The Eternal Landسرزمین جاوید

The woman’s concern pleased Iranban, for it showed care for the herds. Then someone in the crowd said:“In the north, some people don’t eat duck or fish or venison or beef. They eat wheat and barley.” “I told them,” said Iranban, “that eating wheat makes a person ugly and weak.” A man called out: “We never eat wheat. Wheat is food for our deer and cattle; it fattens them.” “Yes,” Iranban replied, “wheat makes humans ugly—and, besides, it brings misfortune.” A woman asked: “How does it bring misfortune?” Iranban answered: “I heard it from my mother, who heard it from hers: if a human begins to eat wheat, the day will come when his food will be nothing but wheat, and he will find no other nourishment. Let the wheat rot on the mountain slopes; do not gather it—especially do not eat it—so that Khur will not be angered with […]

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A tall, slender young woman stood on the slope of a hill overlooking a lake, among the olive trees, watching a ship drawing near.The vessel was being pulled by several deer walking through the shallow waters along the shore. From inside the boat came the melodious voice of a woman singing: “O my beloved, come, let us go to the mountain,There we shall milk the cows,And afterward sit upon the grass.” The young girl, gazing at the approaching ship, murmured to herself:“Today, Iranban is joyful—she is singing.” Her guess was correct. Iranban was indeed cheerful that day, and all her subjects knew that whenever their queen felt happiness, she would sing. Iranban—meaning the Lady of Iran—was a tall woman of about forty, broad-shouldered, with golden hair and a commanding presence.She always carried a wooden staff made from the tamarisk tree and ruled over a vast realm of nearly two hundred […]

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