Storytelling Week 6: Fayiz and the Peri Wife

Gustave Moreau, Une péri on Wikimedia

In a town in the mountains there was a man named Fayiz. He was a goat herder who had a small cottage, a wife, and two children. Fayiz was not the happiest man on the planet, but he counted his blessings. He always told himself, “I am a poor man, but I have a good family. Many around here have nothing to eat and no home to go to, but I am able to provide these for my family. I am truly blessed and will pray to the gods for their graciousness.” His wife was a good woman who never asked much of her husband, and the children were grateful to their father for what he could provide.

One day while watching over his flock, Fayiz took a rest on a boulder. He was staring off absent-mindedly until he realized that his eyes were gazing upon a beautiful woman. Fayiz had never seen a human being so beautiful in his many years. The woman came up to him and said, “I can tell that you are a good laborer. I have seen you out here with your flock for many days past. A man who works so hard would be a good companion for me. Will you come with me to my palace far away and stay there as my husband?”

Fayiz had never been a jealous man and he had never been unfaithful to his wife. Now, however, Fayiz began experiencing greed for the first time. He wondered, Living in a palace with a beautiful woman? I would never have to toil again as I have had to all of my life until this day. I should go with her and live peacefully until the end of my days. Thinking these treacherous thoughts, Fayiz agreed to go away with the woman. He did not mention a word about his wife or his two children who he was leaving behind.

The beautiful woman was happy to have obtained her hard worker. The two stole away to her palace far away where a wedding ceremony was quickly organized. Before the marriage, the woman had something to confess to Fayiz. “Fayiz”, she said, “there is something that you must know about me before we are wed. I do not wish to keep any secrets from you. I am a Peri, a magical faery. You mustn’t tell anyone about my real form, or you will never see me again. Also, if you are ever unfaithful, you will never see me again.” Fayiz was not bothered by the Peri’s conditions and the two continued with the wedding.

Fayiz’s wife and children rarely crossed him mind over the following years, but when they did, he did not ever wish to go back. One day, the Peri was questioning him about his life prior to their encounter in the mountains. Awhile into their conversation, the Peri could tell that Fayiz was avoiding telling her something about his past. She used her powers to make Fayiz tell the truth and learned that Fayiz had left his family behind to run away to marry her. Shocked by this revelation, the Peri grew enraged. “I told you that if you were ever an unfaithful man that you would never see me again. You have lied to me for all of these years, and you were unfaithful to another at the start! Goodbye, Fayiz. I will return you to where we met.”

Fayiz tried defending his actions, but before he was able to speak, he found himself back on the boulder from many years before. He felt old and weak and decided that there was nothing left to do but go back to his first wife and children. Upon arriving at the cottage, however, Fayiz saw another man working in the garden. Thinking that perhaps his wife and children had changed residence, Fayiz started to walk past the cottage. Passing the window, however, he saw his wife working at the counter cutting vegetables. The gardener walked into the cottage and kissed the top of Fayiz’s wife’s head. “I see”, said Fayiz. “I have been replaced and there is nowhere left for me to go in the world. I am completely alone. It serves me right for betraying my family.”

Author’s note: I wrote on Fayiz and the Peri Wife, a Persian Tale, for this week’s storytelling. In the original version, the Peri tells Fayiz that if he is unfaithful to her, then he will be punished. She does not care about his other wife or children. I thought that the moral would make more sense if the Peri would punish Fayiz for being unfaithful at all. I did not think that he should be allowed to live a happy life when he left his wife and children to survive on their own when he had been their provider. He did not even give them any warning which speaks horribly to Fayiz’s character. He is simply not a good person. In the oriniganl, Fayiz begins to feel guilt, which I thought was pathetic, and went back to his first family. He plans on returning to the Peri, but confesses to his first wife the Peri's true form. Then, he goes to sit in the mountains. He has been left by the Peri and does not want his first family. In my version, I made it so that Fayiz regrets treating his first family badly and gave his wife a new, good husband. You can access the Persian Tales here: link.

Lorimer, David. “Fayiz and the Peri Wife.” Persian Tales, 1919.