Bahram and the Dragon

For a while he stayed among the nobles, with bright wine, cups, and musicians. Spring came and the world turned into paradise; the sky planted tulips on the dark earth. Every land grew full of game, and the streams ran like wine and milk. Wild ass and gazelle strutted across the meadows, tracing their paths everywhere on the green. The streambanks were fragrant with musk, and the elm bloomed like wine at the peak of ripening. They said to King Bahram Gur: the season for hunting wild ass is far along. He answered: a thousand chosen horsemen must be picked out from the army. The king rode off to the hunting ground, and the whole world was filled with talk of it. Those bold and mighty men swept the land clean of wild ass, mountain sheep, and gazelle. On the third day, when the sun kindled its crown, the earth turned yellow, mountain and sea like ivory. The brave king went to hunt and saw a dragon huge as a full-grown lion. It had hair along its length, a pillow beneath its head, and two breasts like a woman's upon its chest. He strung his bow and, without pause, struck the dragon's flank with an arrow of white poplar. He shot another straight through the middle of its head, and blood poured from it like water. He dismounted, drew a dagger, and slit the dragon open from end to end. Inside it, it had swallowed a young man, frozen stiff in blood and venom. He wept bitterly over that youth, and from the venom Bahram's eyes grew dim. From there he came back to his royal tent, and had wine brought and lovely lute players sing. When thirty days of spring had passed, the orchards grew like paradise with fruit. He arranged to go out into the wilds, with a single servant to guide him. At dawn on the first day of the month of Khordad, the king set out from that plain toward a village. To see whether justice existed in the world, and to seek out the heart of the God-fearing man. He rode Shabdiz gently, slowly, on like this until the day turned hot. He rode along the road, bewildered and weary, the king longing for sleep and water. So he went until he reached a settled place, and came upon a house out on the open plain. He saw a woman with a pitcher on her shoulder; she hid her face from King Bahram. Bahram said to her: give me shelter here, or I must move on in hardship. The woman said: brave rider, treat this house as your own home. When he heard her answer, he rode his horse inside; the hostess called her husband over. She told him: bring straw and rub down his horse, and when it is time for barley, fill the feed bag. She herself went into the corner where she slept, went ahead inside and swept the house clean. She spread out a reed mat and set down a cushion, and offered words of blessing over Bahram. She went to the water room and fetched water, all the while quietly reproaching her husband. 'This old fool just stays put wherever he is, the moment he sees anyone come to the house. This is no work for a woman to do; I am the one running the household, working my teeth to the bone.' King Bahram went and washed his face, for that dragon fight had left his body worn out. He came and sat down upon the reed mat, while the old man stood at the door of the house. She brought a spread and set it out properly: on it were herbs, vinegar, bread, and yogurt. He ate a little bread and, groaning, lay down, hiding his face beneath a Chinese cloth. When he woke from sleep, the woman said to her husband, 'You ugly, unwashed face, you should slaughter a lamb, for this rider is a great man, of royal stock. He has the glory of kings and the light of the moon; he looks like no one but King Bahram himself.' The worthy husband said to the woman, 'Why must you go on talking so much? You have no salted meat, no firewood, no bread; how will you provide for such a guest? You slaughter the lamb, he eats and this rider leaves, and you send off the donkey into the crowd, gone for good. Winter, cold, and a howling wind will surely come upon you before long.' The husband kept speaking, but the woman would not listen, though she was both quick-footed and full of schemes. In the end the lamb was slaughtered, by the woman's word, for the sake of the rider. When it was killed, she cooked a pot of harisa, kindling fire from half-dry wood. She brought something before the king: on it were eggs and cress from the stream, and she carried a roasted piece of the lamb, and everything else that had been cooked, all of it. When Bahram had washed his hands after the meal, he lay there sleepless, his body still unwell. When night gathered with the sun and dusk came on, the woman brought a gourd of wine and some jujubes. The king said to her, 'You woman of few words, tell me some old story. So that while we drink to your telling, we may drown pain and sorrow in the wine. I leave the choice of story to you: if you have any complaint against Bahram, feel free to speak it.' The woman of few words said, 'Yes, it is good; the beginning and end of every matter come from him.' Bahram said to her, 'Is this all? No one sees any justice sought from him?' The proud woman said, 'You of pure judgment, in this village there are many people and houses. Riders are always passing through here, men from the court and the officials.' One person brands another as a thief, and from that slander the accused suffers greatly. For the sake of a few coins he becomes a vengeful enemy, turning another's happy day to bitterness. He drags a chaste woman's name into filth and reduces her to ruin for nothing. That is a loss no treasure can repay; and this is the wrong that comes when a world ruling king lets it happen. The king grew troubled at these words, for his own good name had been stained by such conduct. Then the God fearing king said to himself: no one is grateful to a just ruler. I will be harsh for a few months over this, so that justice and kindness stand out against harm. That dark night he slept twisted with worry, and all night his heart lay coupled with the thought of tyranny. When night tore off its musk scented veil and showed its face upon the sky, the woman came from the house and told her husband: bring out the cooking pot and the fire from where they are kept. Soak every kind of seed in water; the sun must not fall upon it. Now while I milk this cow, do not take the cooking lightly. She brought the cow from its pasture and set plenty of fodder before it. She rubbed her hand over its udder and said: in the name of the Lord who has no partner or mate. The cow's udder was empty of milk, and the young hostess's heart turned old with grief. She said to her husband: master of the house, the heart of the world's king has changed. The ruler of the world has become a tyrant; last night his heart secretly twisted toward oppression. Her husband said: why do you speak this way? What are you seeking with such ill omens? She answered: my worthy husband, this talk of mine is not idle. When the ruling king turns unjust, the moon no longer shines from the sky as it should. The milk in the udders dries up, and no musk would remain in the deer's pod. Adultery and usury come out into the open, and the soft heart turns to solid stone. On the plain the wolf devours people, and the wise flee from the foolish. The egg spoils beneath the hens, whenever the king becomes a tyrant. This cow's pasture was no poorer than before, nor was its watering place any worse. Yet its milk has dried in the udder like this; its color and its temper have changed. When King Bahram heard these words, regret came over him at once for his thought. He said to God: O Creator, mighty and knower of all time, if my heart ever turns away from justice, may I no longer hold the throne of kingship. The blessed, pure, God worshiping woman ran her hand over the cow once more. She invoked the name of God, as Zoroaster taught: that what is hidden should be brought out of concealment. Milk poured from the udder of her cow, and the hostess said: 'O you who lift up the fallen, you have turned injustice back into justice; otherwise the cow would never have had this yield.' Then she said to her husband: 'Injustice has given way, and justice has returned to its place.' 'Be glad and take your ease from now on, for the Maker of the world has shown us mercy.' When the milk stew was cooked in the pot, husband and wife finished their labor. That pure-minded woman went to her guest, while her husband carried the tray behind her. They set before him a bowl of milk stew; how good it would have been had there also been a meat dish. The king ate a little of that milk stew, then the noble man spoke to the woman: 'Hang this whip up at your doorway, in a spot where people pass by. Look for a high branch by the door; take care the wind does no harm to it. After that, watch who comes along the road, and keep your eye on this whip.' The master of the house hurried off and hung the king's whip from the tree. He kept watch over it for a while, and a countless army appeared on the road. Everyone who saw that whip called out blessings on King Bahram. All of them dismounted before the long whip and, one by one, made their bows. Husband and wife said: 'This can only be the king; such honor belongs only to the throne.' Full of shame, they both set off, running on foot until they reached the king, saying: 'O great and generous, wise king, ruler of the world, chief of all the sages, in this house your hosts were poor: a destitute woman, her husband a gardener.' They apologized for that humble service, and asked our king for his understanding, that one like you had come as a guest to this place, to such a poor house and home. Bahram said to him: 'O fortunate man, I give you this land and this fine village. From now on do nothing but host others; stay with this, and give up the gardener's toil.' He said this and left that house smiling, then mounted his swift-footed steed. The king rode away from that poor village and came to his jewel-adorned palace.