English
The Words of Daqiqi
One day the king sat down at ease and drank his pleasant wine in comfort.
There was a proud, defiant man named Garzam, a fame seeking warrior tested in battle.
In his heart he carried a grudge against Esfandiar; I do not know what caused it from the start.
Wherever his name was mentioned, Garzam spoke ill of him and mocked him.
He sat before the blessed king, his face pale with resentment, his heart ruined by spite.
Talk of the prince came up; see now what a vicious slander he laid at the root.
Meaningfully he clapped one hand on the other and said: a wicked son is like an enemy.
He should not be raised too high; so the honest priest once said.
For when a son grows fearsome and great, the days grow worse for his own father.
A servant who lifts his head above his master should have that head cut down to size.
When I first heard this from the keeper of secrets, this suspicion did not seem right to me.
The world seeking king said: what talk is this again? Who holds this secret, and what secret is it?
The royal king said: you who speak the truth, this is no place now to tell such a secret.
So the chief of kings cleared the space around him and told the deceiver: come close to me.
Tell me all of it, from start to finish; what is hidden from me, follower of my faith?
The malicious Garzam said: by wisdom, one should say nothing but what is fitting.
The king has freed me from needing the world; it is fitting that I keep nothing bad from the king.
I will not withhold counsel from my king, even if it does not please him.
For if I tell him the secret and he ignores it, that is better than keeping it hidden from him.
Know this, great king: Esfandiar is preparing openly for war.
Many troops have gathered around him; a whole world has turned its face toward him.
His plan now is to seize you in chains and take the kingship for himself.
If he captures you and binds you, he will make the whole world his subject.
You know that Esfandiar is the one who has no equal in battle.
When he coils his lasso for the throw, even the sun dares not come to meet him.
Now I have told you truly what I heard; the judgment and the command are yours.
When Garzam had said this to the king of Iran, the famous king was left dumbfounded.
He said: who has ever seen such a strange thing? He grew grim and took a grudge against his son.
He drank no more wine and made no cheer; instead of feasting he sat in cold dismay.
From worry no sleep came to him that night, seized as he was by dread of Esfandiar.
When dawn broke over the mountains and the light of the stars faded away,
the world experienced king summoned Jamasp, the one who had seen most of Lohrasp's counsel.
He told him: go to Esfandiar, summon him, and be his companion on the road.
Tell him: rise and come to me; when you read the letter, do not delay on the way.
For a great matter lies ahead; you are the one who holds all these lands together.
There is a task now that must be done, a task that cannot be accomplished without you.
He wrote him a firm letter that said: O renowned and fortunate Esfandiar,
I have sent this elder Jamasp, who was chief minister to King Lohrasp.
When you see him, gird your waist and come with him on a swift steed.
If you are asleep, leap to your feet at once; and if you are standing, do not delay a moment.
The wise man took the king's letter and rode across mountain and desert at a gallop.