English
The Fate of Esfandiar
I heard a story from a nightingale, one it recited from the words of the ancients,
that when Esfandiar came back drunk, gloomy and troubled, from the king's court.
Katayun, daughter of Caesar, was his mother, who kept him close by her, night and day.
When he woke in the dark of night, he called for a cup of wine and began to speak.
Esfandiar said to his mother: The king keeps doing me wrong.
He told me: When you avenge King Lohrasp's blood by defeating King Arjasp in battle,
and free your sisters from captivity, you will lift our name high across the world.
You will cleanse the world of the wicked and their ways, you will strive and give it a new order.
Then all the kingdom and the army will be yours, and so will the treasury, the throne, and the crown.
Now, when the sky lifts up the sun and the watchful king rises from sleep,
I will remind my father of the words he spoke; he keeps no honest promise from me hidden.
And if he shows the least reluctance on his face, then by God who holds up the heavens,
I will set the crown on my head against his will, and give the whole realm to the Iranians.
I will make you lady of the land of Iran; with strength and courage I will fight like lions.
His mother grew sick at heart from his words; the fine silk on her body turned to thorns.
She knew the famous king would never hand him the crown, the throne, and the diadem.
She said to him: My son, who has known so much suffering, what more can a crowned heart want from the world?
You have treasure, command, counsel, and an army; do not reach for more than this.
A father holds one crown to pass to his son; you already have the army, the land, and the domain.
When he passes, the crown and throne are yours, the greatness, the kingship, and his good fortune are yours.
What is finer than a fierce, roaring lion standing girded, ready before his father?
Esfandiar said to his mother: A wise man put this saying well,
that you should never tell a secret to a woman, for once you speak it you will find it out in the streets.
Never do a single thing at a woman's bidding, for you will never see a woman give sound counsel.
His mother was filled with shame and embarrassment; she came to regret what she had said.
Esfandiar went off to Goshtasp, and passed his time with music and wine.
For two days and two nights he drank raw wine, and set his heart at ease with a moon faced beauty.
On the third day Goshtasp learned that his son was after the throne.
The thought grew heavy in his heart, and the longing for crown and throne came over the son.
Then the king summoned Jamasp, the same seer who had served Lohrasp.
They came in with their astronomical tables spread out, and the king asked about the hero Esfandiar:
Will he have a long life? Will he live in joy, peace, and ease?
Will he set the crown of kingship on his head? Will fortune and greatness stand by him?
When the sage of Iran heard the question, he studied those ancient tables.
His knowledge drew his brows into a knot, and grief filled his lashes with tears.
He said: Cursed be my day and my ill star; it is as if fire has rained down on my head.
If only fate had thrown me into the lion's claws before the blessed Zarir,
or if his father had simply killed me, then Jamasp would not have become the bearer of bad news,
nor would he have seen him cast down in the dust like that, thrown before him drenched in blood,
an Esfandiar whose grip would tear a lion's heart with fright at his onset,
who swept the whole world clean of enemies, who has no rival in battle,
who freed the world of the fear of evildoers, who cut the very body of a dragon in two.
After this, one must bear grief for him, and taste much turmoil and bitterness.
The king said: My worthy man, speak, and do not turn from the path of knowledge.
Come now, hurry and tell me plainly, for this question has left a bitter taste in my mouth.
If he is to die like the commander Zarir, then living beyond this would be misery for me.
At whose hand will he lose his life in this world, that we must weep with such sorrow?
Jamasp said to him: O king, do not treat this day so lightly.
His death will come in Zabolestan, at the hand of the mighty son of Dastan.
Then the king said to Jamasp: Can ill fate be turned aside from me,
so that if I hand him the crown of kingship, the crown and the great throne,
he will never see the land of Zabolestan, and no one in Kabolestan will know him?
Will he then be safe from the turning of fate? Will his good star be his guide?
The astrologer answered thus: No one can escape the turning wheel of the sky.
From this sharp clawed dragon that has risen, who has ever been set free by courage or by wisdom?
Whatever is destined will surely come to pass; no wise man has ever outrun his fated hour.
At this the king's heart filled with worry, and grief and pain became his constant companions.
Dark thoughts and the turning of fate kept teaching him only toward ruin.