002 Folk Tales
Folk Tale
Little
fox always made fun of others. Once they stuck a watermelon in the back of a
hedgehog and flipped the hedgehog so that he could never turn over back to normal
again. He also asked goose to eat the
star and moon in the water and made the goose drink much water.
Because
little fox always made fun of others, no one in the forest wanted to make friends
with him anymore. He was really upset and decided to make a change. He made a
gun and carried it into the forest. Animals ran away from him. Big yellow dog was the bravest animal in the
forest and he decided to put little fox down. Little Fox shot him into his
mouth. Big yellow dog was not hurt and he felt sweet in his mouth. He therefore
realized that the bullet was made of sugar and chocolate. Knowing that little
fox was using candy bullets, all animals changed to ask for a shot from little
fox. Little fox ran out of bullets in a short while. He ran back home quickly, filled
all of his candies into an artillery, and made a final fire, a big one. All
animals felt sweet and smiled as well as little fox himself. Little fox felt
much happier than to make fun of others.
The
happiness derived from sharing is a real happiness. It is much better than a
happiness derived from schadenfreude. (Ruizhi Chen)
Folk Story
Once upon a time in the East, there was a young poor
farmer working hard to provide for his wife and their little child. They were
living in a small village behind the tall mountains covered by snow all the
time. Their life was always with hardship and adversity. But the young man
would work as hard as it took to not let his family down. He would walk every
night from the farm to his small house through the dark forest surrounded by
white peaks all alone, carrying a small lantern in hand. There was a railway
passing through the heart of the mountains from a walking distance of the
forest. One time, in a cold winter night, while he was coming back to his home
from work, suddenly he heard a horrifying sound coming from the tunnels and saw
the rocks collapsing and falling down on the railway and blocking the tunnel. It
was terrifying, but it got worse. He saw from far away that a train was
approaching the tunnel without knowing that if they passed the tunnel,
thousands of lives would be in jeopardy and could end dramatically. He didn’t
know what to do or how possibly could he have stopped the train. He remembered
those days that he used to walk by the railway and see the happy travelers
waving at him. He couldn’t let them die. Suddenly he felt strength in his
heart. He had made his decision. He wanted to save all those lives even if it
cost his own life. The lantern couldn’t glint enough for engine driver to see
that, so he took off his shirt even though the weather was terribly cold. He
tied up the shirt to his wooden stick and lit the shirt using lantern`s oil and
made a big flame out of it. Then he
started to run toward the locomotive holding the stick and waving constantly so
the train engineer could see that. The train was still approaching and getting
awfully close to the blocking rocks. The man`s heart was beating like a drum
and he could not feel the chilling weather anymore. He got to the railroad and
now he was running directly toward the locomotive in the opposite direction
with no regard for his life. The engineer who had seen him now for a few
minutes was hitting the brake as hard as he could. The passengers were anxious
and screaming and did not have any clue what was happening to them. But finally
at the very last possible minutes, the train had stopped just the shy of 100
feet away from the blocking rocks. Now everyone could breathe. But they were in shock. They got off the
train and could not believe what they were witnessing. Yes, they saw that small
and skinny young man had saved all these people`s life and now was lying down
on the railroad with a fading smile. He fainted and they took him to the
hospital. Since he ran naked under very cold weather his chest got infected and
they had to treat him there for fifteen days. He was indeed a great man that
showed the world what it meant to be selfless and put your own life in jeopardy
to save other human beings. (Sina)
Years
have been passed and the story of RIZALI KHAJAVI has been narrated for over
sixty years, generation to generation. He is now eighty-five years old and
lives in KARAJ which is one of the biggest cities in Iran and close to Tehran.
He is originally from MIANEH, AZARBAYJAN SHARGHI and lived there until
recently. His incredible story has been taught to elementary schools` students
in Iran for more than 3 decades.
Folk
Tale
Once upon a time, there was a
family of parents and three sons who lived on a farm. The three brothers were
responsible to pick up the fruits and vegetables and sell them at the market.
Unfortunately, the brothers were fighting and arguing all the time and they did
not work together as a team. They always blamed each other for any mistake
that happened. They did not organize their work and every one depended on others to
do the tasks. One day, they picked up watermelons and went to the market to sell
them. However, the oldest went to swim in the river and left his brothers in
the market. The youngest brother went to eat in a restaurant and the middle
brother fell asleep while he was reading. As a result, a thief stole all the
watermelons. They went home and started to blame one another about who was the
responsible for this accident. The brothers were arguing and got in a fight.
The parents were very sad and tried to stop them from fighting, but they could
not. Next morning, the brothers were very tired. Therefore, they could not work
on the farm or pick up the corn. The parents tried to pick up the corn, but
because they were old, they could not pick up all the corn. The father was sad
because the other farmers sold their corn, but he could not. As a result, the father called his sons and
gave each of one a wood stick. He asked them to break the stick and they did it
easily. However, when the father asked each one of them to break three sticks
together, they could not break the sticks. The father explained to the brothers
that if they work together, the competitors in the market would not able to
outperform them, but if each one worked alone, they would not be able to compete
with the other farmers. The brothers learned the lesson that strength is in
unity and collaboration. (Ebtehal)
Folk Tale
In ancient China, in a small village, there was a
family, in which three generations lived together. A grandfather lived with his son and a
grandson. The grandfather was very weak, and he no longer could work in the
field. His son complained that he had to feed and take care of the old
man who was not able to bring anything to the family. One day, the son put his
father in a big basket and carried him to the back of village. There was a
mountain behind the village. The son carried his father to the bottom of the
mountain, and left him there. The
grandson was following them. He saw everything. When the son and the grandson
walked back to their house without the grandfather, the son noticed that his
son, the grandson, carried the empty basket with him. He asked, “Why do you
carry this broken old basket back?” The grandson replied, “Because when you
get old, I will use it to carry you back to the bottom of mountain.” The
father was suddenly ashamed and regretted what he had done to his father. He
went back to the mountain, and brought his father back home. (Xiaomiao Wang)
The Story of
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Once upon a long time ago, there was a young man named Aladdin. He was a young man from a poor family. His uncle was self-centered and loved only himself. One day, Aladdin went with his uncle to look for treasure in a cave and asked his uncle to come down to the cave, and bring the treasures inside. Aladdin was very scared, and suddenly the door of the cave was closed. Aladdin's uncle tried to open the door but he could not. Aladdin was trapped inside the cave, and while he was walking between the treasures, drew his attention to a very old lamp. He took it and cleared it of dust. Then, the lamp vibrated and came out of it great and huge genie, and the genie thanked Aladdin because it was released from this lamp. After that, the genie said to Aladdin: What do you want me to do to thank you because you got me out of the lamp?? Aladdin said to him, I want you to get me out of this cave, and the genie took Aladdin out of the cave. There was a king named Qamar Aldeen in Aladdin's country, and he had a beautiful girl whose name was "Jasmine". Aladdin had always seen her sitting in the balcony of the palace, and he loved her very much. He believed that it was impossible to marry her because he was a poor man. Aladdin returned to his home with his magic lamp. He told his mother about the story, then Aladdin asked the genie for a lot of money, gold and gifts to marry Jasmine, but the king rejected this request because his daughter was engaged to the son of the minister. At Jasmine’s wedding, Aladdin asked the genie to make the Princess see that the son of the minister was an idiot and refuse to marry him. Aladdin went back to the king to ask for the hand of Princess "Jasmine", and he agreed, but the king asked Aladdin to provide a great palace to live in it with the princess. Then, Aladdin asked the genie to build a palace, and the genie did. He built a giant palace, and they got married. Aladdin’s Uncle returned to the town and knew that Aladdin did not die in the cave. Also, he knew that Aladdin became rich and had the magic lamp, so he decided to go to Aladdin’s palace as a lamp vendor. He persuaded the Princess to replace the old lamp which is the magic lamp with a new lamp, and princess agreed to it because she did not know that was a magic lamp. When Aladdin returned to the palace, he was aware of what happened and knew that his uncle was the one who replaced it. Then, he told his wife the full story of the magic lamp. Aladdin went to his uncle on the pretext that he wanted to forgive him and wanted to make him satisfied. During the argument between Aladdin and his uncle, Aladdin took the magic lamp without making his uncle to feel so. After that, he went back to the palace, took out the genie of the lamp, and told him that he was free. But the genie said to Aladdin that he did not want freedom, and he wanted to serve him because he was a good man. In the end, Aladdin, Jasmine, and the genie lived a happy life. (Samah)
Tale of Three Baby Unicorns and the Big Bad Wolf
I was told this story when I was a kid. I don’t know the origin of
the story (whether it’s from Iran or not). I also made some changes to the
story (Originally it was about goats and a wolf but I thought unicorns are
cooler).
Once
upon a time three little unicorns lived in a house with their mom. One day,
their mom left the house to go to the jungle and bring her children food.
Before leaving, She asked her kids to not to open the door for anyone except
her. Not so long after she left the house, the big bad wolf, which was waiting
for the Mommy unicorn to leave, knocked on the door.
“Who
is it?” said the baby unicorns.
“It’s
me, your mother. I brought you food,” said the big bad wolf.
“If
you’re telling the truth then show us your hand from underneath the door”. The
baby unicorns said.
The
big bad wolf showed her hand without hesitation, but upon seeing his hands, the
baby unicorns screamed: “No! You’re not our mother. You’re the big bad wolf.
We’re not opening the door for you”. The big bad wolf started thinking about
how to trick the baby unicorns, and he came up with an idea. He went to a toy
store, and bought a fake unicorn hand. He went back to the unicorns’ house and
knocked on the door.
“Who
is it?” said the baby unicorns.
“It’s
me, your mother. I brought you food” said the big bad wolf.
“If
you’re telling the truth then show us your hand from underneath the door”. The
baby unicorns said.
This
time, the big bad wolf showed them the fake hand. The two older baby unicorns
shouted in joy: “Yay! Mom’s back”, but the youngest one said: “Wait guys! This
is a fake hand. The big bad wolf is trying to trick us”. The older baby
unicorns did not listen to her, and opened the door. The big bad wolf jumped in
the house and ate the older baby unicorns, but couldn’t find the youngest one,
because she was hiding. The big bad wolf left the house. A couple of hours
passed, and the Mommy unicorn returned home. She saw the door being wide open,
rushed into house horrified and yelled: “My babies! Where are you?” The
youngest one jumped out from a corner, where she was hiding all this time, and
said: “Mom! The big bad wolf tricked my brothers into opening the door for him
and then he ate them”. Mommy unicorn decided to free her children by fighting
the big bad wolf. She went to the blacksmith’s shop, brought him a magical
flute, and asked him to sharpen her horn. Word got to the big bad wolf that
Mommy unicorn was preparing to fight her, so he decided to have his claws
sharpened. He went to the blacksmith’s shop, brought himself a bag full of air, and
asked him to sharpen his claws. The blacksmith found out that the big bad wolf was
trying to trick him, so he cut all of the wolf’s claws and gave him fake ones.
The big bad wolf and the Mommy unicorn met outside the jungle, and got into a
fight. Since the wolf’s claws were fake ones, he lost the fight. Mommy unicorn
ripped his stomach in half using her sharp horn, and freed her children. They
all lived happily ever after.
The End. (Pouria)
The Story of the Cowherd and the Weaver girl - Qixi Festival’s Origin
This is a romantic legend
story which has been handed down for nearly 2 millennia. It is one of the four
romantic love folk tales in China.
Once upon a time, there was a
poor boy, Niu Lang, whose parent died when he was young, and who lived with his brother
and brother-in-law in the west of Nanyang. But his brother-in-law was mean to him
and asked him to do all the work. One day in autumn, Niu Lang’s brother-in-law
asked him to walk nine cows, but only he brought ten cow that he could have went
home. He was worried and did not know how to do. He came across an old man when
he was wandering. The old men asked the reason he was upset. After knowing what
happened, the old man told him that there was an old sick cow lying in the
mountain of Fu Niu and he could bring him back home when the cow was recovered to
health. Then, Niu Lang went to the mountain of Fu Niu and found the cow. Niu
Lang fed the cow for three days. On the fourth day, the cow told Niu Lang that he
was the fairy in Heaven but had been punished and made a cow in the world of humans,
and only the way of washing him in dew for a month could heal him. Niu Lang took
care of the cow by washing him every day, and slept with him at night. Finally,
the cow was recovered to health and Niu Lang brought ten cows back home.
However, when he got home, Niu Lang’s brother-in-law kicked him out and he took
the old cow left home.
One
day, he saw several beautiful ladies playing in the river. He met a lady named Zhi
Nu who was one daughter of the emperor in Heaven, with the help of the magic
cow. They fell in love very quickly and they lived together. Zhi Nu weaved (Her
duty when she was in the Heaven) and Niu Lang farmed every day.
They lived happily and had two
children. But the Goddess of Heaven, Zhi Nu's mother, found out that Zhi Nu, a
fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhi
Nu to return to heaven. On Earth, Niu Lang was very upset that his wife had
disappeared. Suddenly, his cow told him that if he killed it and put on its
hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. Crying bitterly, he
killed the cow, put on the skin, and carried his two beloved children off to
Heaven to find Zhi Nu. The Goddess discovered this and was very angry. Then the
Goddess scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever,
thus forming the Milky Way between them. Zhi Nu must sit forever on one side of
the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niu Lang watches her from afar
while taking care of their two children.
But once a year all the
magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a
bridge over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation, so the lovers may be
together for a single night, which is the seventh night of the seventh moon. On
that day they met, they cried together. And people thought they were the Deneb
in the Cygnus constellation. For the world of humans, that day is rainy because of
their crying.
Since then, every seventh
lunar month, according to legend the Cowherd and Magpie Bridge day, the girls
will come out, look up at the stars, look for the Galaxy on both sides of Deneb
in the Cygnus constellation, hoping to see their Mr. Right, begging God to make
their own ingenuity as capable as Weaver, praying she could have a happy
marriage, thus forming the Qixi Festival. Nowadays, we celebrate this festival
as lovers’ days. It is the Valentine's Day in China. (Lu Guo)
Arash the Archer story
A long time ago, in a land far away, there were two countries called Iran and Turan. Manouchehr was the king of Iran and he had a majestic Kingdom, but unfortunately, he was a cruel monarch whose unjust behavior and imprudence made Iran an unorganized country. When the king of Turan, Pashdad, was informed about Iran’s desultory condition and the weakness of Manuchehr’s kingdom, he did not hesitate for a moment. He told his consultants and ministers, "This is the precious time to defeat Manouchehr and seize Iran”. After a long meeting they came up with a big plan. They decided to send Afrasiab, the prince, with a major army to fight with Manouchehr's corps and conquer them. That was how a gory war began between two countries.
Iranian soldiers bravely fought for their country and they sacrificed their life to defend Iran’s borders. The war took a long time, but unfortunately, despite all those sacrifices, Afrasiab was clever and powerful man, but Manouchehr was an old and slobby leader. Therefore, Afrasiab surrounded Manuchehr and his corps, and finally two sides reached a settlement. The agreement was in this way, “an Iranian soldier should shoot an arrow with a bow on Alborz Mountain and at the end, the land between the bow-shot place and wherever the arrow falls would stay as Iran’s territory and the rest would be a part of Turan”.
Manouchehr announced this news in his corps and asked for the strongest and bravest soldier who could make the longest shot. Arash Pioneered to do the shot. He had a very special bow which could make the longest shot, but that shot would come with a price. “A person who shoots with this bow, will lose all his strength and will die at the end;" he remembered this sentence vividly from a man who gave him this bow. But he was resolute to give up all he had for his country. He went on top of Alborz mountain to make the shot; he took his bow, put an arrow in it. Then he held his breath and started to drag it. He knew he had only one shot and he wanted to make the best one. He started to think about his homeland, his country, his people, his loved ones, and the smell of spring in his home, and by each thought the power was moving to his hands from all parts of his body, and in the same time, he breathed more and more from his country’s air for a very last time. When he had all his energy in his hands and his livers were full, he closed his eyes and released the arrow in the name of Iran. The arrow left Arash’s bow and traveled for a day from dawn to sunset and finally hit a walnut tree near the Jeyhoon River, which was identified as Iran and Turan’s border. But our hero, Arash, was exploded and dispersed on the mountain after the shot to enrich Iran’s soil forever with integrity and honor. (Soraya)
· This is an ancient Persian myth and folkloric story that was originally written in Aboureihan Birooni’s book.
Arash the Archer story
A long time ago, in a land far away, there were two countries called Iran and Turan. Manouchehr was the king of Iran and he had a majestic Kingdom, but unfortunately, he was a cruel monarch whose unjust behavior and imprudence made Iran an unorganized country. When the king of Turan, Pashdad, was informed about Iran’s desultory condition and the weakness of Manuchehr’s kingdom, he did not hesitate for a moment. He told his consultants and ministers, "This is the precious time to defeat Manouchehr and seize Iran”. After a long meeting they came up with a big plan. They decided to send Afrasiab, the prince, with a major army to fight with Manouchehr's corps and conquer them. That was how a gory war began between two countries.
Iranian soldiers bravely fought for their country and they sacrificed their life to defend Iran’s borders. The war took a long time, but unfortunately, despite all those sacrifices, Afrasiab was clever and powerful man, but Manouchehr was an old and slobby leader. Therefore, Afrasiab surrounded Manuchehr and his corps, and finally two sides reached a settlement. The agreement was in this way, “an Iranian soldier should shoot an arrow with a bow on Alborz Mountain and at the end, the land between the bow-shot place and wherever the arrow falls would stay as Iran’s territory and the rest would be a part of Turan”.
Manouchehr announced this news in his corps and asked for the strongest and bravest soldier who could make the longest shot. Arash Pioneered to do the shot. He had a very special bow which could make the longest shot, but that shot would come with a price. “A person who shoots with this bow, will lose all his strength and will die at the end;" he remembered this sentence vividly from a man who gave him this bow. But he was resolute to give up all he had for his country. He went on top of Alborz mountain to make the shot; he took his bow, put an arrow in it. Then he held his breath and started to drag it. He knew he had only one shot and he wanted to make the best one. He started to think about his homeland, his country, his people, his loved ones, and the smell of spring in his home, and by each thought the power was moving to his hands from all parts of his body, and in the same time, he breathed more and more from his country’s air for a very last time. When he had all his energy in his hands and his livers were full, he closed his eyes and released the arrow in the name of Iran. The arrow left Arash’s bow and traveled for a day from dawn to sunset and finally hit a walnut tree near the Jeyhoon River, which was identified as Iran and Turan’s border. But our hero, Arash, was exploded and dispersed on the mountain after the shot to enrich Iran’s soil forever with integrity and honor. (Soraya)
· This is an ancient Persian myth and folkloric story that was originally written in Aboureihan Birooni’s book.
