An Anthology of Persian Stories & Anecdotes by Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza
also catch it sooner or later." The visitor said.
Meanwhile, the mouse was so upset because it really loved its bag of gold. So, it decided to take back the bag from the guest. At midnight, when it seemed everyone was at asleep, the mouse approached the guest to steal the bag. But he was already waiting for the mouse to appear. So, he hit the mouse on the head with a stick and made it leave the man's house forever.
"I knew it would come again to take the bag." Tthe guest said.
"But you know my friend, greed is a dangerous thing. It may put one into big trouble." He added.
The visitor gave the bag to the owner and said goodbye.
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.
Thief
Once a thief was stealing some fruits from a garden when the owner appeared. The man who was caught red handed, relied on a sophistry.
"God has created me, the garden and the fruits. It's up to God. I'm not to blame." The thief reasoned.
The owner, then, ordered one of his servants to tie the man and started beating him with a stick. The poor thief cried out of pain, asking why he was treated so.
"God has also created me, the rope and this stick. It's up to God. I'm not to blame." The owner replied.
The thief, while begging for pardon, admitted: "It's up to me. I did wrong!"
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Dissatisfied officer
Once a king and his companions were traveling by ship. Among them, was an officer who constantly complained about being on a ship. The other passengers tried to persuade him to take it easy and enjoy the trip. But, he just found faults with the ship, the crew and even the weather. Everybody got tired of him.
"I can make him calm and satisfied." A wise sailor told the king.
Since his complaints were also beyond the king's patience, he agreed. The sailor, then, dropped the officer into the sea. He was getting drowned when the sailor pulled him up and saved his life. To everyone's surprise, the officer felt relaxed and didn't complain anymore.
"How did he become so calm and satisfied? What's the wisdom behind what you did?" The king asked the sailor.
"He had never fallen into the sea before, so he didn't appreciate being safe on ship. Only when a disaster strikes one, he feels grateful for his former welfare." The wise man replied.
From Gulistan (the rose garden), chapter 1 (the manners of kings), by Sa'di, the great Persian poet and literary man, 13th century.
Oldest animal
Once a camel, a fox and a wolf were traveling together through a desert. They had not eaten anything for days, so they were really starving when they found a piece of bread on the ground. The animals wanted neither to share the bread nor give it up in favor of the others. Therefore, after lots of dispute, they agreed that the oldest animal deserved the bread. Now, who was the oldest?
"According to my father, I was born seven days before God created Adam and Eve. So I'm the oldest." The dishonest wolf said.
"Yes, you're right. I can remember that night. I was helping the midwife." The cunning fox said.
The camel, who realized they couldn't be honest, swallowed the piece of bread in a second and said:
"After all, anyone who takes a look at my size knows I'm the oldest and deserve the bread best."
From Sindbad-Nameh by Zahiri-Samarqandi, the Persian author and translator, 12th century, from an Indian origin.
Pelican
Once upon a time there lived a so old pelican that couldn't catch fish any more. He had to find a way out otherwise he had a few days left to live. So he decided to deceive the fish.
"I saw two fishers yesterday talking about this pond. They were going to catch all the fish in two or three days." He told a crab who was trusted by all fish.
"I could take them to another pond nearby if they trusted me." The pelican added.
The crab then told the fish what he had heard. It was hard to decide but the fish took the risk of trusting the bird.
"The pelican can at most catch one of us per day. But if the fishers come they will catch all of us at once with their nets." One of the fish reasoned.
So from that day on the pelican carried one or two fish in his beak and apparently flew to the pond where they could be safe. But in fact, he ate the poor fish as long as he flew some distance from their home pond. Several days passed. Both the fish and the bird were happy; the former for their plan to survive and the latter for his plan to catch the fish.
One day the crab asked the pelican to carry him over his back to the new pond. The bird who didn't want the crab to get suspicious, accepted. As the pelican was flying to the pond, the crab saw some bones of fish down on the ground. He soon realized that the bird had deceived them all and no single fish had reached the other pond. So he got angry. The crab held the pelican's neck with his powerful pincers so hard that the bird couldn't breathe any more. Death was the end of both the fish that trusted their old enemy and the bird who deceived the innocent fish.
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.
Dead parrot
Once upon a time there lived a trader who had a talking parrot. One day, he was going to travel to India on business. So he went to see his parrot before his departure.
"If you happened to see any parrots in India, give my respect and tell them how much I wished to be there." The parrot asked the trader.
The man said goodbye and departed for India. While the businessman was in India, he saw several parrots on a tree by chance. He gave them his parrot's respect and told them how the bird felt. Suddenly, they all hit the ground in a dead faint. The trader thought the birds had got so upset that they died. Anyway, he left them and several days later he traveled back home. Once again at home, he went to see his lovely pet. The man, then, told the parrot how his Indian friends had died. Listening to their story, the parrot also hit the floor in a dead faint too. The bird seemed dead so the trader opened the window and put the dead parrot outside the window. To his great surprise, the parrot revived and flew to a nearby tree where it was safe.
"You were just pretending to be dead to escape. How did you learn this trick?" The man asked the parrot.
"The Indian parrots taught me to do so." The parrot replied and flew away.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Wise servant
Once upon a time there ruled a king who always decided on impulse. He kept a number of the wildest dogs in the country. Whenever, he got angry with someone, the bad-tempered king threw him/her into the dogs' pen to be eaten. The king had a servant who was always afraid of being the victim of the ruler's anger and facing the same fate. Even though he was among his favorite servants, he knew that the king often decided on impulse and some time later he became regretful. But, the wild dogs made it always too late.
"I should do something. I cannot discourage the king. But I might be able to stop the dogs." He thought.
So, he began to feed the dogs regularly. Whenever he was free, he took some meat from the royal kitchen and threw it to the dogs. One day, as he always foresaw, the king got angry and ordered the soldiers for the same punishment.
They threw the poor servant into the pen and locked the door. Next day, when the king was recovered from his anger, he summoned his favorite servant just to remember his last night's decision. Although hopelessly, the soldiers rushed toward the dogs' pen to see what had happened to the servant. To their surprise, they saw the man playing with the dogs. Since he used to feed the dogs, they had become fri
ends with him. This way, the wise servant could survive the king's impulse.
From Layli and Majnoun by Nizami Ganjavi, great Persian poet, 12th century.
Lost donkey
Once a man lost his donkey. As he was looking for it, he constantly thanked God.
"Why do you thank God?" Someone asked.
"I thank God because if I had sat on my donkey's back when it got lost, I would have got lost myself too." He replied.
From Risala-i-Dilgusha by Ubayd Zakani, the great Persian poet and satirist, 14th century.
Wolf and lost kid
Once upon a time, there was a wolf, wandering around, that had not eaten anything for days. By chance, he came across a flock of sheep and a shepherd. The starving wolf wished he could hunt one of the sheep and this way survive the hunger. But, the young shepherd was so attentive that there was no chance of approaching the flock. The flock was heading home; the wolf was almost convinced that he was getting nowhere when his eyes caught a kid who was left behind the flock. The kid soon realized that she was in real danger unless she could outsmart the wolf.
"I've been waiting for you several hours, sir!" The young goat told the wolf.
"Since you didn't attack our flock, the shepherd decided to thank you with a gift." She continued.
"I volunteered to be your gift. Please eat me! Bon appétit!" The sheep added joyfully.
The wolf who got really surprised was about to devour the kid when she interrupted
Meanwhile, the mouse was so upset because it really loved its bag of gold. So, it decided to take back the bag from the guest. At midnight, when it seemed everyone was at asleep, the mouse approached the guest to steal the bag. But he was already waiting for the mouse to appear. So, he hit the mouse on the head with a stick and made it leave the man's house forever.
"I knew it would come again to take the bag." Tthe guest said.
"But you know my friend, greed is a dangerous thing. It may put one into big trouble." He added.
The visitor gave the bag to the owner and said goodbye.
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.
Thief
Once a thief was stealing some fruits from a garden when the owner appeared. The man who was caught red handed, relied on a sophistry.
"God has created me, the garden and the fruits. It's up to God. I'm not to blame." The thief reasoned.
The owner, then, ordered one of his servants to tie the man and started beating him with a stick. The poor thief cried out of pain, asking why he was treated so.
"God has also created me, the rope and this stick. It's up to God. I'm not to blame." The owner replied.
The thief, while begging for pardon, admitted: "It's up to me. I did wrong!"
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Dissatisfied officer
Once a king and his companions were traveling by ship. Among them, was an officer who constantly complained about being on a ship. The other passengers tried to persuade him to take it easy and enjoy the trip. But, he just found faults with the ship, the crew and even the weather. Everybody got tired of him.
"I can make him calm and satisfied." A wise sailor told the king.
Since his complaints were also beyond the king's patience, he agreed. The sailor, then, dropped the officer into the sea. He was getting drowned when the sailor pulled him up and saved his life. To everyone's surprise, the officer felt relaxed and didn't complain anymore.
"How did he become so calm and satisfied? What's the wisdom behind what you did?" The king asked the sailor.
"He had never fallen into the sea before, so he didn't appreciate being safe on ship. Only when a disaster strikes one, he feels grateful for his former welfare." The wise man replied.
From Gulistan (the rose garden), chapter 1 (the manners of kings), by Sa'di, the great Persian poet and literary man, 13th century.
Oldest animal
Once a camel, a fox and a wolf were traveling together through a desert. They had not eaten anything for days, so they were really starving when they found a piece of bread on the ground. The animals wanted neither to share the bread nor give it up in favor of the others. Therefore, after lots of dispute, they agreed that the oldest animal deserved the bread. Now, who was the oldest?
"According to my father, I was born seven days before God created Adam and Eve. So I'm the oldest." The dishonest wolf said.
"Yes, you're right. I can remember that night. I was helping the midwife." The cunning fox said.
The camel, who realized they couldn't be honest, swallowed the piece of bread in a second and said:
"After all, anyone who takes a look at my size knows I'm the oldest and deserve the bread best."
From Sindbad-Nameh by Zahiri-Samarqandi, the Persian author and translator, 12th century, from an Indian origin.
Pelican
Once upon a time there lived a so old pelican that couldn't catch fish any more. He had to find a way out otherwise he had a few days left to live. So he decided to deceive the fish.
"I saw two fishers yesterday talking about this pond. They were going to catch all the fish in two or three days." He told a crab who was trusted by all fish.
"I could take them to another pond nearby if they trusted me." The pelican added.
The crab then told the fish what he had heard. It was hard to decide but the fish took the risk of trusting the bird.
"The pelican can at most catch one of us per day. But if the fishers come they will catch all of us at once with their nets." One of the fish reasoned.
So from that day on the pelican carried one or two fish in his beak and apparently flew to the pond where they could be safe. But in fact, he ate the poor fish as long as he flew some distance from their home pond. Several days passed. Both the fish and the bird were happy; the former for their plan to survive and the latter for his plan to catch the fish.
One day the crab asked the pelican to carry him over his back to the new pond. The bird who didn't want the crab to get suspicious, accepted. As the pelican was flying to the pond, the crab saw some bones of fish down on the ground. He soon realized that the bird had deceived them all and no single fish had reached the other pond. So he got angry. The crab held the pelican's neck with his powerful pincers so hard that the bird couldn't breathe any more. Death was the end of both the fish that trusted their old enemy and the bird who deceived the innocent fish.
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.
Dead parrot
Once upon a time there lived a trader who had a talking parrot. One day, he was going to travel to India on business. So he went to see his parrot before his departure.
"If you happened to see any parrots in India, give my respect and tell them how much I wished to be there." The parrot asked the trader.
The man said goodbye and departed for India. While the businessman was in India, he saw several parrots on a tree by chance. He gave them his parrot's respect and told them how the bird felt. Suddenly, they all hit the ground in a dead faint. The trader thought the birds had got so upset that they died. Anyway, he left them and several days later he traveled back home. Once again at home, he went to see his lovely pet. The man, then, told the parrot how his Indian friends had died. Listening to their story, the parrot also hit the floor in a dead faint too. The bird seemed dead so the trader opened the window and put the dead parrot outside the window. To his great surprise, the parrot revived and flew to a nearby tree where it was safe.
"You were just pretending to be dead to escape. How did you learn this trick?" The man asked the parrot.
"The Indian parrots taught me to do so." The parrot replied and flew away.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Wise servant
Once upon a time there ruled a king who always decided on impulse. He kept a number of the wildest dogs in the country. Whenever, he got angry with someone, the bad-tempered king threw him/her into the dogs' pen to be eaten. The king had a servant who was always afraid of being the victim of the ruler's anger and facing the same fate. Even though he was among his favorite servants, he knew that the king often decided on impulse and some time later he became regretful. But, the wild dogs made it always too late.
"I should do something. I cannot discourage the king. But I might be able to stop the dogs." He thought.
So, he began to feed the dogs regularly. Whenever he was free, he took some meat from the royal kitchen and threw it to the dogs. One day, as he always foresaw, the king got angry and ordered the soldiers for the same punishment.
They threw the poor servant into the pen and locked the door. Next day, when the king was recovered from his anger, he summoned his favorite servant just to remember his last night's decision. Although hopelessly, the soldiers rushed toward the dogs' pen to see what had happened to the servant. To their surprise, they saw the man playing with the dogs. Since he used to feed the dogs, they had become fri
From Layli and Majnoun by Nizami Ganjavi, great Persian poet, 12th century.
Lost donkey
Once a man lost his donkey. As he was looking for it, he constantly thanked God.
"Why do you thank God?" Someone asked.
"I thank God because if I had sat on my donkey's back when it got lost, I would have got lost myself too." He replied.
From Risala-i-Dilgusha by Ubayd Zakani, the great Persian poet and satirist, 14th century.
Wolf and lost kid
Once upon a time, there was a wolf, wandering around, that had not eaten anything for days. By chance, he came across a flock of sheep and a shepherd. The starving wolf wished he could hunt one of the sheep and this way survive the hunger. But, the young shepherd was so attentive that there was no chance of approaching the flock. The flock was heading home; the wolf was almost convinced that he was getting nowhere when his eyes caught a kid who was left behind the flock. The kid soon realized that she was in real danger unless she could outsmart the wolf.
"I've been waiting for you several hours, sir!" The young goat told the wolf.
"Since you didn't attack our flock, the shepherd decided to thank you with a gift." She continued.
"I volunteered to be your gift. Please eat me! Bon appétit!" The sheep added joyfully.
The wolf who got really surprised was about to devour the kid when she interrupted