First we discuss myths and legends and then take you to the land of Iranian stories where we start relating the new story of Choghoon Dooz.

Among the other major elements of legends and myths mention can be made of extraordinary plants which play an important role in these stories. Primitive humans paid as much attention to plants as animals. Mythologists believe plants are the manifestation of life which is revived once a while. This is believed between some tribes to the extent that they respect plants. In one of the stories of Hassan Kachal we read:

"There was a huge tamarisk tree close to a village which granted people what they wished for. The fortune teller took a coin and said: Outside the village there is a flat meadow in the middle of which there is a huge holy tree. All people from different areas go to visit the tree since it grants them whatever they wish. Go there and ask for something."

Also in one of the stories of Shahnameh, the magnum opus of Ferdowsi, we read that the arrows the heroes of the story use are made of tamarisk tree.

In the story of pomegranate girls, a beautiful girl comes out of a pomegranate that is introduced as the goddess of plants. She then transforms into a dove and later is killed and from her blood grows a plane tree. Then the plane tree is cut and the logs are taken to an old woman's house where the girl comes out of the wood and lives with the old woman.

Experts say the myths made about plants all stem from the people's beliefs and attitudes toward plants. For example in the story of Darabnameh Tartousi we read:

"They stayed there until it became dark. A song could be heard. Mehrasb looked around to see who was singing. Then he found a tree which looked like human beings with a mouth, ear, and chin. Mehrasb went forward and picked a flower from the tree. Then blood flowed out of the spot the flower was picked.”

Also in the story of one thousand and one nights we see a singing tree. Part of the story reads:

"There was a singing tree which a song was heard from every leaf of it. The sweet song of the tree was heard everywhere.”

Time tells we have to skip this section and go to the next part of our program that is relating the story of Choghoon Dooz.

Once upon a time there was a trader who had a son named Ebrahim who went to school. Once on the way back from school, Ebrahim spotted the king's daughter who was standing in the balcony of the palace.

It was exactly the time Ebrahim fell in love with the girl from head to toe.

Bewildered at the event, he went home to talk to his mother about it.

Hearing the story of the king's daughter, Ebrahim's mother thought that the king wouldn't accept her son as his suitor so he asked him to forget about the princess.

It was close to night that the trader came home. He was about to rest that his wife came to him and told him their son had fallen in love with the king's daughter. The trader, who was shocked by the news, told his wife that if the king realizes the matter, he would kick all of them out of the city.

Days passed and Ebrahim went to school thinking on nothing except the princess. And after a while his father, the trader passed away, adding to Ebrahim's problems.

Being confused of what had happened for him, Ebrahim left home early in the morning and came back home late at night.

Once Ebrahim's mother came to him and told him that he should change his style of living and stop idling around, but Ebrahim didn't listen to his mother.

Not knowing what to do, in order to avert Ebrahim's mind from thinking about the king's daughter, the mother brought his brothers home to advise Ebrahim.

So Ebrahim's uncles came to him, advising him to stop thinking about the princess. But this didn't help at all and Ebrahimn fell deeper in love with the princess.

AE/RM/ME