Section 4

This story too passed with the night, and the sky wheeled dark above the mountain. Joyful, Sudabeh took her seat upon the throne, and set a crown of ruby and gold on her head. She called all the young women to her, adorned them, and settled them on a golden throne. The moon-faced woman said to the priest: go from here and tell Siyavash, that he should take the trouble to come and show me his tall, cypress form. The priest went and spoke to Siyavash, drawing the hidden secret out into the open. Siyavash came to her with a graceful step; he saw her seat, her head, and her crown. Before her stood idol-fair maidens; you would have said the palace and halls were paradise itself. She came down from the throne and went to him, her face and hair decked with jewels. Siyavash sat upon the golden throne, while before him Sudabeh stood with folded arms. She showed the prince the elegant beauties, who were like gems never yet touched. She said to him: look upon this throne and court, so many servants in golden crowns. All of them unmarried, lovely idols whom God fashioned out of modesty and grace. Tell me any one of them who pleases you; look well at her face and her stature. Siyavash barely let his eyes drift over them, and not one of them could take her eyes off him. They all said to one another: the moon herself dare not gaze upon this king. Each went off to her own place, murmuring and counting up her own fortune. When they had gone, Sudabeh said: why do you keep so many words hidden away? Won't you tell me what your desire is? There is the glory of a fairy in your face. Anyone who sees you even from afar loses her senses and chooses you. Look with the eye of wisdom among these beauties; see which one is fit for you. Siyavash stood silent and gave no answer; this thought came to his pure heart: that I would weep in my innocent heart before it is better to take a wife from among enemies. I have heard from the famous nobles all the tales of Hamavaran, of what he once did against the king of Iran, how he raised the dust of Iran's heroes. Sudabeh, who is his daughter, is full of treachery; she wishes this dynasty neither flesh nor skin. As Siyavash opened his lips to answer, the fairy-faced woman lifted the fine veil from her cheek. She said to him: if the sun and the new moon are seen together upon a fresh throne, it is no wonder if the moon grows dim, for you yourself hold the sun in your arms. One who has seen someone like me upon an ivory throne, with a crown of ruby and turquoise on her head. No wonder if he ignores the moon; he counts no one anyone's equal in beauty. If you make a pact with me now, don't turn away and set your mind at ease. I'll set a young, unripe girl in my place to serve and wait on you. Swear an oath and seal our bond now; don't twist away in the least from my words. When the king departs this world, you will remain as my keepsake of him. You won't let any harm come to me; you'll hold me as dear as he does. Look, I stand here before you; I have given you my body and my sweet life. Whatever you want from me, I'll fulfill your every desire; I won't slip from your snare. She pressed his head close and tore open a fold of her dress, feeling no shame or fear. Siyavash's cheeks flushed like roses with shame; his lashes grew wet with hot tears of blood. He said within his heart: may the Lord of the world keep me far from the devil's work. I will neither betray my father nor make friends with the demon. Yet if I speak coldly to this brazen woman, her heart will boil and burn with rage. In secret she'll work some spell, and the king of the world will believe her. Better that I speak to her in a gentle voice and keep her sweet and warm. Then Siyavash said to Sudabeh: who in the world could be a match for you? You are like nothing but the full moon; no one on earth is fit for you but the king. Now your daughter is enough for me; no one but her should be mine. Stay with this, and tell the king of Iran; see what answer you get from him. I will ask for her and make a vow; I'll leave my word with you as a pledge, That until she stands beside me as my equal, my thoughts will turn to no one else. And as for your asking about my face: my love has already mingled with your soul. The Creator, out of His own glory, fashioned me thus long ago, O lovely one. Don't reveal this secret; tell no one. For me there is no way but concealment. You are the head of the ladies and the noblest; I think of you as a mother. He said this and went out the door heartsick; her words had left his head reeling. When Kavus the king came to the harem, Sudabeh looked and saw him. She went to the king with glad news, speaking much about Siyavash's visit. She said: he came and looked over the whole hall; I had gathered the dark-eyed beauties in a flock. The hall held so many lovely faces you would say the moon was raining down love. No one but my daughter pleased him; among all the beauties, none was worthy in his eyes. The king grew as joyful at those words as if the moon had come to rest at his side. He opened his treasury: so many jewels, gold-woven silks, and belts of gold, along with bracelets, a crown, and rings, a torque and a throne fit for a champion, a treasure adorned with every kind of thing, a whole world packed full of riches. Sudabeh stared, dumbfounded, and in her scheming muttered many a spell. If he will not bow to my command, she thought, then let my very life be torn from me. Every good and evil, every trick in the world, whether done openly or in secret, I will use if he turns his face from me; I will raise a cry against him before the whole court. She sat upon the throne with earrings gleaming, and placed a jeweled crown upon her head. She called Siyavash close beside her and spoke to him of every sort of thing. She said: the king has laid out a treasure such as no one has ever seen, crown and throne alike. So much of everything, beyond all measure, that to load it you would need two hundred elephants. He means to give you my daughter; look at my face, my head, my crown. What excuse do you have to refuse my love, to turn away from my figure and my face? For since I first saw you, you have stolen me; I am crying out, burning, wounded. From this pain I no longer see the bright day; it seems to me the sun itself has turned dark blue. For seven years now my love for you has made my face weep blood. Bring me joy just once, in secret; have pity on the days of my youth. More than what the king of the world has given you, I will crown you with bracelets, crown, and throne. But if you turn your head from my command, if your heart will not come toward my pledge, I will ruin your kingship; the king's eyes will grow dark against your face. Siyavash said: never let it happen that for the sake of desire I throw my honor to the wind, that I betray my father, that I part myself from manliness and wisdom. You are the king's lady and the sun of his court; it does not befit such a sin to come from you. He rose from the throne in anger, ready to fight, but Sudabeh clutched at him with her claws. She said: I told you the secret of my heart, hidden from those who wish you ill. Do you mean to shame me for nothing, to make me look shameless before the wise? She struck herself, tore her clothes to shreds, and clawed both her cheeks with her nails. A cry rose from her chamber; her wailing carried from the palace out into the street. A great uproar rose from the garden and the hall, as if it were truly the night of resurrection. News reached the king's ears, and he came down from the imperial throne. Full of worry, he left the golden throne and hurried toward the women's quarters. When he arrived, he saw Sudabeh with her face scratched and the palace loud with talk. He questioned everyone and grew sick at heart; he did not know what that hard-hearted woman had done. Sudabeh wailed before him, weeping and tearing out her hair. She said: Siyavash came to the throne, reached out his hands and seized me hard. He said, I want no one but you, of all people; this is the only thing I have to say. My heart and soul are full of love for you; why do you keep away from me, my lovely one? He knocked the crown from my dark-scented head, and tore my clothing like this on my body. The king fell into thought at these words, and sought out every kind of explanation. He said to himself: if she is telling the truth, and is not inventing such a shameful thing, then Siyavash's head must be cut off; this would be the key to locking away the evil. But what would a wise man say now? My sense of shame has turned to blood over this tale. Those who were in the women's quarters, prudent people and loyal to their lord, he dismissed, and remained alone on the throne, then called Siyavash and Sudabeh before him. With wisdom and reason he said to Siyavash: this secret cannot be hidden from me. You did not do this wrong that I have done; I am wounded by these worthless words. Why did I summon you to the women's quarters? Now the sorrow is mine and the plotting is yours to answer for. Now seek the truth and tell me; show me plainly how the matter stands. Siyavash told what had happened, and about the door where Sudabeh had lost her composure. Sudabeh said: this is not true; he wanted nothing of my beauties but my body. I told him everything that the king of the world had given me, both openly and in secret, of children, of the crown, of possessions, of gold and of adorned treasure. I said I would set aside this much for you, and give all these fine things to my daughter. He told me: I have no use for possessions, and no wish to look at your daughter. It is you I must speak of, no one else; without you I have no need of treasure or of anyone. He tried to pull me into his embrace; he clung with both hands, gripping like stone. When I would not obey him, he tore out my hair and my face was scratched. I carry a hidden child, from your own line, O king of the world. The pain was so close to killing me that the whole world seemed narrow and dark before my eyes. The king said to himself that the words of neither of them could be trusted. There is no room for haste in this matter, for a troubled heart lulls reason to sleep. First I must look carefully into this door; the heart will bear true witness once things are set right. Let me see which of these two is guilty, and which one deserves the punishment for the wrong. To investigate, he sought a way, and first he smelled Siyavash's hand. His chest, his arms, his head, his tall body, he smelled every part of him from head to foot. From Sudabeh, Kavus caught the scent of wine and pure musk, and the smell of rose water. On Siyavash he found no such scent; there was no sign that anyone had touched him. He grew grieved, held Sudabeh in contempt, and filled his own heart with pain. In his heart he said: this woman must now be cut to pieces with a sharp sword. Then he considered Hamavaran, that an uproar might rise, full of clamor and grief. And another thing: in the days when he was in bondage, he had no kin or ally beside him. Sudabeh served him day and night, who suffered through that hardship without complaint. A third reason: she held a heart full of love for him, so he had to overlook every wrong of hers. A fourth: she had borne him little children by him, and the grief of small ones is not to be taken lightly. Siyavash was innocent of that vile deed, and the king recognized his wisdom. He said to him: do not trouble yourself over this at all; keep to prudence, sound judgment, and knowledge. Never mention this, and tell no one, so the story does not take on color and rumor. When Sudabeh knew she had fallen from favor, and had grown cold in the king's heart, she sought a scheme in that ugly matter, and out of spite planted a fresh tree of malice. There was a woman entrusted to her service, full of sorcery, tricks, and spells. She was heavy, carrying a child in her womb, enduring her burden with difficulty. Sudabeh opened her secret to her and sought her help: first of all I want your pledge. When she took the pledge she gave her many gifts, saying: never speak a word of this matter. Prepare a drug so that you miscarry this child, be emptied, and never break my secret. Perhaps all this scheming and so many lies will find their proof through these babes of yours. I will tell Kavus these are my own children, slain like this at the hand of the devil. So that this crime may be fastened on Siyavash; now you must find a way for this. If you will not listen, my standing before the king will darken, and I will be cast far from the throne. The woman said to her, 'I am your servant; I bow my head to your command and will.' When the dark night came, the woman drank a drug so that a demon's offspring dropped from her. If a demon's child could look like that, imagine what a child of witch-blood would look like. She hid the woman away and lay down herself, and from the secret chamber her cries rose up. All the attendants who were in the hall hurried at once to Sudabeh's side. She had a golden basin brought before her and told her secret plan to her handmaid. She placed the demon's spawn in the basin, wailed, and threw herself down on the bedding. Two infants lay dead in the basin, and from the hall her lament reached the heavens. When Kavus heard the outcry from the hall, he trembled in his sleep and opened his ears. He asked, and they told the king what had happened to that moon-faced woman. That whole night he found no rest; at dawn he rose and came in grief. He saw Sudabeh lying in such a state, and the whole harem thrown into turmoil. The two infants cast down like that in the golden basin, tossed aside in misery, their hearts wounded. Sudabeh poured tears from her eyes and said to him, 'Look plainly, as clear as the sun.' She kept saying, 'See what evil he has done; you were fooled into trusting his words.' King Kavus's heart filled with suspicion; he left and sank into thought for a while. He kept asking, 'What remedy can I find for this? I cannot take it lightly to my heart.' After that, King Kavus sought out those who could read the stars. He searched for them, summoned them to himself, questioned them, and seated them on a golden throne. He spoke at length with the nobles about Sudabeh and the war of Hamavaran. So that they might become aware of her doings and through their knowledge understand her deeds. He said much about those infants too, but kept the matter hidden and concealed. They took up all their astrolabes and star tables and spent a whole week on the task. At last they said, 'When would this ever happen? These are like poison cast into a cup of wine.' 'These two children come from another's line, not from the king's blood, nor from this mother.' 'Had they been of royal seed, it would have been easy to find it in these star tables.' 'Their secret is not written in this sky, nor is this marvel found upon the earth.' They told the king in the assembly the signs of the malicious, impure woman. Kavus kept it hidden and told no one; he held it concealed and secret. Another week passed on this matter, and through sorcery the world's measure was filled to the brim. Sudabeh wailed and demanded justice, crying out to the king who rules the world. She said, 'I would accept it from the king, to be beaten and cast down from throne and rank, yet my heart twists over a slain child; every moment I could tear my head from my body.' He said to her, 'Woman, be calm. Why do you speak these unbearable words?' He ordered all the guards of the royal court to set out on the road. They were to search every city and lane, and bring in the wicked woman. They found her trace nearby, and the seasoned searchers hurried on. They dragged the doomed woman off the road and brought her, humiliated, before the king. He questioned her gently and gave her hope, promising her many days of grace. But after that, through humiliation, blows, and chains, the lofty king was done with her. She confessed nothing to that charge, and the noble king would not agree with the tale. He ordered her taken from his presence, to try every trick and cast their spells. 'If she will not confess, then cut her in two; this, I know, is the way of majesty.' They led the woman from the king's court, speaking of the sword, the gallows, and the pit. The sorceress said, 'I am innocent. What should I say before this famous court?' They told the king what the woman had said: 'The Creator of the world knows the hidden truth.' He ordered Sudabeh forward, and the astrologer spoke his own account: that both these children came from a sorceress; it was clear they were of demon stock. Sudabeh answered back like this: 'With them the secret is something other than this.' 'They know far more than they say, but for Siavash's sake they dare not speak. For fear of the elephant-bodied warrior chief, even the lion trembles in a crowd, who has the strength of eighty elephants and can dam the flow of the Nile at will.' 'A hundred thousand of the famous army would flee from him on the battlefield. How then could I stand against him? My eyes are forever filled with blood.' 'What can the astrologer say except what he is ordered, and to whom does he owe his gratitude?' 'If you feel no grief for your young child, my bond to them is no less than yours.' 'If you take this matter so lightly, then I lay this dispute before the other world.' She poured more water from her eyes than the sun draws up from the river Nile. The king grew gloomy at her words and wept bitterly along with her. He sent the heartsick Sudabeh away, and she set her mind fixedly on that scheme. He said: let us look into this matter in secret, and see what comes of it in the end. He summoned all the wise priests to his side and spoke to them at length about Sudabeh. The chief priest said to the king of the world: the commander's pain will not stay hidden. If you want to bring the truth to light, you must strike stone against the jug. For however dear a son may be, the king's heart is wounded by this doubt. And from this daughter of the king of Hamavaran, on the other side, worry has filled you too. Since the matter has come to this from every angle, one of them must pass through the fire. Such is the oath of the high heavens: no harm ever falls upon the innocent. The king summoned Sudabeh before him and sat down to speak with Siyavash. At last he said: I cannot feel safe about either of you; my heart and my clear soul find no peace. Unless the blazing fire reveals the truth and quickly shames the one who has sinned. Sudabeh answered him in turn: I speak the truth in what I say. I showed the king two stillborn children; no one can see a greater crime than this. It must be proven against Siyavash that he did this wrong and sought this ruin. The king of the land said to his young son: what does your judgment see in this now? Siyavash said: my king, even hell would be a small thing to me beside this accusation. If it were a mountain of fire, I would walk across it; passing through this trial is easier than my shame. The soul of King Kavus was torn with worry, over his son and over faithful Sudabeh. For if one of these two proves guilty, then, after everyone has called me king, since son and wife are my very blood and mind, how can any good outcome come of it for me? Better that I wash my heart clean of this ugly business and find a remedy, however heartbreaking. As that good commander once said with true words: do not rule as a king with a fearful heart. He ordered the minister to have the camel-drivers bring a hundred caravans of camels from the plain. The camels went to haul the firewood, and all the people of Iran came out to watch. With a hundred caravans of red-haired camels, the warlike king had firewood brought. They piled up two mountains of firewood; the count of it passed all reckoning of how and how much. Whoever saw it from a distance of two leagues thought it a key that would unlock disaster. He wanted to see the truth clearly, for from a woman's scheming only ruin comes. When you have heard this whole tale from start to end, it will be better for you if you believe it. They set two mountains of firewood upon the plain, and a whole world gathered to look on. The passage was so wide that a rider crossing it would feel it narrow to a mere four spans. In those days the great king's oath was tested this way; such was the custom, and this was the path. Then the king ordered the priest to pour black naphtha over the piled wood. Two hundred fire-kindlers came and blew on it, until you would say night had turned to day. At the first breath the sky went black with smoke, and soon the flames leaped up from the smoke. The earth grew brighter than the sky, a whole world roaring and the fire breathing. Across the plain everyone burned with grief; they wept at the sight of his smiling face. Siyavash came before his father, a golden helmet set upon his head. Calm and clear-headed, dressed in white, his lips full of laughter, his heart full of hope. He rode a black Arabian horse; the dust from its hooves rose to the moon. He had scattered camphor over himself, just as it is done to prepare a shroud. When he came again before Kavus, he dismounted and bowed low to him. He saw King Kavus's face full of shame, and heard him speak gently to his son. Siyavash said to him, 'Do not grieve, for this is how the turning of time goes.' 'My head is full of shame and honor; if I am innocent, I will be spared.' 'But if I am guilty in this matter, the Creator of the world will not protect me.' 'By the power of God, the giver of good, I will feel no torment from this mountain of fire.' A cry rose up from the plain and the city; that ordeal brought grief to all the world. When Sudabeh heard the noise from the plain, she went up to the balcony and saw the fire. She wished harm would come to him, and stood there seething, full of muttered words. The whole world had its eyes fixed on Kavus, tongues full of curses, hearts full of rage. Siyavash spurred his mount fiercely forward; without a heavy heart, he readied to face the fire. The flames rose up from every side, and no one could see Siyavash or his horse. The whole plain watched with eyes full of blood, waiting to see when he would emerge from the fire. When they saw him, a shout went up: 'The young prince has come out of the fire!' Had it been water, he would have come out wet, his clothes drenched and clinging. But the horse and the rider's robe came out so fresh, you would think he had held jasmine in his arms. When the pure grace of God is upon a man, the breath of fire and the touch of water are the same. When he passed from the mountain of fire onto the plain, a great cry rose from the city and the field. The riders of the army set out toward him, and across the plain they showered coins before him. A strange joy spread through the world, among both the humble and the great. People carried the good news to one another: that the just God had shown mercy to the innocent one. In her rage, Sudabeh tore at her hair, shed tears, and scratched her face. When pure Siyavash came before his father, there was no smoke, no fire, no dust, no ash on him. King Kavus dismounted from his horse; the commander went on foot, and the army on foot as well. He clasped Siyavash tightly to his chest and began to beg forgiveness for the wrong he had done. Siyavash came before the pure Lord of the world and pressed his face to the ground. He gave thanks that he had escaped the blaze of that mountain of fire, and that all the wishes of his enemies had been brought low. The king said to him: brave young man, you are of pure seed and radiant soul. You are the kind born of a virtuous mother, the kind who becomes a ruler in the world. He walked into the palace and sat down gladly, placing the royal crown upon his head. He called for wine and the musicians, and had all his heart's desires fulfilled alongside Siyavash. For three days he drank wine at that feast; there was no lock or bar upon the treasury door. On the fourth day he sat upon the royal throne, an ox headed mace in his hand. He grew furious and summoned Sudabeh, and let his words pour out against her. You have committed much shamelessness and evil; you have wounded my heart again and again. In the end you devised a wicked plot, aimed at the very life of my son. You devoured him with your schemes and threw him into the fire; in this way you wove your sorcery. Now no apology will do you any good. Empty your quarters and set your affairs in order. It is not fitting that you remain upon this earth; nothing but the gallows is the reward for this. Sudabeh said to him: my king, then rain that fire down upon my head instead. If my head must be cut off, let it be the punishment for this wrong that has befallen me. Give the order, and I have set my heart on it: the fierce fire never bore any hatred toward him. Siyavash speaks the truth, and washes the king's heart clean of its grief. All of this was the sorcery of Zal at work; I do not want you to keep hatred for me in your heart. He said to her: you still have your tricks; your back of insolence will never bend. The king of the world said to the Iranians: about this evil she secretly contrived, What should I do? What should her punishment be? They all called down blessings upon the king, saying: her reward is that she be put to death, and left writhing for the evil she has done. He ordered the executioner: take her to the street, hang her from the gallows, and turn your face away. When they turned Sudabeh's face away for punishment, the whole harem cried out. King Kavus's heart filled with pain; he hid it, but his cheeks went pale. Siyavash spoke to the king: do not torment your heart over this matter. Grant Sudabeh's offense to me; perhaps she will take counsel and mend her ways. He said to himself: if by the king's hand Sudabeh is destroyed, in the end he will regret it, and when he writhes with grief he will blame me. So he sought a pretext from the king's decision, that the past offense might be forgiven. He told Siyavash: I have pardoned her, though I had already resolved to spill her blood. Siyavash kissed his father's throne, then rose from it and went out the door. The whole harem ran to Sudabeh again and bowed before her. In this way a while passed, and the king's heart grew warmer toward her. His heart returned so fully to loving her that he could not take his eyes from her face. Once again, in secret, she worked her sorcery upon the king of the world, so as to turn him against Siyavash, in the way her true nature demanded. Her words made the king suspicious, yet he revealed nothing to any of the nobles. Where a matter like this arises, one needs wisdom, knowledge, faith, and justice. As one who fears God and acts rightly, the capable man reaches his heart's desire. Where fate has packed the cup with poison, do not foolishly demand sweet honey from it. You are no match for creation; do not rage if you are not the one who nurtures it. Such is the way of the turning sky; it will not show you a smiling face. A guide once drew this lesson from the tale: no love is greater than the love of one's own blood. When a worthy child appears, one must cut his heart free from the love of women.