Reading Notes: Persian Tales-Part A

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

All of these mouse stories reminded me of "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" 

The Wolf and the Goat: There was once a mother goat with four children. When she left one day, she warned the kids to not let in a wolf. They would know if it was her by seeing a red hand reach through the door. Although, the wolf was listening and came to the door with a red paw. The kids left him in and he carried off the three that weren't hiding. When the mother came back and asked what had happened, they went to approach the wolf for a fight at his house. The two got prepared for battle, but when it was time the goat asked to drink in the river first. The goat drank nothing, and the wolf drank so much that he couldn't jump over the river. When he fell in, the goat tore open his stomach with her horns, killing him.

The City of Nothing-in-the-World: When a girl got hurt and needed ointment, her aunt gave her two eggs to take to the market for trade. Unfortunately, the girl lost the eggs on the way there, but she dd find a coin in her pocket. She traded it for a tower, in which she found one egg as a hen, and the other a cock. She went to get him first, and was given rice as he did work for the village. When rubbing a walnut on his back, a tree grew and she was able to plant melons. When she cut a melon open, her knife was lost and she went to look for it. There was a town inside and she went to a restaurant. She then ate a bowl of food that had a hair at the bottom of it. The hair led to a line of camels that had gear on them, including her knife.

Susku and Mushu: When the little beetle was leaving to get married, the mouse stopped her and asked her to marry him. She then asked him a series of questions like where she would sleep and what he would hit her with when they fought. The beetle was satisfied with the answers and the mouse left to take a bath. The beetle left and fell into a stream, asking someone to get her husband to help her. He got a couple of carrots and saved her with a make shift ladder. Then the mouse wanted some soup, and so the beetle began to cook when she fell into the pot. The mouse was so sad that she had drown that he poured ash on his head. Then the story gets really weird and a crow shakes, then a tree, the water turned muddy, corn stood on their heads, a farmer impaled himself, the daughter put curds on herself, and finally the mom cut off her two thumbs and cooked them.....

The Boy Who Became a Bulbul: One day a father and his son made a bet. The boy actually won, but the father cheated, and so he cut off his own son's head. Then he took the head to his wife (the step-mom) and she cooked it. Then when the sister came home and said that she was hungry, they told her to get some of the meat cooking in the pot. When she opened the lid, she saw her brother's head and ran off to tell her teacher. The teacher told her to not eat any of the meat, and to take all of the bones when they were done. She was to bury him in a corner with rose water, and pray to the bones. On the seventh day of the seventh week, he turned into a bird. He flew to a needle maker and took a bundle before heading home. He then put the bundle of needles in the mom's mouth and flew off to a candy maker. He took candy to his sister and placed in in her mouth.

The Wolf-Aunt: There once was a very poor man who had a wife and seven little girls to feed. He worked a long day when a woman claiming to be his long lost sister stopped him and asked about his life. She felt bad for him as she was very rich, and invited the poor family to come live with her. As the family became healthier, the wife decided to cook her sister-in-law a meal for thanks. She give the food to her daughter to take her the food, but before reaching the house, the girl saw her aunt as a wolf eating a man. The husband didn't believe the wife when she told him, so in the night she took all of her daughters back to their old house. The husband went to his "sister" to complain, and when he was asleep, she shifted into her wolf form and ate him.

Nim Tanak, or Half-Boy: One day a king with four wives came across a holy man. The king told him that he had no children and so he was given four apples for his wives to eat. Three of them ate their apples, but on only ate half. When the kids were born, he pushed that wife and her half son away. Later, a demon fell in love with the daughter and stole her away. So the king sent one of the sons to go and save her. When that son failed, the king sent another. The second son failed as well, and the half boy was the only one left. The king would never ask him to save her, so he went himself. He cut the demon in half, saved his sister, and freed his brothers. Then the king loved him and made him the heir to the thrown.

Muhammad Tirandaz, The Archer: When a shawl weaver was at work, he accidentally killed who mice at once. People saw what happened and told him that he should be an archer. So he went and bought a bow and arrow, and went out to the woods. Then a kings horseman saw him and decided to take him to the king. The king showered him with gifts and a job. One day a war came to be and he had to fight with no experience. He accidentally let his horse loose towards the enemy, but they got scared. And so he was seen as the savior of everyone and was appointed commander in chief. 

The Praying Baker: One day a King dressed up as a beggar and went to a bakery. He saw the baker praying and went in to give him an expensive ring for some bread. Then he went back to the castle and told one of his men to get the ring back. They tricked the baker and stole the ring back, only for the king to call him to the palace and ask for it, threatening death. The baker asked for time and the king left to go hunt when the ring fell into the river. A fish ate it and when a fisherman caught it, he sold it to the baker. The baker took it to the king and he was robed in honor.

The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail: When the mouse fell into a trap, she lost her tail. So she went to the cobbler to get it sewn back, but he needed thread from the Jew, who needed eggs from the hen, who needed a sieve from the tinker, who needed goat skin from the goat, who needed grass from the farmer, who needed a spade from a blacksmith.