Majid's Tales

Majid's Tales or The Tales of Majid (Persian: قصه‌های مجید) is a collection of short stories by Iranian author Houshang Moradi Kermani. These stories were first heard as a radio program in 1974. Later, in 1985, they were turned into a book.

The main character is a teenager named Majid. He is an orphan who lives with his grandmother, BiBi, in Kerman, Iran. The book has 39 chapters. They tell about Majid's adventures, funny mistakes, and how he grows up. He's in his first year of high school. Majid works at a bakery in the summer and sometimes after school. This helps his grandmother with money from her late husband's retirement.

The author, Houshang Moradi Kermani, shares some things with Majid. For example, Majid is an orphan, and Kermani lost his mother when he was young. Also, both Majid and Kermani grew up without siblings and in poverty. Kermani started writing because he felt lonely.

Exploring Majid's Adventures

Majid Becomes a Book Lover

In this story, Majid finds his first novel by accident. He is running an errand for his grandmother, BiBi. He gets some dry goods wrapped in paper. When he gets home, BiBi tells him to throw the paper away. But Majid sees that the paper is part of a book!

He reads the novel, Escape to the Mountains, with great excitement. He is sad when he reaches the end of his section. The rest of the book is missing. He goes back to the store to ask the owner, Mashasdollah, for the rest of it. But Mashasdollah doesn't want to help.

Majid tries to help Mashasdollah by tidying the store. Sadly, Majid accidentally blows salt into Mashasdollah's eyes. Majid tries to help by getting water to wash his eyes. Mashasdollah can't see and knocks the water over. This soaks a bag of sugar cubes.

Majid never finds the rest of the novel. He searches every bookstore in town. Instead, he imagines how the story ends. He writes his own endings. He often visits bookstores now. He can rent books for a small fee. This first book changes Majid. He becomes a true book lover.

Majid and the Cat

BiBi loves animals. She has a white kitten named Cutie. She also has a cage of nightingales. BiBi always tells Majid to be kind to the animals.

One day, BiBi is out. Majid decides to play with the birds. He hears the front door open. Majid is surprised and drops the cage. The birds get hurt. To hide his mistake, Majid blames Cutie. He says she wanted to eat the birds.

BiBi tells Majid to find a new home for Cutie. She puts the cat in Majid's hands. Majid tries to find a good home. He looks for owners who love petting cats. They should also have lots of creamy milk and meat.

Majid cannot find a good place. He returns home. He tells BiBi the truth. He confesses it was his fault the cage fell.

The Woolen Jacket

Majid has a new teacher. The teacher gives an inspiring speech. He says he lost his father young. But this should not stop students from going to college. Majid is very moved. He says if the story is true, he will be a college student. He then offers for his grandmother to make the teacher a woolen jacket.

The teacher jokes and accepts. But Majid takes him seriously. It becomes funny when Majid tries to get the teacher's measurements. He sneaks up with pieces of yarn. After trying a few times, Majid takes an old sweater from the teacher's clothesline. BiBi uses this sweater to get the measurements.

Majid returns the old sweater a few days later. But the teacher catches a cold because he didn't have his winter clothes. At the end, Majid gives the teacher the new sweater. The teacher is angry and refuses it. He decides to talk with BiBi. He accepts the sweater, but tells Majid never to do that again.

The Drum

Majid really wants to play the drum, or tabl. But he has never had the chance. One day, he asks his neighbor if he can play his drum. The neighbor says no, "drums are not for kids." Majid cannot afford his own drum.

So, he secretly sneaks into his neighbor's shed. The drum is kept there. He plans to play it softly. Inside the shed, he gets carried away. He starts playing the drum loudly. The neighbor's wife hears it. Luckily for Majid, a chicken runs past her when she comes to the shed. She thinks the drum sound was made by the chicken.

Unluckily for Majid, she locks the shed door. Majid is trapped in the small room with the drum. Eventually, he can't resist. Majid plays the drum with the drumstick so loudly. People gather in the yard. They think an evil demon is in the shed, banging on the drum.

A group of tough guys come to investigate. They have clubs and say "besmallah." They run away screaming when Majid yells, "I am Majid!" The shed door is unlocked. People watch Majid come out. They expected to see a demon instead.

The Invitation

In this chapter, Majid learns not to judge people by how they look. Majid and BiBi are getting ready for a party. Majid realizes BiBi will take hours. He asks to go out in his nice party clothes. He borrows a bike from a friend. He goes downtown to see movie posters.

Downtown, he meets a friend. This friend's family helped Majid and BiBi a lot after Majid's parents died. Majid is so happy to see his friend. He falls off his bike. His pants get dirty. His hands, stomach, and leg are scraped.

He invites his friend to a fancy ice cream shop. The boys have a great time eating faloodeh and catching up. Then Majid realizes he has no money. He left his money in his other pants. Majid looks at the shop owner. He tries to guess what will happen when he says he has no money. Majid thinks the owner looks scary. He has thick arms, a thick neck, tattoos. His face looks like Shimr, a warrior who killed Husayn ibn-Ali.

Majid expects the owner to hit him when he finds out Majid ordered dessert but has no money. Majid's friend notices Majid's mood change. Majid jokes, "Sometimes I get dizzy when I eat faloodeh. Some people have that problem." To make things worse, his friend suggests they order ice cream too. Even though his friend offers to pay, Majid insists a guest should never pay. After all, Majid invited him.

After the ice cream arrives, Majid starts crying under the table. He pretends to tie his shoelace. When his friend looks at him, he asks what's wrong with his eyes. Majid replies, "Sometimes my eyes burn when I eat ice cream. Some people have that problem."

When it's time to tell the owner about the money, Majid starts talking fast. He says the bike isn't his, so don't take it. He says his socks are worth a lot because it's their first time being worn. He says if the owner wants to hit him, do it where his friend won't see. When the owner asks what's going on, Majid blurts out he left his money at home. But he invited a friend to eat dessert.

The owner laughs loudly. He tells Majid to bring the money when he can. At that moment, Majid thinks the owner is the kindest person ever. Majid says goodbye to his friend. He bikes home to get his money. Then he returns to the ice cream shop to pay his bill.

The Third Barber

Majid convinces BiBi to let him grow his hair long during summer break. BiBi chases him around the house with scissors a few times. But she finally agrees.

On the first day of school, the principal sees Majid. He tells him he must get a haircut. After school, Majid goes to the local barber. The barber says the shop is closed. Before Majid leaves, he hears the barber complain. He tells another man about "low-lifes" who pay very little. Majid realizes the shop wasn't closing. The barber just didn't want to cut his hair.

He goes to a cheaper barber. But he is treated like a third-class customer. His hair is cut so his head looks like a corn cob. When he gets home, BiBi is shocked by his hair. They go to a third barber. This barber treats Majid like a little king. He fixes the cuts from the second barber. He trims his hair perfectly. BiBi praises him. But she is surprised by the huge amount he wants to charge. BiBi pays what she can afford.

The Samovar

BiBi and her friends decide to buy a samovar as a wedding gift. A samovar is a special pot for heating water, often used for tea. They don't have much money. So, they combine their money to buy a beautiful copper samovar.

On the day they plan to give it to the new bride, they ask Majid to carry it on his bike. The older women walk slowly. Majid arrives at the house before them. He decides to visit his aunt to pass the time. When he arrives with the samovar, his aunt mistakenly thinks it's for her. She starts praising Majid. She talks about all the times she helped raise and feed him. She even tells him about a dream where an angel brought her a gift.

Majid is too ashamed to tell her the truth. The samovar is for someone else. So, he leaves the samovar with his aunt. He pretends he brought it for her. To hide what happened, he bikes home. He grabs BiBi's samovar. He arrives at the bride's house after the women. He tells BiBi what happened later. The women explain to the bride what happened. They bring another, new samovar to her later.

Tales of Majid on Radio and TV

The Radio Show

Houshang Moradi Kermani shared how Majid's Tales became a radio show. In March 1974, Kermani was writing for a radio station. His bosses wanted a story for the Persian New Year. Kermani had a story about an orphan boy living with his grandmother. His bosses thought it wasn't suitable. But Kermani insisted it was a funny story. It was not meant to be a series at first. But it ended up having about 130 episodes!

The TV Mini-series

The book also inspired a television mini-series. Iranian director Kiumars Purahmad directed it. The series first aired in 1990. It was shown on Friday afternoons. It became very popular with both children and adults. It was one of the most-watched mini-series in Iran after the Islamic Revolution.

Mehdi Bagherbigi was chosen to play Majid. Over 500 boys were considered for the role. Parvin Dokht Yazdanian, Purahmad's own mother, played BiBi. Purahmad had looked at 20 other older women for the part.

There are small differences between the book and the TV show. In the book, Majid lives in Kerman. But in the mini-series, he lives in Esfahan. Moradi wanted the show to be filmed in Kerman. This is because people from Kerman see Tales of Majid as a story from their city.