Section 2

The priest told this tale: one day Tus, right at the hour when the rooster crowed, he and Giv, son of Gudarz, along with a few riders, set out happily from the king's court. They went hunting wild asses on the plain of Daghavi, with hawks and cheetahs trained for the chase. They caught and brought down plenty, enough to feed them for forty days. That place lay near the land of the Turks; its ground was dark with their scattered tents. In the distance a thicket came into view, close to the borderland of Tur's horsemen. Giv rode on ahead beside Tus, and behind them followed a few brave attendants. The two riders went into that thicket and circled around the meadow. In the thicket they found a lovely face, lips full of laughter; both hurried toward her. There was no one like her in all the world; nothing could be said against her beauty. Giv said to her: alluring moon, how did you find your way to this thicket? She answered: my father struck me last night, so I abandoned my home and land. He came home drunk in the dark night from the feasting plain, and when he saw me from afar, seething, he drew out a glinting dagger and meant to cut my head from my body. The warrior asked her about her lineage, and she recounted her family line one by one. She said: I am a kinswoman of Garsivaz; my roots go back to King Fereydun. He asked her: how did you come here on foot, with no horse and no guide? She answered: my horse gave out; from weakness it set me down on the ground. I had gold and jewels beyond counting, and a golden crown upon my head. On that hillside they took it all from me and struck me with the flat of a blade. When my father sobers up, no doubt he will send a rider galloping after me. My mother too will come racing along, unwilling to let me pass beyond this land. The warriors' hearts softened toward her, and the mind of Tus, son of Nozar, lost all restraint. Tus of Nozar's line said: I found her; that is why I hurried here so fast. Giv said to him: commander of the king's army, were you not riding level with me, without troops? And you, Tus of Nozar, held on to this claim: that she reached the front of my horse here. Giv said to him: do not say this yourself, that 'I galloped ahead in the hunt.' No noble man turns quarrelsome over a sweet-talking servant girl. Their words grew so heated that they decided this moon should lose her head. When their dispute dragged on and on, a proud man rose up as mediator between them. He said: take her to the king of Iran; whatever he decides, let you both obey. Neither of them defied his words; they turned their faces toward the king of Iran. When Kavus saw the girl's face, he smiled and bit his lip in wonder. The king said to the two commanders: your hard road has been cut short. Let us spend the day on this matter, while the champions fly their hunting hawks at the sun. Is she a deer, or a heart-stealing gazelle? Such a prize belongs to the greatest of lords. The king said to her: what is your lineage, that your face is like the face of a fairy? She said: on my mother's side I come from a noble lady, and on my father's side from Fereydun. My grandfather is the commander Garsivaz; his encampment stands on that borderland. He said to her: this face, this hair, this lineage, all three you were about to throw to the wind. I will place you fittingly in the golden harem; I will make you queen over the moon-faced women. She answered: I saw you, and out of all the proud lords I chose you. The king sent the idol-fair beauty to the harem and ordered that she be seated on a throne. They adorned her in yellow brocade, with ruby, turquoise, and lapis lazuli. And every other precious thing needed was there; she was like a flawless, untouched red ruby.