The Saffron Sprite by the Salt Desert

Once upon a time, on the eastern edge of the Persian Empire, there lay a tiny oasis called Farzan Village, surrounded by the Kavir Desert. The villagers relied on the oasis's spring water for farming, and their most precious product was the golden saffron—a gift bestowed by the Sun God, whose petals held the magic to dispel drought.

In the village lived a young boy named Darius. His grandfather, the priest who guarded the oasis, gave him a turquoise pendant on his deathbed. "When the desert winds and sand swallow the spring," he said, "take the saffron to the depths of the Alborz Mountains and find a sprite clad in blue."

That summer, hot winds from the desert blew with gravel, and the oasis's spring water dwindled day by day. The saffron leaves wilted too. Clutching his grandfather's pendant and carrying a bag of saffron seeds, Darius ventured into the desert alone. By day, he quenched his thirst with juice squeezed from saffron petals; by night, the turquoise pendant glowed with a faint blue light, guiding him away from quicksand.

After seven days and seven nights of walking, he finally reached a canyon in the Alborz Mountains. The canyon was covered with blue hyacinths, and a blue-robed sprite sat sighing on a rock—Zahra the Sprite, guardian of water sources, who had lost her power to sustain springs because humans had overharvested the hyacinths.

Instead of asking for help immediately, Darius scattered half his saffron seeds at the sprite's feet. "Saffron can grow in drought," he said. "Perhaps it will help you regain your strength." He then took off the pendant and placed it in her palm. "My grandfather said turquoise reflects true hearts. I only want water for the village and the canyon."

Touched by his purity, the sprite clasped the pendant and chanted an ancient incantation. In an instant, the saffron seeds took root and sprouted, their golden petals carpeting the canyon and weaving a colorful blanket with the blue hyacinths. The desert winds died down, the oasis's spring gushed forth again, and a small stream even flowed from the canyon, nourishing the barren land on the desert's edge.

"The courage of saffron and the sincerity of turquoise—these are the true magic," the sprite told Darius. She returned the pendant to him, making a pact: as long as humans cherished nature and treated one another with kindness, the water sources of the oasis and canyon would never run dry.

From then on, the people of Farzan Village grew saffron for generations. They also brought turquoise to pay homage to Zahra the Sprite in the canyon. Persian caravans passing through along the Silk Road spread the legend of saffron and "sincerity in exchange for water" far and wide. As for that turquoise pendant, it is said to lie hidden in a wooden box in some ancient Persian mansion to this day, shimmering with unchanging goodwill.