Rostam could see the monster through a heavenly beam of light. He stood up and beheaded the serpent with his sword. He once again survived. The Persian hero and his horse resumed their journey. Before long, they came across a green area full of flowers. To his surprise, a table was set there with lots of delicious foods on it. He sat to rest and enjoy the meal when suddenly a beautiful woman appeared. He didn't know she was an evil wizard in disguise. She was flirting to deceive the Persian hero when Rostam began his meal in the name of God. At the mention of the Creator, the woman turned into a demon again. Rostam got up and halved her with his sword.
After hours of riding, he took rest beside a river where he happened to fight with Olad, a powerful warrior and his endless soldiers. But, no one could excel Rostam in strength. So he defeated them all and captured the warrior. Olad begged for his pardon. Rostam released Olad on the condition that he would help him find the castle of demons especially the White demon. He promised and accompanied Rostam to a mountain where demons had kept the Persian king and his army in captive. As he began to climb the mountain he faced a horrendous demon, Arzhang Div who was responsible for keeping away any strangers. Rostam began a bloody fight with him and finally cut off his head. With the help of Olad, he found Kay Kavus, the Persian king and other prisoners. He released them all but they were still blind. He was told that he needed to drop the blood of the White demon's liver into the Persians' eyes to restore their sight. So he headed for the White demon's palace which was in a cave in the heart of mountains. Rostam entered the cave. It was all dark inside. He could hardly see the demon. The fight took several hours. But Rostam finally beheaded the demon and took out his liver to cure the blinded Persians. Soon, they could see again. They all celebrated this victory and headed home.
From Shahnameh (the book of kings) by Ferdowsi, great Persian poet, 10th century.
Question
Once a man asked a question from the king's counselor and minister. He told the man that he didn't know the answer at that time and needed to think more.
The man got upset and behaved impolitely.
"You're well-known for your wisdom. But you can't answer my question! Why does the king pay you such a high salary?" The man asked the minister.
"This salary is for what I know. Remember you need all people to answer all questions." He replied.
From Qabus-Nameh by Keikavus, the Persian king and author, 11th century.
Silence
Once a man was trying hard to teach his donkey a language. He said some words out loud and asked the donkey to repeat after him. A wise passer-by saw him teaching the animal.
"You cannot teach him a language. But the animal can teach you silence." He told the stupid man.
From Gulistan (the rose garden), Chapter 8, on rules for conduct in life by Sa'di, the great Persian poet and literary man, 13th century.
Justice
Once upon a time, a lion, a wolf and a fox went hunting together. Before long, they hunted a buffalo, a goat and a hare. Then, the lion, the king of the jungle, ordered the wolf to divide the prey fairly.
"Thinking of our sizes and positions, the buffalo for you, the goat for me and the hare for the fox." The wolf said.
The lion, however, got angry and killed the wolf. Then, he asked the fox to divide the prey.
"High majesty! The buffalo for your breakfast, the goat for your lunch and the hare for your dinner." The fox said, thinking of the wolf's fate.
"You can eat all the prey. But tell me how did you learn to divide the prey so fairly?" The lion asked.
"By looking at what happened to the wolf." The wise fox replied.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), Book 1, by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Practice makes perfect
Once upon a time there ruled a young king over the land of Persia. The king often went hunting with a group of officers and servants. He was so skillful that almost no animal could survive his fatal arrow. Every time he succeeded in hunting, all of his companions praised him excessively except a maidservant whom the king loved. Once on a hunt, to win the maid's compliment, the king asked her how she wanted his next arrow to hit the prey. The lovely girl asked the king to hit a zebra right in the middle of its forehead. The proud king accepted the challenge and hit a zebra right on the spot. The maid praised him moderately and told the king that one could gain the same level of expertise if he or she practiced regularly. The king, who expected lots of admiration from her as the others had done, got angry and discarded the servant forever.
The girl left the palace. But, fortunately after several days, she found home and job in a farmhouse where she had to take care of cows and sheep. Several years came and went. One day, a wolf attacked the flock and injured a calf that was just born.
"Take care of this little animal! If it survived, it would be yours." The master told the maidservant that day.
The girl already loved the little calf. So she accepted to take care of it. Everyday, she grazed the calf on the grassland and took it home at the sunset. Then, the girl brought it up to the attic where she also slept. Months passed and the calf grew into a big cow. But the girl still used to bring it upstairs on her back. It was unbelievable how a person could pick up such a heavy animal. Everybody in the town talked about the girl and her cow. Once the king was hunting nearby when one of the officers told him about the amazing girl.
"The king would like to see how you take the cow upstairs by yourself." A soldier told the girl in advance.
The girl, who was waiting for such a chance for a long time, invited the king. Then, she got dressed and covered her face. In less than an hour the king and his companions arrived. They got surprised as the girl picked up the huge cow on her back and took it upstairs.
"It's really extraordinary. Even two strong men cannot lift it." One of the king's companions said.
"This girl has supernatural powers. Her strength is a gift from God." An officer claimed.
"No, this girl has picked up this cow since it's been a little calf. As it has grown heavier little by little, she has become stronger too. Practice makes perfect." The king said.
At this time, the girl uncovered her face and the king recognized her former love.
"High majesty, I had the same idea about your expertise in archery." She said.
"Yes, you were right. Excuse me, please and come back to my palace." The king admitted.
From Haft-Paykar (seven beauties), by Nizami Ganjavi, great Persian poet, 12th century.
Scholar's servant
Once a scholar was instructing his students in his house. He was talking about equality. "Everything in this world has equal value. Difference should not be the cause of superiority." He told his students.
The scholar's servant heard the scholar saying so but misunderstood his intention.
"According to his teaching, I should also use the same amount of ingredients for the broth today." The servant thought.
So, she used the same amount of water, meat, salt, pepper, etc. to make the broth. At noon, the scholar sat to eat his lunch. It was intolerable: too salty and too spicy. He asked his servant why the broth tasted so terrible.
"You yourself told the students that things were all equal. So I used equal amounts of the ingredients." The servant answered.
"You have misunderstood my words. Little knowledge always brings awful results like this broth." The scholar said.
From Marzban-Nama by Saʿd-al-Din Varavini, Persian author and translator, 13th century originally by Marzban b. Rostam, a Persian prince, 4th century.
Old snake
Once upon a time there lived a snake in the jungle. The snake was so old that he couldn't go hunting anymore. He knew that if he couldn't find some prey, he died soon. While the snake was hopelessly looking for food, he came across a pond where a lot of frogs lived. The old snake crawled near the frogs and began crying.
"Why are you crying? What's wro
ng with you?" One of the frogs asked.
"I used to eat frogs as my food. But now I'm too old to catch any. Even If I happen to catch one, I can't hold it to eat." The cunning snake replied.
The stupid frog believed and went to the king frog and told him of the snake's disability.
The king invited the snake to its palace and asked him more about his miserable life.
"Once I was chasing a frog at night. It entered a wizard's house. In the darkness, I wanted to bite the frog. But I bit the wizard's leg by mistake. He spelled a curse on me. So I can't eat frogs any more." The snake explained to the king frog.
Having no fear of the snake, the king frog sat on its back. When among the other animals, he boasted that he could sit on the back of a snake. Several days passed. The king was happy that the snake was in his palace.
"If I don't eat anything, I'll die soon." The snake told the king frog one day.
"OK. I'll give you two frogs a day." The boastful frog said with no care for his fellow beings.
From that day on, the snake ate two frogs everyday and didn't care whom he served. Because he knew this way he could always have a ready meal.
From Kelileh and Demneh, by Nasr Allah Munshi, Persian author and translator, 13th century, originally from Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose, 3rd century BCE.
Teacher
Once in one of my travels, I came across
An Anthology of Persian Stories & Anecdotes Page 5