Rostam and Sohrab
Classical Stories · No. 51 — Persia's greatest champion duels a young stranger — his own son.
- Classical Stories
- 45 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
Rostam, the unmatched champion of Persia, once loved and left a princess in a distant land; their son Sohrab grows up strong and gifted, longing to find the famous father he has never seen. When their two armies meet, the youth Sohrab seeks out Persia's greatest warrior — his father — hoping to recognize him, while Rostam, hiding his name as champions do, has no idea the fierce young stranger challenging him is his own child. Twice they fight; pride and secrecy keep either from saying the name that would stop everything. The duel ends as such stories must — and only as the young warrior falls does a token reveal, too late, who he was.
Why it's worth a listen
The mightiest hero of Persia meets on the battlefield a brilliant young warrior he has never met — and neither knows they are father and son. From the thousand-year-old Persian Book of Kings comes a story of pride, missed signs, and a tragedy that turns on words left unspoken — one of the most powerful tales in world literature, told with great care.
A question to keep
How much sorrow can come from the things two people never manage to say to each other?
Chapters
- The Shadow of the Elephant
- The Boy Who Looked at the Sun
- The Meeting of Two Winds
- The Questions in the Dust
- The Weight of Tomorrow
- The Onyx in the Sand
- A Question to Keep