Story 1: Pegasus and the Tilio Leaves
Story 2: Al Borak and the Toothbrush Tree
THE ADVENTURES OF FIROUZ SCHAH AND THE PERSIAN RUG
Ancient Persian Rug.
Web Source: Nazmiyal Collection.
Welcome
back, everyone! You're just gonna love this story! Just
wait
until you hear the tale of Persian history! It's one of my
favorite
stories that my father used to tell me. Let's see, where did I
leave you before? Oh yes, I remember....
Gordan and Artie had just taken off from Chora. Gordan whispered to Artie the final ingredient for their potion. It was a little different this time. They were to collect a single thread from an ancient Persian carpet. Artie had heard that these rugs were very special and carefully constructed. He knew just where to go.
So that was that. They were on their way to the great land of Iran!
They arrived in the city of Nain in central Iran. This city was known for making beautiful Persian carpets. The problem was that they needed a thread from an ancient rug. They walked through the streets and came to a small rug store on the corner. They walked in and spoke with a man behind the counter. They told him what they were looking for and he thought about it for a while. After about ten minutes he looked at them and nodded. He led them to a back room where there were Persian carpets as far as you can see. At the back of the room there was another door. He took the two inside and showed them the ancient rugs that had been preserved for over hundreds of years. This was the special room. No one was normally allowed back there. In the corner of the room there was a fluffy white cat. Cats aren't normally bothered by other people's business but this one pranced right over to Artie to see what was going on.
Artie was happy to see her because he had been looking for someone to talk to since they had arrived. "My name is Nazilla," she purred. As usual, Artie asked her to tell him a story from her native land of Iran. She was more than willing to share what she knew. You see, cats always think they are smarter and more noble than others.
Gordan and Artie had just taken off from Chora. Gordan whispered to Artie the final ingredient for their potion. It was a little different this time. They were to collect a single thread from an ancient Persian carpet. Artie had heard that these rugs were very special and carefully constructed. He knew just where to go.
So that was that. They were on their way to the great land of Iran!
They arrived in the city of Nain in central Iran. This city was known for making beautiful Persian carpets. The problem was that they needed a thread from an ancient rug. They walked through the streets and came to a small rug store on the corner. They walked in and spoke with a man behind the counter. They told him what they were looking for and he thought about it for a while. After about ten minutes he looked at them and nodded. He led them to a back room where there were Persian carpets as far as you can see. At the back of the room there was another door. He took the two inside and showed them the ancient rugs that had been preserved for over hundreds of years. This was the special room. No one was normally allowed back there. In the corner of the room there was a fluffy white cat. Cats aren't normally bothered by other people's business but this one pranced right over to Artie to see what was going on.
Artie was happy to see her because he had been looking for someone to talk to since they had arrived. "My name is Nazilla," she purred. As usual, Artie asked her to tell him a story from her native land of Iran. She was more than willing to share what she knew. You see, cats always think they are smarter and more noble than others.
Nazilla
began her tale...
Every
year, the King of Persia would hold a feast at his palace for those men
who were most accomplished in all the land. It was a splendid
event. One year there was a Hindu man who stood out from the
rest. He had a wooden horse that almost looked real. The
King obviously wanted to buy it from the man but the man had a high
price in mind. He wanted the King's daughter's hand in
marriage. The King wanted the wooden horse so badly that he
seriously considered it for a few moments. The King's son, Firouz
Schah,
came into the room, outraged that the King would even consider giving
away his sister to some average Hindu man.
In all of his rage, Firouz Schah jumped on the back of the horse and took off into the sky. The Hindu man was fightened about what might happen. The young prince knew nothing about the horse. The King looked down upon the Hindu man and condemned him to the dungeon where he would wait for twenty days in hopes the prince would return safely.
On the nineteenth day, the prince came home with a young princess of Bengal whom he wished to wed. The Hindu man was released from the dungeon and given back his horse. Although he was happy to be set free, he was outraged at the behavior of the prince. So, he formulated a plan of revenge.
On the night of the wedding of the princess of Bengal and Firouz Schah, the Hindu convinced the young princess that he was the messenger sent to fetch her from her room. She climbed aboard the back of the wooden horse. Firouz Schah heard some noises and looked up to find his bride flying through the air with the awful Hindu. He immediately began his quest to rescue her!
He traveled all over Persia without any luck until he came to the small city of Kashmir. There, a man on the street told him he knew of a princess of Bengal who was supposed to marry their sultan but she was overcome with madness. Because of her madness, no one could go near her, for fear she might kill someone. So she was locked in her room alone. The sultan was looking for a physician who was brave enough to try go near the crazy princess and cure her.
Quickly, the prince disguised himself as a physician and went to the sultan. The sultan granted him permission to enter the princess's chamber, but he warned him of the danger. When the prince entered the chamber, he whispered the words, "Firouz Schah," and the princess became completely tame and overjoyed to see him. She was in love.
They planned their escape from Kashmir. The prince told the sultan that his princess had been enchanted by something she touched when she came to the city. The sultan knew that it must have been the enchanted horse she flew to the city upon. The prince and the princess were led to a pile of rubbish where they found the old wooden horse. Secertly, Firouz Schah cleaned it up and made sure it still worked before the sultan could turn back around. Quickly, the two lovers hopped on the back of the horse and rode back to the King's palace where they were married and lived happily ever after!
"What a story!" cried Artie. Nazilla smiled. Artie said his goodbyes and met up with Gordan who was just finishing his conversation with the store-owner. The owner had given him a thread from one of the most prized rugs in all of Persia. Gordan and Artie thanked the man and walked out of the store onto the streets. The people watched as they leaped into the air and off to their homeland of Scotland.
The two arrived back home and quickly gathered their ingredients. The tilio leaves, the miswak seeds, and finally... the thread of a Persian rug. Gordan stood in the middle of his field, held the ingredients and said the magic phrase. In a matter of seconds, the field was covered in flourishing crops like he had never seen before. Gordan and Artie became filthy rich and lived happily ever after.
In all of his rage, Firouz Schah jumped on the back of the horse and took off into the sky. The Hindu man was fightened about what might happen. The young prince knew nothing about the horse. The King looked down upon the Hindu man and condemned him to the dungeon where he would wait for twenty days in hopes the prince would return safely.
On the nineteenth day, the prince came home with a young princess of Bengal whom he wished to wed. The Hindu man was released from the dungeon and given back his horse. Although he was happy to be set free, he was outraged at the behavior of the prince. So, he formulated a plan of revenge.
On the night of the wedding of the princess of Bengal and Firouz Schah, the Hindu convinced the young princess that he was the messenger sent to fetch her from her room. She climbed aboard the back of the wooden horse. Firouz Schah heard some noises and looked up to find his bride flying through the air with the awful Hindu. He immediately began his quest to rescue her!
He traveled all over Persia without any luck until he came to the small city of Kashmir. There, a man on the street told him he knew of a princess of Bengal who was supposed to marry their sultan but she was overcome with madness. Because of her madness, no one could go near her, for fear she might kill someone. So she was locked in her room alone. The sultan was looking for a physician who was brave enough to try go near the crazy princess and cure her.
Quickly, the prince disguised himself as a physician and went to the sultan. The sultan granted him permission to enter the princess's chamber, but he warned him of the danger. When the prince entered the chamber, he whispered the words, "Firouz Schah," and the princess became completely tame and overjoyed to see him. She was in love.
They planned their escape from Kashmir. The prince told the sultan that his princess had been enchanted by something she touched when she came to the city. The sultan knew that it must have been the enchanted horse she flew to the city upon. The prince and the princess were led to a pile of rubbish where they found the old wooden horse. Secertly, Firouz Schah cleaned it up and made sure it still worked before the sultan could turn back around. Quickly, the two lovers hopped on the back of the horse and rode back to the King's palace where they were married and lived happily ever after!
"What a story!" cried Artie. Nazilla smiled. Artie said his goodbyes and met up with Gordan who was just finishing his conversation with the store-owner. The owner had given him a thread from one of the most prized rugs in all of Persia. Gordan and Artie thanked the man and walked out of the store onto the streets. The people watched as they leaped into the air and off to their homeland of Scotland.
The two arrived back home and quickly gathered their ingredients. The tilio leaves, the miswak seeds, and finally... the thread of a Persian rug. Gordan stood in the middle of his field, held the ingredients and said the magic phrase. In a matter of seconds, the field was covered in flourishing crops like he had never seen before. Gordan and Artie became filthy rich and lived happily ever after.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's
Notes: In
my version of the story, I told it from the viewpoint of the cat in my
frametale. I left out some of the details from the
original. In the original story, the Hindu man proves his
machine's abilities to the King by bringing back a palm leaf from the
mountains in the distance. I had to leave this part out in order
to meet the length requirements. Also, I played up the rival
between Firouz Schah and the Hindu more so than it was in the
original. The original story included several small details that
I had to leave out because my frametale portion of the story ended up
being so long. Also in the original story, Firouz Schah searches
for the princess for years and years before he finds her locked away in
Kashmir. The oriniginal story tells us of his travels to
different countries in his search for her. In my story, I left
his part out and made it seem like it was only around a few days
or so before he found her. I modernized the story a little
as well and left out a lot of the dialogue in order to give the story a
better flow.
Book Title: The Wonder-Book of Horses
Story Title: The Enchanted Horse of Firouz Schah
Author: James Baldwin
Year: 1903
Book Title: The Wonder-Book of Horses
Story Title: The Enchanted Horse of Firouz Schah
Author: James Baldwin
Year: 1903