top of a mountain where all of a sudden his foot skidded and got injured so badly that he couldn’t move. Several days passed. With no food and this injury he was about to die. Meanwhile, everybody in the country was looking for the prince but since he had left the palace secretly no one knew where he was. The prince had become very weak. He thought he would not survive when he noticed a nest where two birds lived. They constantly brought pieces of bread to feed their chicks. He crawled and reached the nest where he could take some bread. It began to rain too. So now he had some bread and water to restore his strength. Little by little, he felt better until he finally climbed down the mountain and survived. The prince was eager to know where those pieces of bread came from. So he traced the birds several days until he found they brought the bread from a poor man's house.
The man shared his bread with the birds everyday.
"Why do you give your own food to the birds?" The prince asked him
"I believe kindness always pays back, sooner or later." The poor man said.
The prince, who owed his life to the man's kindness, gave him lots of fortune. So he could live comfortably ever after.
From Qabus-Nameh by Keikavus, the Persian king and author, 11th century.
Cruel lion
Once upon a time there lived a cruel lion in the jungle. Every day, he killed several animals for his breakfast, lunch and dinner. All animals were really fed up with his cruelty.
"I have a brilliant idea to get rid of this oppressor." The hare told other animals.
The animals listened to the hare telling her plan and agreed to help her.
Next day, they all went to the lion and told him they would send one of them every day to serve as his breakfast, another for his lunch and one more for his dinner.
"This way you don't have to go hunting everyday. We don't live every day in fear too because we know who's going to be eaten and who's not." The animals said.
The lion got surprised but it seemed a good offer. So he agreed.
Next day, the animals were supposed to send an animal to serve as the lion's breakfast early in the morning. The hare volunteered. But she went to the lion late in the morning. The lion that had waited for his breakfast for a long time got very angry.
"Animals sent you a delicious deer early in the morning. But unfortunately another lion that seemed much like you in size and strength caught the deer and ate it." The hare told the lion.
"I came to let you know it was that lion's fault not we animals." She continued.
The lion that couldn’t stand any rival especially one who had eaten his delicious breakfast, asked the hare where that lion lived. The wise hare led the lion to a deep water well outside the jungle.
"That lion lives down this well. If you look down the well you can see him." The hare told the lion.
The cruel lion that was mad with his anger looked down and mistook his own reflection in the water as another lion. So he jumped down the well to attack his rival. But he got drowned. Finally, animals could live in the jungle with no fear thanks to the wise hare.
From Kelileh and Demneh, by Nasr Allah Munshi, 13th century, Persian author and translator, originally from Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose, 3rd century BCE.
False prophet
Once a fraudulent man declared publicly that he was sent from God as a prophet. No one believed and before long, the police arrested the false prophet and brought the case to the court.
"You are such a stupid prophet!" The judge told the defendant, thinking of how fast his fraud was revealed.
"Yes, I made a mistake in choosing my believers. I should have declared my prophecy somewhere else." The man replied.
From Risala-i-Dilgusha by Ubayd Zakani, the great Persian poet and satirist, 14th century.
Bijan and Manijeh
Once upon a time in the glorious kingdom of Persia, there lived a young warrior named Bijan. Once, the king, Kay Khosrow sent him on a mission to a far-fetched region, a few miles away from the country's arch enemies, Turanians to bring back welfare and justice to Persians. One night he was encouraged to cross the border to peep a party that was held in the honor of Turanian king's daughter, Manijeh. That night, Bijan and Manijeh happened to see each other by chance and fell truly in love with each other. But, the love between a Persian warrior and Afrasyab's daughter, the king of Persians' old enemy seemed
out of the question. Anyway, they had met each other many times before one day Bijan and Manijeh were finally captured by Turanian spies who had suspected them for a long time. The king first decided to behead the Persian warrior and end this forbidden love forever. But, one of his counselors suggested dropping him secretly into a well to die.
"Beheading a Persian warrior may trigger a war between the countries; a disastrous event that has never favored us." The counselor told Afrasyab, the king.
Thus, soldiers dropped the lover into a deep well and covered it with a heavy piece of rock. Manijeh was also left there to witness his love dying as a punishment. She tired hard to move the rock but it moved an inch or two only to let her drop down some food or water. Several days passed this way. Meanwhile, Kay Khosrow the Persian king who was worried about his warrior's absence, sent Rostam, the legendary warrior to look for him. After some ups and downs, he finally found Manijeh crying near the well. Rostam, with his extraordinary power moved aside the huge rock and pulled up Bijan. Before long, the other Persian warriors joined Rostam. When Bijan fully recovered, they all together attacked Turanians and defeated Afrasyab severely. Then, Bijan and Manijeh together with Rostam and other warriors came back to Persia to hold the wedding ceremony. King of Persia, Kay Khosrow welcomed the newly-weds and gave them enough fortune to live happily ever after.
From Shahnameh (the book of kings) by Ferdowsi, great Persian poet, 10th century.
Gardener
Once the king was passing by a garden where an old gardener was planting a cherry tree.
"You're so old. You may die before this tree begins to bear fruit." The king told the gardener.
"Maybe, but it makes no difference. Our fathers have planted trees to our benefit long ago; we should also plant trees to our children's benefit." The old man replied.
The king admired the gardener's way of thinking and gave him lots of fortune.
From Marzban-Nama by Saʿd-al-Din Varavini, Persian author and translator, 13th century originally by Marzban b. Rostam, a Persian prince, 4th century.
Friendship
Once a saint dreamed that the king was sent to the paradise but his pious friend to the hell. He asked God why it was so.
"The king deserved the paradise because he made friends with the pious. But the pious man deserved the hell because he made friends with the kings." God told the saint in his dream.
From Gulistan (the rose garden), Chapter 2, on the morals of the pious, by Sa'di, the great Persian poet and literary man, 13th century.
Tanner
Once a tanner went to the bazaar of perfumes to buy some perfume. As he was walking in the bazaar, he suddenly fainted and fell to the ground. All people gathered around the man. Each had a suggestion to bring him back to consciousness. But none of them worked. A passer-by who knew the tanner happened to see him lying on the ground. He soon realized why he had fainted. The tanner spent all day long cleaning smelly hides and entrails of animals. So, he didn't use to the aroma of perfumes. The passer-by, therefore, found a piece of dog's shit and hid it in his hand. Then, while putting his hand over the tanner's nose, he pretended to whisper something into his ears. To everyone's surprise, the tanner recovered shortly. People thought the passer-by was a wizard or a saint with supernatural powers.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Woodcutter
Once a king who was in search of a runaway deer came across an old woodcutter. The woodcutter was trying hard to put the firewood on his donkey's back. But, it was too heavy. The king offered help. The man accepted his offer and thanked, not knowing he was the king.
"One never knows what will happen next. If I weren't here, you couldn't put away the load." The king told the man.
"We may not know but God knows well and that's Him who makes the best out of the worst." The old woodcutter said.
The king appreciated his way of thinking and gave him lots of gold coins.
The woodcutter headed home, thinking of how today's trouble brought him lots of fortune.
From Manteq-ot-Tayr by Attar, the great Persian poet and suphist, 12th century.
Best judge
Once a king decided to identify the best judge with a question. Four judges from all over the country were chosen to answer the king's question. The one who could give the best answer was going to work in the royal court.
"This is the question: Once a master ordered his servant to buy a tub full of milk to serve some guests. The servant bought the milk, put the tub on his head and headed home. While he was walking home, some poison accidentally dropped down into the tub from a snake that was hunted by an eagle up in the sky. The master's guests drank the poisonous milk and died. Now tell me who is guilty and why?" The king asked his question.
"The servant is guilty because she had to cover the tub." The first judge said.
The king didn't accept the answer because it was not fair to punish a servant for a rare accident. In addition, there was no rule to cover a tub.
"No one is to blame. It is an accident. Everyone dies in a way or another. This is fate." The second judge said.
The king rejected his answer because a judge was supposed to bring justice not to succumb to fate.
"The master is to blame because he had to check the milk before it was served for the guests." The third judge said.
But, the king didn't like his judgment because the master wasn't suspicious of anyone. In addition, there was no rule that obligated a host to check his foods in advance.
"I need more explanation to solve this case." The fourth judge said.
"If the snake has dropped its poison into the milk and no one has noticed it, how is it possible that the guests' death has been referred to this accident? I should ask questions from all people involved to see who has said the snake incidence first." He explained more.
The king felt satisfied with the answer and chose him as the judge in the royal court.
"A good judge should not jump into decision. He should take everything into consideration first." The king told the other judges.
From Sindbad-Nameh by Zahiri-Samarqandi, the Persian author and translator, 12th century, from an Indian origin.
Pious cat
Once upon a time there lived a little partridge in the jungle. One day, he left his nest to visit his parents who lived half a mile farther. When he came back, he saw a hare had occupied his nest.
"This is my home, not yours." the partridge said.
"But when I came here, this nest was empty. How can you prove this is yours?" The hare replied.
They argued a lot. But, neither of them agreed to give up the nest. They were about to began a fight when an idea struck the partridge's mind.
"Let's ask the pious cat. He knows best." The little bird told the hare.
The hare agreed. So, they went to the cat that was busy praying to God. The partridge and the hare got surprised that the cat always prayed and didn't care for hunting.
"Come closer, please! I'm old; I cannot see and hear you well." The cat asked the two.
They sat close to the cat and told him about their dispute.
"You should be kind to each other. Don't dispute about this earthy world!" The cat advised them.
While the partridge and the hare were all ears to hear the cat's words. All of a sudden, he jumped and caught both of them. Piety was only a cover over his evil nature. Unfortunately, they didn't realize his intentions.
From Kelileh and Demneh, by Nasr Allah Munshi, 13th century, Persian author and translator, originally from Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose, 3rd century BCE.
Falcon
Once a falcon and a nightingale were talking with each other. The nightingale began talking about its beauty and singing.
"I'm beautiful. I sing very well too. But, I sit on branches of trees and eat worms." Th
e little bird complained.
"You're not that pretty. You voice is also harsh. But, you sit on the hand of kings and eat delicious meat of partridges." She continued.
"You only sing and do nothing. On the contrary, I say nothing but I do my duty best and hunt for the kings. That's why." The falcon replied.
From Makhzan-al-Asrar by Nizami Ganjavi, great Persian poet, 12th century.
Language
Once four men who spoke different languages happened to travel together. As they spent some time together, they became friends. But they could hardly communicate, mainly using body language. One day, they were making fire for lunch, when they found a gold coin on the ground.
"Let's buy some 'sharab' for lunch." The Persian traveler suggested.
"Why don't we buy some 'nabiz' instead?" The Arab said.
"No! 'Wine' is much better, my friends!" The English speaker told the others.
"I recommend 'sarap'. It's best for our lunch." The Turk said.
They were actually referring to the same thing but because they spoke different languages, they couldn’t agree with one another. They were about to fight when a passer-by saw them disputing. He realized what the problem was.
"I can buy all the things you're suggesting with the coin." The man told them.
Half an hour later, he returned with a bottle of wine and it was what they all wanted to buy.
"All of you had the same thing in mind but you used different languages to refer to. Language was the cause of your dispute." The wise man said.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Rostam's seven labors
Once upon a time Kay Kavus, the Persian king and his army went on an expedition to fight with the White demon, lord of demons, to take back the territory of Mazandaran. But, despite their great valor and courage, they failed and the White demon captured and blinded them all. While in prison, Kay Kavus secretly asked Rostam, the greatest of all Persian heroes for help. Rostam with his legendary horse, Rakhsh began his long journey to save the Persians. On his way, he spent a night in a forest where a fierce lion lived. While Rostam was asleep, the lion approached to attack him. But his horse Rakhsh noticed the lion and kicked it to death. When he finally got up he saw a huge lion lying dead beside him. He just realized how much he owed to his brave horse.
They continued their journey through a desert where there was no food or water. Rostam prayed to God and asked him for help. The rider and the horse were about to perish when Rostam saw a sheep a mile away. He traced it and reached a fountain of water where they could survive. They spent the night there unaware of a monstrous serpent that lived nearby. While he was asleep, the serpent wanted to attack him but Rakhsh noticed the danger and awakened him. The serpent just disappeared. So Rostam couldn't realize why Rakhsh had awakened him. Several times it repeated but the dragon serpent vanished quickly every time until the last time