English
Zal's Answers and the Contest
For a while Zal the golden-haired sank into thought,
then straightened his neck and spread his shoulders wide.
After that he opened his tongue to answer,
recalling every question the priests had asked.
First, about the twelve tall trees,
each one raising thirty branches high:
In one year there are twelve new moons,
like a fresh king who ascends to a fresh throne.
In thirty days the month completes its count;
such is the turning of time.
Now, what you said about the two horses,
blazing like fire itself:
They are the two colors of time, white and black,
both racing swiftly one after the other.
They are night and day, forever passing;
the wheel of the sky counts out our breaths.
Third, what you said about those thirty riders
who passed before the king:
One of those thirty riders vanishes,
yet when you count, they still number thirty.
You spoke of nothing but the waning of the moon,
which now and then falls short by a single night.
Now let me draw this next answer from its sheath:
the two cypress trunks where a bird makes its nest,
From the sign of Aries to Libra the world
keeps darkness hidden within it,
so that as the seasons turn toward autumn
it fills with gloom and blackness.
The two cypresses are the two arms of the high sky:
half of the year is joyful, half is grieving.
Know the flying bird upon them as the sun,
and from it the world holds both its fear and hope.
Next, the city upon the mountaintop
is the abode of rest and the place of lasting peace.
This thornfield is like a passing inn,
from which come both luxury and treasure, and pain and toil.
It counts out your breaths upon you;
it both lifts you up and casts you down.
A wind rises with an earthquake,
and from the world come uproar and shrieking.
All our labor stays behind in the thornfield;
we must cross over toward the city on the mountain.
Someone else reaps the fruit of our toil;
it does not last for him either, it too passes on.
So it has gone from the very beginning;
it stays the same, and the old never turns new.
If our provision is a good name,
our souls will hold that name precious there.
But if we practice greed and writhe with wanting,
it shows only when we lie lifeless.
Even if our palace lifts its head to Saturn,
our share of it is a single burial shroud.
When they cover our face with blood and dust,
every place becomes fear, grief, and dread.
The desert, and that man with the sharp scythe,
before whom both green and withered tremble in their hearts:
He mows down the fresh and the dry alike,
and if you plead, he will not hear your words.
The reaper is time, and we are like the grass;
to him grandson and grandfather are the same.
He does not look one by one at old or young;
whatever prey comes his way, he cuts it down.
This is the order and nature of the world:
no one is born of a mother except for death.
We enter by one door and leave by another;
time counts out our breaths as we pass.
When Zal had made these matters clear,
the king's heart grew glad with him.
The whole assembly bloomed with delight,
and the king of the world cried out in praise.
The king arranged a feast,
as bright as the full moon of the fourteenth night.
They drank wine until the world grew dark,
and the heads of the drinkers reeled with it.
The shout of the tall herald
rose at last from the king's court.
The heroes departed, all glad and merry,
hand clasped in hand.
When the sun's flame flashed from the mountains,
the leaders lifted their heads from sleep.
Zal the brave came with his belt girded,
before the king like a fierce lion,
asking permission to leave the court
and go to his blessed father, the commander.
He said to the king of the world: 'Kind-natured lord,
I long to see the face of Sam.'
'I have kissed the foot of this ivory throne;
my heart has grown bright before this crown and greatness.'
The king said to him: 'Brave young champion,
you must give me one more day.'
'Your longing has risen for Mehrab's daughter;
where is Sam of Zabol in your heart's path?'
He ordered the cymbals and Indian bells
and the trumpets brought out onto the field,
and with spear, mace, arrow, and bow
the heroes all set off in high spirits.
They took up their bows and their poplar arrows
and set up targets as on a day of battle.
Each turned his reins to some weapon:
mace, sword, arrow, and lance.
There was a broad tree on the king's field,
over which many years and months had passed.
Zal, son of Sam, drew back his bow,
spurred his horse and made his name ring out.
He struck the middle of the straight tree,
and that royal arrow passed clean through it.
Even at full gallop he loosed one more shaft
and rode on like a fierce lion.
The javelin men took up their shields
and wheeled about with their heavy darts.
Zal asked a shield from his young Turkish page,
spurred his horse and lifted its mane.
He cast aside the bow and seized the javelin,
and with the javelin began a new kind of sport.
He hurled the dart through three shields like a warrior of Gilan,
split them and flung them lightly to the other side.
The king of the world said to his proud warriors:
'Which of the great men will seek combat with him?'
One took the field against him in battle,
one who could raise dust with arrow and javelin.
All the heroes drew their weapons,
angry at heart but joking on their tongues.
They rode to combat, reins twisting,
with spears and tempered lance-points.
So it went that man came against man;
Zal spurred his horse and the dust rose.
He looked to see which among them was a rider,
rein-wheeling, proud, and renowned.
Out of the dust he came like a crocodile
and caught his rival's belt in his fist.
He lifted him so easily from the saddle
that the king and army were left astonished.
The proud warriors said aloud:
'No one has ever seen a man of his mark.'
'Whoever seeks combat with him,
he dresses in the blue robe of mourning.'
'No lion breeds such a champion;
why count him a hero even among crocodiles?'
'Happy is Sam the hero, that such a keepsake,
so brave a rider, remains for him in the world.'
The great king praised him,
and so did the renowned and mighty chiefs.
The nobles came toward the king's palace,
belts girded and crowns upon their heads.
The king of the world prepared a robe of honor
that left all the great men dazzled,
with a costly crown and a throne of gold,
with bracelets, a collar, and a golden belt,
along with precious garments as well,
servants, horses, and every kind of thing.
At that time he handed them all to Zal the commander,
every gift from one end to the other.