Classifying the four elements of nature including wind, water, earth and fire as sacred elements is one of the features of Iranian folk literature.

In these stories fire is the symbol of magnificence and restlessness which along with its three other partners builds the foundation of the world. In Iranian folk stories we can also see some beliefs like worshipping fire. This is evident in the stories like Eskandarnameh of Manoochehr Khan Hakim which is a long folk story. The main theme of these pieces is taken from ancient times and has been transferred from generation to generation and has been transcribed by narrators. In an ancient story we read: "Nassim asked: Where is Shirvan Shah going? They said: to the fire temple. Nassim then followed them to the fire temple. Shirvan Shah got off the horse."

In the story of One thousand and one nights we see examples of fire worshipping. In the story of Samak Ayyar, Samak and his friends swear by God, Almighty, light and fire. A part of the story reads: "All three swore by God, light and fire. They swore to be friends and not betray."

Earth is another element which has entered Iranian folk stories. In ancient Indian culture wind was the symbol glory and impressiveness. In the story of Darabnameh Tartousi wind has been mentioned as a supportive element. In this story wind supports Darab against his enemies.

A part of the story reads:

"A strong wind started blowing and swallowed all the men around. Zahhak asked Hazigheh to take the head of Darab. Hazigheh said the wind doesn't stop blowing. Zahhak came and took out his sword, but could not stop the wind…."

It's now the time for relating the rest of the story of Choghoondooz.

We said that once upon a time there was a boy called Ebrahim who fell in love with the king's daughter. He was poor and could not get married with the princess. Ebrahim's mother tried to persuade his son to forget about the princess, but he couldn't. She even brought his brothers to talk to Ebrahim, but they failed because Ebrahim was deeply in love with the princess. And now the rest of the story.

Days and nights went on and on but time didn't take love of the princess out of Ebrahim's heart. This love deteriorated his health. Thus, Ebrahim's uncles came and gave Ebrahim money to build a business so that he could forget about the princess.

The morning after Ebrhim took the money and went out until he reached a fork road. On the fork road he found people gathering around a person.

The person had put a bag in the center of the crowd. In the bag there was a creature which moved. People were curious to know what was inside the bag.

Ebrahim stopped to see what was in the bag, but he got bored and left the crowd. Before he was leaving, someone called him. He turned back, but couldn't find anyone. He was about to leave when he heard the voice again. This time the voice said:

"Let me free from here."

This time Ebrahim realized that the creature inside the bag was calling him.

So he went to the person who was holding the bag and asked him to sell the creature.

The man agreed and sold the creature to Ebrahim.

Ebrahim then untied the bag and let the poor creature free.

A dragon came out of the bag. Seeing the dragon, the crowd dispersed fearing that it would devour them.

But the dragon was so timid that asked Ebrahim to embrace him.

As Ebrahim took his arm around the dragon's waist, the dragon transformed into a dove. Then he asked Ebrahim to take him to his home.

AE/RM/ME