English
Zal Returns to His Father Sam
Word reached Mehrab and Dastan that the king and the general had gone to war.
Zal set out from Kabul, roaring, his lip drooping and his neck stretched high in fury.
He said: even if a savage dragon should come to burn the whole world with its breath,
and reach out to lay waste to Kabulistan, my own head must be the first to fall.
He came before his father, his heart full of blood, his mind heavy with thought, his head full of words to say.
When the brave Sam was told that the son, a young fierce lion, was on his way,
the whole army rose to its feet and raised the banner of Fereydun.
They beat the drums to go and welcome him, and the troops and their commander went out to meet him.
The backs of the elephants were draped in colorful banners, adorned in red, yellow, and violet.
When Zal, son of Sam, saw his father's face, he got down from his horse and walked forward on foot.
The nobles dismounted on both sides, both those who serve a leader and those who seek one.
Brave Zal kissed the ground, but his father was slow to speak with him.
He mounted his tawny Arab horse, like a golden, gleaming, towering mountain.
All the nobles came up to him, full of concern and eager to talk.
They said: your father is hurt by you; offer an apology, do not hold your head high.
He answered: there is no fear in this; in the end nothing remains but dust.
If my father brings wisdom into his mind, then no harsh word will follow another.
But if he opens his tongue in anger, then out of shame I will bring tears to my eyes.
So they came to Sam's court, their hearts open and their spirits glad.
Sam the horseman got down from his mount and at once granted Zal an audience.
When Zal came before his father, he kissed the ground and spread himself low before him.
He offered praise to Sam the hero, wiping the roses of his cheeks with the water of his two narcissus eyes.
He said: may the wakeful-hearted champion be joyful, may his soul always incline toward justice.
Diamonds melt before your blade; the earth weeps beneath you on the day of battle.
Wherever your dark horse strides on the day of war, hesitation seizes the enemy's army.
Whatever sky has seen the wind of your mace could no longer hold up a single star.
No lion treads the earth against your justice; your foundation is built on soul and wisdom.
All people rejoice in your fair rule; from you the earth and the age receive justice.
Except for me, who have no share in that justice, even though I am known as your own blood.
I was raised by a bird and fed on dust; in this world I have no quarrel with anyone.
I know of no fault in myself that would give anyone the right to blame me,
except that Sam the hero is my father, and that I carry his talent along with his bloodline.
When my mother gave me birth, you cast me out and made the mountain my dwelling place.
You left the one who bore me to grief, and handed the one who raised you over to fire.
You have no quarrel with the Creator of the world over why one color is black and another white.
Now that the Creator of the world has raised me, look upon me with a godly, merciful eye.
With treasure and throne and heavy mace, with counsel and crown and throne and chieftains,
I settled in Kabul by your command, and kept faith with your wishes and your word,
so that, if you sought vengeance, I would not grieve you: the tree you planted, I would bring to fruit for you.
Is this the gift you send from Mazandaran, is this how you ride here from the land of the Gorgsaran,
to lay my flourishing house in ruin? Is this the justice you would deal me?
Here I stand before you; I have handed my body over to your anger.
Cut me in two down the middle with a saw, but do not exchange one word with me about Kabul.
When the commander heard Zal's words, he pricked up his ears and bowed his neck low.
He told him: yes, this is the truth; your tongue bears witness to what is right.
All my dealings with you were unjust; my enemies' hearts rejoiced at your expense.
This is the very thing you wished from me; you rose up, your heart heavy with grief.
Do not burn with anger; let me now arrange a remedy for you and set your affairs in order.
I will have a letter written now to the king and send it in your hand, my well-wisher.
I will call to mind whatever words are needed, and turn his heart and soul toward justice.
If the ruler of the world is our ally, all our affairs will turn out as you desire.
They seated the scribe before them, and spoke words on every matter.
He began the letter with praise of God, who is and will forever remain.
From Him come good and bad, being and nothingness; we are all servants, and God is one.
Whatever He set in motion in creation, that is the course by which the turning wheel runs.
The Lord of Saturn, the sun, and the moon; from Him, praise upon King Manuchehr,
who in battle burns poison and antidote alike, and at the feast is a moon lighting the world.
Wielder of the mace and conqueror of cities, giving everyone a share of joy;
bearer of Fereydoun's banner into war, the proud slayer of the fighting leopard.
From the wind of your mace the high mountain becomes dust scattered by your steed's horseshoes.
A man of a pure heart and clean faith brings even the wolf and the sheep to drink together in peace.
I am a servant who rose to high standing, who at sixty still stands firm in his manhood.
Now my head is turning white as camphor; the sun and moon have made this my crown.
Like a servant I tied my belt to duty and fought against demons that lived forever.
A rider who reins hard, unhorses foes, and wields the mace, the world never saw a horseman like me.
The champions of Mazandaran lost their nerve when I took up the heavy mace.
If not for me, no mark of glory would stand in this world above the arrogant.
That dragon that crawled out of the Kashaf river and turned the world to froth and ruin,
its width stretched from one city to the next, its height rose from mountain to mountain.
The whole world's heart was full of dread of it; day and night people kept watch.
I saw the sky emptied of birds and the face of the earth emptied of beasts.
Its heat scorched the vulture's feathers; the ground blazed beneath its venom.
It would drag the fierce crocodile up from the water and pull the eagle down from the sky with its breath.
The land was left without people or livestock; all of it surrendered its place to the dragon.
When I saw there was no one in the world who dared lay a hand on it,
by the strength of God, the pure ruler of the world, I cast every fear and dread from my heart.
In the name of high honor I tied my belt and mounted that elephant-bodied steed.
In my saddle a bull-headed mace, a bow on my arm, a shield at my neck.
I set out like a fierce crocodile: mine were sharp claws, its was scorching breath.
Everyone who heard I would raise my mace against the dragon bade me farewell.
From head to tail it was tall as a mountain, dragging the hair of its head along the ground like a lasso.
Its tongue was like a black tree, thrown open and flung across the road.
Its two eyes like two pools brimming with blood; it saw me, roared, and rushed at me in fury.
I thought, my king, that I was surely holding fire against my side.
The world looked to my eyes like a sea, its dark smoke rising into black clouds.
The face of the earth shook at its roar; the ground turned dark with venom like the China Sea.
I raised a battle cry against it like a lion, as a brave man does his work.
Without delay I loosed a diamond-tipped arrow of white poplar wood from the bow.
When one side of its mouth was pinned shut, its tongue hung out in astonishment.
At once I struck another arrow into its mouth the same way, and it writhed in pain.
A third blow I struck at the middle of its jaws, and a river of blood welled up from its liver.
When it drew the earth tight against me, I raised high this bull headed mace of vengeance.
By the power of God, the lord of the world, I lifted that elephant bodied weapon from its place.
I brought the ox faced mace down on its head, and it was as if the sky rained down a mountain upon it.
I smashed its head like the body of a great elephant, and its venom poured out like the river Nile.
It fell from that blow and never rose again; from its spilled brains the ground stood level with the hills.
The Kashaf River ran full of blood and yellow bile, and the land became a place of peace and rest.
All the mountain slopes filled with men and women, and they showered praise on me.
A whole world watched that battle, for that dragon was a foul and monstrous thing.
They named me 'Sam of the Single Blow,' and the world poured out gold and jewels before me.
When I turned back from it, my bright body stood stripped bare of its famous armor.
The horse's iron barding had crumbled away, and this remains true no matter how I insist otherwise.
On that land, for years afterward, nothing grew but scorched eastern thorns.
In this way and others, whatever I set my mind to, I brought the heads of chieftains down beneath my feet.
Wherever I galloped my swift footed steed, the raging lion abandoned its lair.
Now for how many years has the saddle been my throne, and the horse my ground?
All the lands of the wolf headed and of Mazandaran I set right for you with my heavy mace.
Not for a moment did I think of home; I wanted you noble, victorious, and glad.
Now this neck of mine, once held so high, and this crushing blow of my war club,
Are no longer what they were; my chest and waist have bent low.
Time threw a lasso with its own hand and bound me upside down.
Now we have handed the turn to Zal, who is fit for the warrior's belt and mace.
He holds one wish hidden in his heart, and he will come to ask it of the king of the world.
A wish that is good in the eyes of God, for all goodness lies under His command.
We did nothing without the great king's counsel, for a servant should never grow arrogant.
Surely the king, the guardian of my world, has heard of the promise between me and Zal,
That I will never turn my head from his will in the slightest. In these days Zal made ready to come to me.
He came before me with his cheeks smeared in blood, his very bones seeming to crack apart with grief.
He said to me: you are heading for Amol, but it would suit you better to set out for Kabul.
Since he was raised by the Simorgh bird in the mountains, he has become a mark of wonder among the people.
In Kabul he sees a face like the moon, a slender cypress crowned with a rose garden.
If he loses his mind, it is no wonder; the king should not hold a grudge against him for it.
His pain of love has reached such a point that anyone who sees him is moved to pity.
From all the suffering he saw fall on the innocent, things went just as the king had heard.
I sent him off with a grieving heart; when he comes before your lofty throne,
do what befits your greatness; wisdom is something no one needs to teach you.
When the letter was written and the plan settled, Zal took it at once and rose to his feet.
As the sun set its face toward the west, he neither slept nor rested until dawn.
When night cast off its worn garments, the dawn smiled and opened its lips.
He came and set his foot in the stirrup; the blare of the war trumpet rose up.
He turned his face toward the king of kings, carrying the letter of noble-natured Sam.