Forty Fortunes: A Tale of Iran

Ahmed is content with the living he can make with a pick and a shovel, but that isn't good enough for his wife Jamell. On her insistence, he finds himself sitting in the marketplace with the dice and board and robe of a fortuneteller. Imagine his surprise when what he tells his first client comes true!

But soon Ahmed is in real peril, when the king calls upon him to discover the thieves of his royal treasure. On one hand is the king with his threat of prison -- on the other are the forty thieves who fear Ahmed will reveal them. Can anything save him now? Find out in this most popular folktale of the Islamic world.

TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS -- A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE IN AARON'S BOOK "FOLKTALES ON STAGE," OR FREE ON AARON'S WEB SITE.

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Aaron Shepard is the award-winning author of "The Baker's Dozen," "The Sea King's Daughter," "The Adventures of Mouse Deer," and many more children's books. His stories have appeared often in Cricket magazine, while his Web site is known internationally as a prime resource for folktales, storytelling, and reader's theater.

Alisher Dianov began illustrating professionally at the age of 15 in his native Russia and now lives in the United States. He is also illustrator of Aaron's "The Enchanted Storks."