Once upon a time, at the very beginning, there were no cities and no houses. People lived in mountain caves, and there was no fire, no iron, no city. Among them all, one person was the first. His name was Kayumars, and he became the first king of the world.
Kayumars wore leopard skin and lived in a cave at the top of a mountain. Sheep grazed around it, and even the wild animals came and sat quietly nearby; nobody was afraid of anybody. They say a small light shone around his head. It was called farr, the sign of a king.
Kayumars had a son named Siamak, tall and kind, loved by people, sheep and birds alike. When he laughed, the mountain echoed, and Kayumars's heart grew warm just looking at him. For thirty years everything was good.
One day an angel named Sorush came. "A div is coming," he said. "The Black Div, son of Ahriman. He has horns and is taller than a tree, and he is jealous of your mountain." Siamak stood and tied his belt. "I will stop him."
Siamak and the Black Div fought from morning until sunset. Dust rose and the sky grew dark. But the div was stronger. That day Siamak fell and did not get up again. The mountain went quiet.
Kayumars heard the news. He came out of his cave, sat down on a stone, and wept for a whole year. The sheep gathered round without a sound and the birds did not sing. Snow fell and melted and fell again, and he did not rise from that stone.
After a year Sorush came back. "Kayumars, enough. Tears will not bring the mountain back. You are still king, and your people are waiting. Get up. It is time." Kayumars took a long breath, wiped his tears, and stood.
Siamak had a son named Hushang, Kayumars's grandson. In that one year he had grown tall, and his eyes were like Siamak's. Kayumars took his hand. "You go in front. I am behind you." Hushang nodded.
Hushang climbed to the mountaintop and called out. First the people came with sticks and stones. Then the wolves, the lions and the leopards. Then the birds, until the sky was full of wings. Nobody asked why. Everyone understood, and set off behind Hushang.
The Black Div brought his army, and the two armies met on the plain. The birds came from above and the lions from below. The div roared, but nobody was afraid. In the end they caught him and bound his hands, and no one ever saw the Black Div again.
Kayumars had grown old. He set his crown on Hushang's head. "Now it is your turn." Hushang became king and taught the people to bring water to the land and to get iron out of stone. Slowly, beside the mountain, the first fields turned green.
One day Hushang was out hunting when something long and black appeared: a big snake. He threw a large stone. It missed the snake and struck another stone with a loud crack, and something jumped out that he had never seen before. A spark.
The snake slithered away, but the spark fell on dry leaves. First a thread of smoke rose, then an orange light, and the first fire in the world was lit. Hushang held his hand near it. It was warm. "This is a gift," he said. "We must keep it."