When I was a young boy, my mother had a Pashto book of folk stories that I used to love reading. I can't find that book anymore but I remember one of the stories. Recently my son asked me about stories from my childhood and I was surprised he asked. Turned out it was a school project and not some new found love for his Baba's childhood. I told him about Sultan Subuktagin or what I could recollect from memory. Sultan Subuktagin: Subuk was a slave boy owned by Alaptagin, a commander in the Army of Abdul Malik, the Samanid ruler of Bokhara (these days part of Uzbekistan). As a slave, Subuk didn't have much to call his own. The little he had belonged to his master. Like the nomadic lifestyle of his era and his area, he had to hunt for his own food. One day, he was out hunting on his horse in the forest but was not having much luck. It was winter and days were short. Late afternoon, he spotted a fawn (baby deer) with his mother. He gave chase and soon the fawn got separated from his mother. He picked up the fawn but the deer got away. It was getting late so instead of giving chase, he turned around and headed back to his village with the fawn. As he was galloping back, his sixth sense alerted him as if someone was following him. He turned around and noticed that the doe (mother deer) [Read More...]