English
Part 3
Grief weighed on the heart of the king of Hamavaran, and he searched every path for a way out.
When a week had passed, on the eighth morning a messenger came to the king.
He said: if the king would consent to be his guest and come with all his grace into his hall,
the city of Hamavaran would gain honor when they beheld a radiant, exalted throne there.
This was how he plotted with him, hiding a trap, though his scheme seemed sound.
His hope was that both city and daughter would stay his, and no one would come demanding tribute over him.
But Sudabeh understood her father's intent, that behind the feast he carried thoughts of war.
She said to King Kavus: this is not wise; there is no safe place for you in Hamavaran.
They will seize you without a pretext; do not walk into a feast that becomes a fight.
All this talk is only for my sake; from this journey sorrow will come upon you.
But he would not believe Sudabeh's words, for none of their people had ever wronged him.
So he went with his brave men and warriors to the feast of the king of Hamavaran.
The king had a city named Shaheh, wholly given over to celebration, feasting, and delight.
In that city he had his palace and his seat; the whole city, end to end, was decked with ornaments.
When the proud king entered Shaheh, the whole city bowed before him in homage.
They scattered jewels and saffron, mixing them with gold coins and amber.
Through the city the sound of lute and song wove together like warp and weft.
When the commander of Hamavaran saw him, he dismounted with his nobles before him.
From the palace of the lord to the very gate, pearls, rubies, and gold rained down.
They poured them from golden trays, and sifted musk and amber over his head.
In the hall he set a golden throne, and Kavus sat upon it, glad.
For a whole week he stayed there, wine in hand; the place felt pleasant and joyful to him.
Night and day, like a lesser servant, the king of Hamavaran stood before him, girded to serve.
All his army too stood girded, attending upon the Persians.
In this way, at last they all grew easy, free of doubt, threat, and fear of harm.
Everything had been said and prepared; the plot was hatched and set in motion.
The men of Berber learned of it this way, and this was the plan by which they joined in.
One night the blast of trumpets and a sudden onslaught came, when no one was ready to defend.
When the army arrived from Berber, the king of Hamavaran was glad at heart.
Suddenly they seized Kavus, and Gudarz, and Giv, and Tus.
As a wise man might ask: what do you make of this, you who are skilled?
When someone is not bound to you by blood, you should never feel too safe with him.
And even one bound by blood may lose his love for you, until his face turns cold.
When you wish to praise another's love, you must test it in gain and in loss.
If your own son rises above you in rank, envy will thin even his love for you.
Such is this world of unclean designs, stirring foolishly from its place at every wind.
When Kavus was bound by his own carelessness, the whole plan of Hamavaran fell into place.
There was a mountain, its peak lost in the clouds, raised up by God from the depths of the water.
A fortress had been built upon that mountain, so high you would think the sky lay at its side.
To that fortress he sent Kavus, along with Giv, Gudarz, and Tus.
And the other nobles too he threw in chains into the fortress with King Kavus.
A thousand warriors were set to guard the fortress, all famed men who wielded the dagger.
He gave the king's royal pavilion to plunder, and handed out purses and crowns to his favorites.
Two troops of veiled women set out, with one grand litter borne among them,
to bring Sudabeh back and to trample down her pavilion.
When Sudabeh saw the veiled women, she tore the royal robe from her body.
She clawed at her dark, musky hair, and with her fingers reddened her rose cheeks with blood.
She said to them: true men do not count such deeds as praiseworthy.
Why did they not chain him on the day of battle, when his garment was armor and his throne a warhorse?
A commander like Giv, Gudarz, or Tus: your hearts split at the mere sound of his war drum.
You make an ambush of a golden throne; keep your hands off from any such bond of kinship.
She named the envoys dogs, and kept pouring her bloody tears upon the ground.
I will not part from Kavus, she said, even if his hiding place is the grave itself.
If Kavus must be dragged into chains, then let my innocent head be cut off too.
They reported her words to her father; his mind filled with rage and his heart with blood.
He sent her to the fortress, to her husband's side, her heart wounded with grief, her face washed in blood.
She lived in one room with the king, serving him and easing his sorrow.
When that crown seeking king was thus imprisoned, his army turned back toward Iran.
Word spread through the world that the tall cypress had vanished from the garden.
When they no longer saw the king on his golden throne, everyone began to grasp at a crown of his own.
From the Turks and from the plain of the lancers, heavy armies poured in from every side.
Afrasiab raised a mighty host, giving up food, rest, and sleep.
From every corner of Iran rose an outcry; the peace of the world turned to war and turmoil.
Then Afrasiab flew into fury and clashed with the army of the Arabs.
For three months the armies were locked in war, giving up their heads for the sake of the crown.
Such is the way of this fleeting world: now ease and delight, now pain and sorrow.
In the end its good and its bad both pass; death is a hunter, and it hunts us down.
Defeat came upon the Arabs from the Turks; their greater numbers only brought greater loss.
The army was scattered across Iran; woman, man, and child, all were made captives.
All fled Iran seeking refuge; for the Persians the world turned black.
Two thirds of them went toward Zabolestan, coming to plead with the son of Dastan.
They said: be our shelter from these evils, now that the crown of King Kavus is lost.
It is a grief that Iran should fall to ruin and become a lair for leopards and lions.
It was once a place of warrior horsemen, a seat for kings.
Now it is a place of hardship, toil, and disaster, the den of the sharp clawed dragon.
One who has sucked milk from leopards, be our helping hand in this suffering.
Now a remedy must be devised, to free our hearts from this pain.
Rustam wept pale tears from his eyes; his heart filled with blood, his soul with pain.
He answered: I have girded myself with my army, ready for war and hungry for revenge.
When I get word of King Kavus, I will empty the land of Iran of the Turks.
Then news came of King Kavus, of his imprisonment in the ambush and the state of his army.
One by one he summoned his troops from Kabul, and, girded for war, marched his army out.