The Slave Who Lied But Once a Year and Other Persian Tales - Paperback

Laina Farhat-Holzman, a former professor of World History and Islamic Civilization, was married for many years to an Iranian whose mother became very close to her.  During a long visit, the two women began to share fairy and folk-tales with each other for fun.  Farhat-Holzman translated the Iranian tales and packed them away until recently.

These stories, told to her aristocratic mother-in-law by an illiterate nanny and servants, reveal much about the nature of every day Persian life, values, and daydreams.  They range from dreamy to the funny and often wicked.  They are definitely not for young children.  They reveal the nature of a people who know how to get around tyranny.