English
The Letter to the King of Mazandaran
A letter written on white silk,
full of many fears and hopes inside.
A wise scribe wrote it beautifully,
setting down within it both the ugly and the good.
First he offered praise to the Just One,
through whom all skill in the world became visible.
He gave us reason and made the turning sky;
He made harshness and fury, and He made love.
He gave us the power for both good and evil,
the Lord of the wheeling sun and moon.
If you are just and pure in faith,
you will receive nothing but praise from everyone.
But if your mark is evil and your deeds are wicked,
reproach will reach you from the high heavens.
If a world-ruler is truly just,
who could ever escape his command?
You saw what God did as your due:
He scattered the demons and sorcerers like dust.
Now, if you become aware of the times,
let your soul and reason be your teacher.
Leave the crown of Mazandaran where it is
and come to this court like a lesser man.
For you cannot stand against Rostam's grip;
quickly pay us the tribute and tax as we wish.
And if you still want the throne of Mazandaran,
perhaps this course will open a road for you.
Otherwise, like Arzhang and the White Demon,
you will have to give up all hope of your life.
Then the king summoned Farhad,
the wielder of the steel sword.
He was a chosen noble of that city,
yet he had gone idle and joyless from hardship.
He told him: carry this letter of counsel
to that demon who has broken free of his bonds.
When brave Farhad heard the king's command,
he kissed the ground and took the letter away.
He came to a city where the people were feeble,
yet its riders could chew through iron.
Those whose legs were bound in leather straps,
such had been their name for many years.
In that city was the king of Mazandaran,
and there too were his heroes and champions.
When he heard that from King Kavus
an envoy had come cleverly along the road,
a heavy force went out to meet him,
the warriors and lions of Mazandaran.
He picked them out one by one from the army,
wanting each to show what skill he had.
He said: today wisdom
cannot be told apart from madness.
Adopt the ways and manner of a leopard;
seize the heads of the clever ones in your claws.
They came to meet him with frowning faces,
and their words carried nothing he would wish to hear.
One took his hand and crushed it,
trying to wound the sinews and the bones.
But Farhad's face did not turn pale at all;
little pain or suffering showed on him.
They brought Farhad before the king,
who asked about Kavus and the hardships of the road.
Then he set the letter before the scribe,
the silk sprinkled with wine and musk.
When he learned of Rostam and the demons' fate,
his eyes filled with blood, his heart with grief.
He said within himself: the sun may hide,
night may come as the time for rest and sleep,
but the world will never find peace from Rostam,
and his name will never fade away.
He grew sick at heart over Arzhang and the White Demon,
and that Pulad, Ghandi, and Bid had all been killed.
When he had read the king's letter through,
he set both his eyes weeping in the blood of his heart.