Classical Persian texts contain numerous folk narratives and outstanding literary works that embody a wide range of ethical and social themes and teachings. These texts enjoy considerable literary appeal, while their narrative structures render events, dialogues, and characters tangible and credible to readers. With the expansion of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) program and its incorporation into the educational system of Iran, a number of authors have undertaken the task of writing philosophical stories and rewriting classical Persian narratives in accordance with the objectives of P4C. The present study employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine one of the collections of rewritten stories developed for use in the P4C program, entitled Thinking stories for Iranian children (Dastanhaye fekri baraye kudakan e Irani), with the aim of determining the extent to which these stories conform to the narrative principles and criteria of P4C. To this end, the stories in this ten-volume collection were analyzed and examined at three levels: literary, philosophical, and psychological. The findings indicate that the authors have not succeeded in adequately implementing the narrative criteria of P4C in their rewritings and, consequently, have failed to provide sufficiently appropriate stories for use in P4C classrooms.
Key words: classical texts; Persian literature; philosophical story; philosophy for children (P4C); rewriting

Introduction:
From ancient times to the present, storytelling has played a prominent role in human life and may well be as old as humanity itself. Stories have existed in all cultures and languages since antiquity and have constituted one of the simplest and most effective means of communication among members of society. In earlier periods, tales primarily served an entertaining function, and it was relatively uncommon for them to be employed for educational purposes. The primary purpose of these tales was not to challenge their audiences or place them before ethical and philosophical dilemmas; rather, their central message was generally framed as a conflict between good and evil, culminating in the ultimate triumph of good over evil.

With human advancement and changes in ways of life, the complexity of narratives and the scope of their applications gradually expanded. As a result, numerous political, mystical, religious, social, and ethical teachings came to be articulated through stories and allegorical narratives, giving rise to outstanding works such as Paradise Lost, The Divine Comedy, Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, Kalila wa Dimna, Gulistan, and Bustan. This development demonstrates the distinctive influence of narrative on its audience—an influence that ordinary speech and discourse cannot readily achieve. It is precisely this considerable capacity of narrative that enables it to function as a means of indirect education. Stories, through their coherent structures, recount fictional events or sequences of events and, by developing characters and their motivations, share particular experiences with readers. This capacity is what reinforces the role of narrative as an educational tool.

Materials & Method:
The present article reports on a descriptive-analytical study of rewritings of classical Persian texts intended for use in the Philosophy for Children program. First, through a systematic examination of the primary works of major P4C theorists, including Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp, and Philip Cam, the characteristics and criteria of philosophical stories were identified and extracted and subsequently documented through note-taking and textual indexing. In the next stage, the ten-volume collection Thinking stories for Iranian children (Dastanhaye fekri baraye kudakan e Irani), (Rezaali Norouzi et al., 2016), which, according to its authors, was rewritten on the basis of the narrative criteria of P4C, was analyzed and examined at three levels: literary, philosophical, and psychological

Discussion & result:
One of the contemporary applications of storytelling is within the Philosophy for Children (P4C) program. Narrative plays a central role in this program because it “reinforces children's inclination to ask questions, engage in thought, and seek understanding” (Lipman, 2017, p. 182). Accordingly, Lipman undertook the writing of stories with philosophical content as a means of advancing his program. His stories were innovative in their own right and proved effective in pursuing the objectives of P4C. However, because of their didactic nature, they lacked sufficient literary appeal and attractiveness for children (see Fisher, 2006, p. 160). Another challenge concerns the implementation of this program in countries with linguistic, cultural, and social values different from those of its original context. As Sharp (2004, p. 17) observes, “stories contain moral values with which children in some countries may not identify. Moreover, the cultural issues addressed in a story may conflict with the moral values of different societies.” For this reason, Lipman encouraged others to work on the content of philosophical stories in order to create narratives that were indigenous and compatible with children's cultural contexts, and to continue this process until such stories could serve as appropriate springboards for philosophical inquiry at the right time and in the right circumstances (see De Marzio, 2011, pp. 31–32; Lipman, 2002).

In light of the foregoing, rewriting classical Persian texts should not be understood merely as simplifying language or shortening narratives. Rather, it is a purposeful process of transmitting cultural and literary heritage to a new generation within the framework of their cognitive and educational needs and characteristics. From the perspective of teaching philosophy to children, the value of such rewriting becomes evident when the author, while preserving the authenticity and conceptual richness of the original work, recreates narrative elements, argumentative dialogues, and thought-provoking situations in ways that foster questioning, critical thinking, and philosophical dialogue among children. Therefore, evaluating such rewritings according to the criteria of the P4C program constitutes both a research and an educational necessity. Through such evaluation, it becomes possible to determine the extent to which authors have succeeded in transforming classical Persian texts into indigenous, effective, and appropriate resources for teaching philosophy to children, as well as to identify their strengths and shortcomings in order to facilitate the production of more effective works in the future.
In the following research, we intend to analyze and examine the ten-volume collection Thinking stories for Iranian children (Dastanhaye fekri baraye kudakan e Irani), that, according to the book's author, were adapted and rewritten from the classical persian stories for use in the Philosophy for Children (p4c) program. The present research is an attempt to answer this question: Have the principles and criteria of the philosophical stories been observed in the adaptations of Persian classic texts? The purpose of this research is to investigate the extent to which the writers of the adapted stories adhered to the fictional criteria of P4C.

Conclusion:
The findings of the present study indicate that the authors have not performed satisfactorily in rewriting classical texts and have failed to produce sufficiently appropriate works. Their inability to establish reader identification and to transform the narratives into effective springboards for philosophical inquiry, together with the absence of other philosophical components—including argumentative dialogue, potential for philosophical inquiry, and a non-didactic thematic structure—has substantially diminished the philosophical appropriateness and acceptability of these stories.