English
The Murder of Siyavash
When the sun slipped away behind the cypress line, the king's head sank into sleep.
What a sleep it was: so much time passed, yet he never stirred, never woke again.
When the throne and the field were emptied of the king, no sun was left with him, no tall cypress.
I turn my gaze left and right, everywhere, but I find no beginning and no end to this world.
One man does evil, yet good comes his way; the world serves him, and fortune bows to him.
Another walks the world only in goodness, yet withers away, worn down by sorrow.
Do not keep grief as your companion; do not darken your soul and heart in this world.
A cry rose up from the house of Siyavash; a whole world seethed in fury at Garsivaz.
The moon-faced women tore the ties from their hair, clawed their cheeks, and stood there broken.
All the servant women cut their hair short; Farangis loosed her long, dark, musky locks.
She cut them and bound her waist with her tresses, and with her fingertips she bruised her rose-red cheeks.
Aloud she cursed the life of Afrasiab and poured out her tears in grief.
Her cry reached the ears of the commander when he heard that wailing and bitter curse.
The king said to the wicked Garsivaz: drag her out of her hiding place into the street.
Haul her from her chamber to the court, and hand her over to the killers among the guards,
so they may seize her by the hair and rip the veil from her body,
and beat her with rods until the seed of vengeance is spilled from this soil of Turan.
I want nothing left of the tree that grew from Siyavash: not root, not branch, not leaf, not crown, not throne.
Every noble in that gathering, one by one, began to curse him.
Never had anyone seen a king, a counselor, and an army pass such a judgment as this.
Pilsam came, both cheeks streaming with blood, his soul scarred, his face wet with tears.
To Lahhak and Farshidvard he told every word of it, from start to finish.
He said: hell is better than the land of Afrasiab; there must be no rest or sleep in this country.
Let us ride and go to Piran, and share in the grief and pain of the captives.
They saddled three precious horses and seemed to fold the earth beneath them as they rode.
All three riders reached Piran, their cheeks streaming with blood like a spring cloud.
They laid out for him the whole story: what foundation fate had laid for such evils.
Such a lamentation rose that no one in the world, high or low, had ever seen its like.
They bound the hands of Siyavash as if he were a stone and threw a halter around his neck.
They dragged him to the plain, his face wet with tears, driving him on foot before Goruy.
They threw his elephant-strong body onto the burning dust and feared no one for it.
Goruy set a basin before him and turned his head aside as one turns a sheep for slaughter.
He cut that royal head from the body and cast him down like a tall cypress felled on the grass.
The whole city filled with wailing and lament; tears fell from every eye like hail.
When Piran listened to their words, he fell from his throne and lost his senses.
He tore the clothes upon his chest, pulled out his hair, and poured dust on his head.
He said to Pilsam: hurry, go at once, for a new grief has been added to this pain and hardship.
They mean to kill Farangis too; do not turn your back on this errand at all.
They dragged her by the hair to the court, into the hands of the murderous guards.
A whole world had turned its eyes to tears at the deeds of vile-natured Afrasiab.
For this is a terrible thing, full of pain and dread: that now they will cut Farangis in two,
and the kingdom will fall to ruin, and no one will ever call this man king again.
Then the champion brought from the stable ten horses with young, seasoned riders.
He, with brave Ruyin and Farshidvard, raised sudden dust upon that road.
In two days and two nights he reached the court and found that man of high name given over to cruelty.
He saw Farangis half senseless, the guards dragging her along.
A sharp sword gripped in each of their hands, an uproar rising from the court.
At that very moment Piran arrived like the wind, and all who had any sense rejoiced.
When dear Farangis caught sight of Piran, her face vanished behind a veil of bloody tears.
She said to him: what evil have you plotted against me? Why have you left me to burn in this fire?
Piran flung himself from his horse to the ground, his Pahlavi garments torn all to pieces.
He ordered the court guards to hold off from the command for a while.
He came in haste before Afrasiab, his heart wounded with grief, both eyes brimming with tears.
He said: my king, may you live forever; may my soul find its nourishment in seeing you.
What evil has come upon you, good-hearted one, that made you long for such an evil day?
Why has the demon's counsel taken hold of your heart? The Lord of the world has stripped shame from your face.
You killed Siyavash, an innocent man, and cast his name and honor into the dust.
News of this evil will reach Iran: that the tall cypress in the garden has dried up.
Many crowned kings of the land of Iran will come with armies full of grief and vengeance.
The world had rested from the hand of evil, and the path of God had become clear.
A deceiving demon leaped out of hell and came and wounded the heart of the Turkish king.
That devil too deserves cursing, for it twisted your soul toward the evil path.
For long days to come you will regret this; you will writhe a while in burning and anguish.
I do not know whose evil counsel this was, nor what the Creator's design is in it.
You rose from your place like a madman and adorned yourself with this senseless evil.
Now you have gone past him and reached your own child, coming to harm your own blood in your helplessness.
Surely Farangis does not seek fortune, nor the seat of kingship, nor crown, nor throne.
Do not make yourself a byword in the world over a child, over a hidden infant.
As long as you live, curses will be upon you, and after life, hell will be your custom.
If the king would brighten my soul, let him send her to my palace.
If the worry is over this child, then truly this pain and trouble is a small thing.
Wait until it is parted from her womb; I will bring it before you to be dealt with as evil demands.
He said to him: arrange it just as you have proposed; you have freed me from the need to spill her blood.
The commander Piran was glad at that, freed from his worry and his pain.
He came to the court and took her away, and settled much with the guards for her sake.
Unharmed he brought her toward Khotan, the whole court and gathering still in an uproar.
When he came to his palace, he said to Golshahr: this lovely-faced one must be kept hidden.
Watch over this noble woman under your protection, and care for her like a devoted servant.
Some days passed over this as well, and Farangis, radiant as the world, grew heavy with child.