Folklore

In one village there were three wives, none of whom had become pregnant despite several years passing since their marriages. One day the neighbors heard a vendor calling in the street: “Apples for pregnancy! Apples for pregnancy!” They hurried to him, and he had two apples and half an apple. He gave the first wife one apple, the second wife one apple, and the third wife half the apple. The first wife gave birth to a boy and named him Nāfiʿ, the second wife gave birth to a boy and named him ʿUmar, and the third wife gave birth to a boy of strange appearance and named him Niṣf Nuṣayṣ. He had one sound arm and the other paralyzed, and the same condition with his legs, but he was brilliant in intelligence. ...

Once there was a beautiful girl, pure as snow in heart. She was as fragile as glass. She lived in a small cottage with her parents in a high region atop one of the mountains, far from everything happening in real life. She enjoyed constant happiness with her family until one day an evil sorceress appeared. She wanted to destroy that happiness and began to work her magic in order to make evil dwell in that happy family. ...

The fox heard the rabbits giggling in their field as they jumped and chased each other, happy here and there. The fox’s mouth watered, and he said to himself: How to reach them? How delicious their taste is. Suddenly, a strange idea jumped into his head, and he quickly executed it. He put black glasses on his eyes and held a stick in his hand, heading toward the rabbits, feeling his way with the stick as a blind man does. ...

In one of the remote villages, there was a man with eight children: six males and two females. But he died, leaving them in the care of their pregnant mother. She gave birth after her husband’s death to a male child, but he resembled a monkey! His appearance was bad. The villagers and relatives refused his presence among them and asked his mother to get rid of him. But she refused, embraced her child, and told them she would raise him like his brothers. So they expelled her outside the village and sent her to live with her child in a distant hut. ...

The two friends, the small-sized fox and the large bull with big horns, agreed to spend a day wandering in the areas of the green forest. The fox was smart, evasive, and cunning, while the bull, despite his size, was stupid and dull. Half the day passed, the sun’s heat intensified, and the two friends felt extreme thirst, so they went in search of a water spring to quench their thirst. ...

One morning, the king ordered his son to stand on the palace balcony and gather all the beautiful girls in the palace square. He was to throw an apple from his position, and if the apple hit one of the girls, she would become the expected bride. The beautiful girls were gathered in the palace square. The king’s son stood on the balcony and threw the apple, but a violent storm blew at that moment and carried it to a distant place on the seashore. ...

On a cold winter day, Abu al-Husayn was suffering from pain and regret as he returned to his den. He had searched most of the day for food for his little ones but didn’t find anything. While he was wandering right and left, he saw the fur of one of the shepherds hanging on an olive tree trunk. It was close at hand, so he took it and wore it, walking proudly with it. ...

It is told that in ancient times, a crow lived in its nest. The days passed by the crow in calm and tranquility, enjoying what was around it. Then one day, he saw a hunter. He said: My God, who brought this hunter here? I who thought I was safe, but wait, it seems this hunter is on a mission. The hunter was setting his net on the ground and scattering grain on it, then the hunter hid behind one of the trees. The crow said: What a treacherous one. ...

Once upon a time, there was a large kingdom known for an ancient prophecy speaking of a princess without a palace. The prophecy said she would be the most just and wise wherever she was. In the kingdom lived a noble family of kings who owned a palace of great beauty. Generations of that family lived inside it. After many years, a great earthquake occurred, causing a catastrophe for that royal family. The earthquake completely destroyed the palace. The king and queen also died in that painful incident, leaving only their two daughters, Nour and Sabina. ...

It is told that the wise Shuparnasiti sat with his disciple Chakradara and began recounting his usual stories. The topic of today’s story was about accepting advice and taking action when angry. He told him the story of the bird with two heads, saying: There was a large bird called Bharunda living on the shores of a lake. It had two heads and one body. Once, when the bird was wandering on the shores of that lake, it found some delicious fruit. One of its heads turned and said: Oh, how lucky I am. This must be a gift from the heavens to me. ...