English
Kavus and the Flight to the Sky
It happened that one early morning, Iblis held a secret gathering, hidden from the king.
He told the demons: Today our work with the king goes hard, full of trouble and pain.
We need now a clever demon, one who knows every kind of scheme and manner.
One who can lead Kavus astray and cut short this labor for us demons.
One who turns his heart from the pure God, and throws dust on that beautiful glory of his.
They listened and kept it in mind, but out of fear of Kavus, none replied.
A savage demon rose to his feet and said: This cunning belongs to me.
He disguised himself as a young servant, eloquent and fit for any gathering.
He waited until one day the king rode out from the palace to go hunting.
He came, bowed his face to the ground, and handed Kavus a bunch of flowers.
He said: This beautiful glory of yours, only the turning sky is worthy to be your seat.
The whole face of the world bends to your will; you are the shepherd, and the proud are like your flock.
One task remains, so that your name in the world may never be hidden.
What secret does the sun keep from you, that it rises and falls the way it does?
What is the moon, what are night and day, and who commands this turning wheel of heaven?
That demon led the king's heart astray; his mind grew short of clear thought.
He came to believe that the turning sky showed its face to no one in the world but him.
He did not know the sky itself is nothing at its core; the stars are many, but God is One.
All the stars are helpless under His command, though they burn and clash and threaten.
The Creator of the world has no need of them; the sky and the earth exist for your sake.
That king's mind grew full of the thought: how could he rise into the air without wings?
He asked many wise men: how far is it from this earth up to the sphere of the moon?
The astronomer answered, and the king listened; then he chose a crooked and ugly plan.
He gave orders that at nightfall men should go to the nesting places of eagles.
They took many young birds from the nests, leaving only two in each.
For months and years they raised them well, feeding them on fowl and lamb's meat.
When each grew strong as a lion, strong enough to bring a wild sheep to the ground,
He made a throne of aloewood, fastening its joints firmly with gold.
To its sides he tied long spears and rigged it in that fashion.
From each spear he hung a leg of lamb, his heart wholly caught in this scheme.
Then he brought four bold eagles and bound them firmly to the throne.
King Kavus sat upon the throne, his heart already led astray by the demon.
When the swift-flying eagles grew hungry, each one lunged toward the meat.
They lifted the throne from the ground, raising it from the plain up into the clouds.
As long as their strength held out, they strove and pushed on toward the meat.
I have heard that Kavus rose to the heavens, going up to reach the angels.
Another version says he went to the sky to wage war there with arrow and bow.
There are all kinds of stories of this; only wisdom's wing can know its secret.
They flew a long way, then fell back exhausted; such is the fate of anyone seized by greed.
When no strength was left in the flying birds, sorrow overcame them and their fury died down.
They plunged headlong down from the black clouds, dragging the king's throne from the air to the ground.
They came down toward the lion-filled forest, landing on the earth near Amol.
The wondrous world did not destroy him; fate kept hidden what was still to be.
Siyavush was yet to come from him; some things still had to graze and take their course.
Instead of greatness and a royal throne, he was left holding only regret and pain.
Stranded in the forest, wretched and abased, he raised his prayers to the Creator.