Saum smiled and said, “Rest content and deliver thine heart of cares, for all shall end according unto thy desires.”
When Sindokht heard this she bade him farewell and made all haste to return. And Saum loaded her with gifts and bade her depart in peace. And Sindokht’s face shone brightly, like unto the moon when she hath been eclipsed, and hope once more reigned in her breast.
Now listen to what happened to Zal while these things were passing in Seistan. When he was come to the court of Minuchihr he hastened into his presence, and kissed the ground at his feet, and lay prostrate before him in the dust. And when the Shah saw this he was moved, and bade his servants raise Zal, and pour musk before him. Then Zal drew nigh unto the throne and gave to the King the letter written by Saum the son of Neriman. And when Minuchihr had read it he was grieved, and said —
“This letter, written by Saum thy father in his sorrow, hath awakened an old pain within me. But for the sake of my faithful servant I will do unto thee that which is thy desire. Yet I ask that thou abide with me a little while that I may seek counsel about thee.”
Then the cooks brought forth a table of gold, and Zal was seated beside the Shah and all the nobles according to their rank, and they ate flesh and drank wine together. Then when the mantle of night was fallen over the earth Zal sprang upon his steed and scoured the land in the unrest of his spirit, for his heart was full of thoughts and his mouth of words. But when morning was come he presented himself before the Shah in audience. And his speech and mien found favour in the eyes of the Shah, and he called unto him his Wise Men and bade them question the stars of this matter. Three days and three nights did the Mubids search the heavens without ceasing, and on the fourth they came before the Shah and spake. And they said unto him —
“Hail to thee, hero of the golden girdle, for we bring unto thee glad tidings. The son of Saum and the daughter of Mihrab shall be a glorious pair, and from their union shall spring a son like to a war-elephant, and he shall subdue all men by his sword and raise the glory of Iran even unto the skies. And he shall uproot the wicked from the earth so that there shall be no room for them. Segsars and Mazinderan shall feel the weight of his mace, and he shall bring much woe upon Turan, but Iran shall be loaded with prosperity at his hands. And he will give back sleep to the unhappy, and close the doors of discord, and bar the paths of wrong-doing. The kingdom will rejoice while he lives; Roum, Ind, and Iran will grave his name upon their seals.”
When the Shah had heard this he charged the Mubids that they keep secret that which they had revealed unto him. And he called for Zal that he might question him and test his wisdom. And the Wise Men and the Mubids were seated in a circle, and they put these questions to the son of Saum.
And the first opened his mouth and said —
“Twelve trees, well grown and green,
Fair and lofty, have I seen;
Each has sprung with vigorous sprout,
Sending thirty branches out;
Wax no more, nor wane, they can
In the kingdom of Iran.”
And Zal pondered a while and then answered and said —
‘Twelve moons in the year, and each I praise
As a new-made king on a new throne’s blaze:
Each comes to an end in thirty days.”
Then the second Mubid questioned him and said —
“Thou whose head is high in air,
Rede me now of coursers twain;
Both are noble, swift to speed;
Black as storms in the night one steed,
The other crystal, white and fair,
They race for ever and haste in vain,
Towards a goal they never gain.”
And Zal thought again yet a while and answered —
“Two shining horses, one black, one white.
That run for ever in rapid flight;
The one is the day, the other the night,
That count the throbs of the heavens height,
Like the hunted prey from the following chase
They flee, yet neither wins the race.”
Then the third Mubid questioned him and said —
“Thirty knights before the king
Pass along. Regard the thing
Closely; one is gone. Again
Look — the thirty are in train.”
And Zal answered and spake —
“Thirty knights of whom the train
Is full, then fails, then fills again,
Know, each moon is reckoned thus,
So willed by God who governs us,
And thy word is true of the faint moon’s wane,
Now failing in darkness, now shining plain.”
Then the fourth Mubid questioned him and said —
“See a green garden full of springs;
A strong man with a sickle keen
Enters, and reaps both dry and green;
No word thine utmost anguish wrings.”
And Zal bethought him and replied —
“Thy word was of a garden green,
A reaper with a sickle keen,
Who cuts alike the fresh and the dry
Nor heedeth prayer nor any cry:
Time is the reaper, we the grass;
Pity nor fear his spirit has,
But old and young he reaps alike.
No rank can stay his sickle’s strike,
