The Little Black Fish

"The Little Black Fish" (ISBN 9780876140130, 1971) is a well known children's book written by Samad Behrangi, published in 1968. The title in Persian is "Māhī siyāh-i kūchūlu". The story is told through the voice of an old fish speaking to her 12,000 children and grandchildren. She describes the journey of a small black fish who leaves the safety of the local stream to venture into the world.

The path of the little fish leads down a waterfall and along the length of the river to the sea. Along the way the fish meets several interesting characters, including a helpful lizard and the dreaded pelican.

With both wisdom and courage, the fish travels far indeed, and the tale ends with the little black fish as an example for others.

The book was widely considered to be a political allegory, and was banned in pre-revolutionary Iran (prior to the 1978 revolution) by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's regime.

Translations

*The Little Black Fish (Classics of Persian Literature, 2) Ibex Publishers (June, 1997) ISBN 0-936347-78-3

Online text

* [http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/sbehrangi/works/the_little_black_fish.php iranchamber.com]

Notes and references