THE STORY OF KING JEMSHED

became more and more exhausted as the

days dragged out their weary length. "To

what end have I been born into the world?"
he exclaimed one day, as he lay in the shade

of a great tower in the fertile land of India.

"Am I, whose glory once reached to the

Heavens, to perish thus miserably? Oh, that I

"
had never been granted the gift of life ! And
while he thought and wept, soft sleep overcame
him and hid from his eyes the approach of

Destiny.
A cavalcade was passing near the tower,

headed by an envoy from the court of Zohak,

and the noble looked carelessly down at the

sleeping man as he rode by him. In spite of

the disguise, he recognized Jemshed at once,

and, springing from his horse, he called on his

soldiers to secure the royal prize, and led him

in chains back to Persia.

The cruel Zohak was delighted to hear of

the capture, and ordered the prisoner to be

39
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

dragged before his throne, that he might gloat

over the man whom he had for so long tried
in vain to get into his power.
The wicked monarch taunted his helpless cap-
"
tive as he stood bound before him. Where is

now your crown, where is your kingdom, and

where are all your loyal subjects?" he asked,
mockingly, and his rage grew greater as

Jemshed boldly defied him.

He then gave the once mighty King his

choice of various painful modes of death, but

the Persian laughed at him disdainfully, daring

him to do his worst ;

and at the last, after cruel

tortures, died with a smile on his lips.

Meanwhile the poor Princess wept and

waited, eagerly interviewing every fakir who

had begged his way from Persia to Zabulistan.
But the weeks and months passed by without

bringing her any news, so at last she began to

hope that her husband had made good his escape.

Alack, her hopes were but ill-founded ! One

40
 THE STORY OF KING JEMSHED

day she heard a Persian beggar chanting in a

sing-song voice :

"Khoda guft bidde,

Shaitan guft nidde,"

"
which means, in English, God tells you to
* "
give, but Satan says, don't give.'

At once she summoned him to her presence,

and questioned him as to the fate of King Jem-

shed. The long-haired, wild-eyed fakir, with a

leopard-skin hung over his shoulders, had come

direct from the Court of Zohak, and had been

among crowd which had gathered round

the

the hapless Persian monarch to see him pant

forth his last breath in anguish.

Therefore, hoping for large alms, he gave

the unfortunate Princess a detailed account of

the way in which her husband had been put to

death.

It was too much. Ferooze fainted back on

the cushions of her divan, and no sooner had

she come to her senses than she drank a

41
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

draught of deadly poison, telling her sorrowing

maidens that it was impossible for her to live

any longer, so great was her misery.

King Gureng, alas, repented too late of his

treacherous conduct towards Jemshed, and
mourned his lovely daughter all the rest of

##=**#
his days, dying a broken-hearted

This is the story of great

man.

King Jemshed,
which every boy and girl in Persia has heard

a score of times.

And when to-day some wandering Dervish

relates the tale, and then passes round his

carved gourd for alms at the end of the

narrative, he never fails to impress the moral

"
on his crowd of listeners. He will say, Lo,

King Jemshed was as a man who seeks to

hide from his enemies, and yet rides a lofty

camel, thinking, in his folly, that if he leans

forward on its neck he will be unobserved. Or,

again, he was as the partridge of Azerbaijan,

42
 THE STORY OF KING JEMSHED
which imagines it is secure from the hunters in

winter-time if it do but bury its head in the

snow. The great monarch had offended the

mighty Gods by his overweening pride, and

no long journeys, no disguises could hide him
from their all-seeing gaze, and avert the just

punishment of his presumption. Even so," and

here the fakir will turn slowly and look

fixedly at the people, "if there be some evil-

doer among you who gather around me, do

what he may, he can never escape from the
terrible Eye of Allah."

43
 i ',

The Story of King Zohak and

King 'Feridun
IN this story I am going to tell you about
the cruel tyrant Zohak who murdered King
Jemshed, and whose name is still quoted in

Persia as a type of all that is wicked. Zohak's

father was King of the Arabs, and of so

charitable a disposition that the Gods greatly

multiplied his flocks and herds to reward him

for his continual almsgiving. His son led a

blameless life until the day when he was

tempted by the Evil Spirit Iblis, who appeared

to him as a holy man, and discoursed so beauti-
45
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

fully of high matters, that the young Prince

was completely deceived by him.
As soon as Iblis saw what an impression he
had made, he ceased talking, and when Zohak

implored him to continue, he said that he could

not say another word unless the Prince would

swear to grant him one wish.

The young man, feeling sure that the desire of
so pious a Dervishmust be righteous, assented ;

but he was thrown into an agony of mind when

Iblis revealed to him his horrible plan. "Thy

father is now old and no longer fitted to be

King," said the Evil Spirit. "Thou must kill

him and sit on the throne in his stead." And

when Zohak refused to consent to such wicked-

ness, Iblis forced him to his will by saying,

"Then I will kill thee myself, for thy oath has

placed thee in my power." The Prince was not

brave enough to face the idea of death, and

actually allowed the Evil Spirit to dig a deep

pit as a trap in the middle of the private path

46
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDIJN

which led from the palace to the House of

Prayer. This Iblis covered over with grass,

and when the good King went that evening to
perform his devotions, he fell headlong into the
hole, and perished miserably.
His son now ruled in his stead, but was

completely in the power of the Evil One, who

promised to make him king of the whole
world if he wouldobey him
things. in all

And so he grew more and more wicked every

day. Up to this time Zohak and his subjects

had fed only on bread and fruit ;

but Iblis

made savoury dishes from many kinds of birds

and beasts, and each day delighted the King

with some fresh exhibition of his skill.

One evening this clever cook appeared with

roast pheasants and partridges, and Zohak

found his meal so appetizing that he begged
"
Iblis to ask him for whatever he desired. I

have but one small wish, oh, noble King," said

the wily Spirit, "and that is to kiss thy shoulder."
47
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
The monarch, only too glad to gratify such an

easy request, at once drew up his loose Eastern

sleeve, and Iblis pressed his lips to the shoulder,
and vanished immediately. But, lo, and behold,
in the twinkling of an eye, two horrible black

serpents grew on the spot touched by the

Devil's mouth.

All the wise men of the

kingdom the doctors,

magicians, and astrologers came to see the

wonder, but none of them could cure the

unfortunate Zohak, and the snakes writhed to

and fro on his shoulder as if

hungry for food.

Iblis alone could have removed the spell,

and he was nowhere to be found. But one day

a reverend-looking doctor came to the palace
and craved to see the King. It was really
Iblis in disguise, and he informed Zohak that

it had been foretold long ages ago in the stars

that the Arab King was to be afflicted with

these terrible serpents which would make him

miserable throughout his life.

48
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

At these words the luckless monarch nearly

swooned with horror, was roused by the
but

pretended doctor, who said that if two human

victims were offered up to the serpents every

day, the spell would soon be broken. And

Iblis went away, hoping that Zohak, in follow-

ing his advice, would slay a great part of the

human race.

And now began a time of terror and anguish

for the unfortunate Arab King,

subjects of the
because every day two youths were slain, and

Zohak's cruelty and tyranny became greater

than words can describe. In fact, so dreaded

was his name throughout his own and the ad-

joining lands, that when King Jemshed fell from

the favour of the Gods, the Persian nobles

offered their master's throne to Zohak, saying

that they would rather have the slave of the
Evil One for a friend than for an enemy. And
as we have read, Zohak captured and cruelly

put to death the unfortunate Jemshed, and

49 D
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
ruled over Persia in his stead, taking his

beautiful sister for his wife.

But yet more punishments were in store for

the man who had sold himself to the Power of

Evil, and one night he was visited by a terrible

dream.
In it he was attacked by three warriors, and
the youngest of them hit him on the head
with an iron mace, and then bound him with

ropes and dragged him along to some fearsome

doom. At this point he woke up with yells of

terror, and immediately called together the

wise men of his Court, although day had not

yet
y. dawned, and demanded of them the

meaning of the dream.

rr

But the magicians, fearing lest the

King might
slay them were they to tell him the interpre-
tation, pretended that they must have time to

study the question thoroughly. Zohak, however,

was too much frightened to wait long, and on
the fourth day insisted that they should speak.
50
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

Trembling with fear, the wise men then told

the meaning- of the dream. "Oh, mighty
King," they said, "a child shall be born called

Feridun, who shall slay thee and take thy

crown."

The Arab King was nearly mad with terror

when he heard the fate in store for him, but
resolving to do what he could to save himself
from sure-footed Destiny, he ordered that his

spies should discover whether there were any

child in the kingdom called by the name of

Feridun.

After many conferences with his magicians,

he learnt that his destroyer would proceed from

a particular family, and accordingly commanded
all the members of the tribe to which it be-

longed to be bound and brought before him.

The father of Feridun fled on hearing this

ominous command, but was captured, and at

once put to death. His wife, however, man-

aged to make her escape with her infant,

51
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
which she left on one of the slopes of the

Elburz Range in charge of a herdsman, a pious

man, who feared the Gods, and who gave away

the milk of his cow in charity. The poor
mother felt that her child was safer in the

herdsman's cottage than with her as she wan-

dered among the pathless mountains, moving

from village to village in her flight.

At the end of three years she returned to

the herdsman, saying that the Gods had told

her in a dream to remove her son from his

care; and, indeed, it was well that she did so,

for on the very next day Zohak and his

soldiers appeared at the pasturage and killed

the herdsman and all his tribe nay, even the

cow herself punish them for their share in
to

sheltering Feridim. But the boy, the object of

their expedition, could nowhere be found, for

the mother and child had taken refuge with a

wise Dervish who lived in a cave on the side

of the fire-belching Volcano Demavend.
52
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

If you ever go to Tehran, the present

capital of Persia, you will be sure to see Mount

Demavend, the tallest peak in the high Elburz
Range, and it will become quite a friend to

you, as you look at it

many times a day, and

notice how it
glows rosy-red at sunset. But in

the time of Feridun it was not quiet as it is

now. Smoke was for ever belching forth from

its summit, and every now and then great
flames would burst out, and broad streams of

melted metal, called lava, would pour down its

sides in fiery floods. These terrible rivers

were red-hot, and destroyed everything in their

path. Sometimes awe-inspiring rumblings would

be heard, shaking the earth for miles around,
and occasionally making all the dwellings near

the mountain totter and fall.

And none, save perhaps some holy Dervish,

would ever dare to climb to the summit, for it

was the chosen home of many Genii and

Demons.
53
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
Here also the souls of the good were wont
to rest during their flight to the other world;

for the Persians thought that the top of

Demavend reached almost into the Heavens.

When, however, Feridim and his mother took

shelter with the pious hermit, the boy, who
was bold and feared nothing, began to wander
about the great mountain. One day he heard
"
a voice near him which said :The Gods
have decreed that you will destroy the wicked
Zohak and become King of Persia in his stead."

Feridun started a little, and looked round

in some surprise, for he had imagined himself
alone. But as he gazed, a sort of floating mist

seemed to be rising from the ground, and slowly

became a form like a gigantic man. "Fear
"
not ! the figure continued, " I am a benevolent

Genius, and wish to help you to become a

worthy King of Persia."
And the Spirit was as good as his word.
He taught the boy Jiow to ride, how to draw
54
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

the bow and wield the sword, and instructed

him many hidden mysteries which were to

in

prove of much use to him hereafter.

At the age of sixteen, the young Feridun,
with the face of a falcon and the eye of an

eagle, had the air of a leader of men, and one

day he told his mother that now the time had

come for him to avenge the death of his father.

His poor mother wept bitterly, and did her

"
best to dissuade him from the attempt. How
can you, a mere boy, fight against the power-

ful King Zohak?" she exclaimed. "He will

take your life with cruel tortures, and I shall

rue the day that you were born. Why leave

me desolate and wretched? I cannot bear to

part from you."

But Feridun answered that the Gods would

help the right ;

and having bade farewell to

the good Genius, who aided him greatly,

he descended Mount Demavend and made
his way to the haunts of men. If you
55
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
had seen him on his white horse, the gift of

the Genius, the animal breathing smoke from

its nostrils and harnessed entirely with gold,

you would have said he looked a Prince at the

very least.
^"^IA
He/ was clad from head to foot in golden
chain-armour ;
his helmet and shield were
studded with gems, and in his hand he carried

a huge cow-headed mace, in memory of the

animal whose milk had nourished him in his

early years.

Following the counsel of the Genius, he

boldly approached the magnificent city where

King Jemshed had formerly reigned in such

pomp. As he came near one of its twelve
gateways, all covered in burnished tiles, he
observed a great crowd issuing forth, and at

its head marched a brawny man holding a

spear, from the point of which waved a leather

apron. This was Kavah, the blacksmith, whose

two sons had been seized that very morning
56
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

by the emissaries of Zohak, to be offered up

in sacrifice to the serpents growing from the

King's shoulder. Their father, half-mad with

grief, had rushed into the Bazaars, and stir-

ring up the people to a sense of their wrongs,

called upon them to fight for freedom.

" "
Let us find Feridim the Deliverer ! he
cried. "It is prophesied that he has been

appointed by the Gods to free us from the

cruelty of this Arab usurper," and tearing off

his leather apron, he hoisted it as the standard

of revolt, and thousands followed him out of

the city.

When the crowd saw a youth of such beauty

and magnificence riding unattended, and evi-

dently about to enter the town, everyone

wondered who and what this gorgeously clad
personage might be.
Every eye was fixed upon him, when sud-
denly the rumble of thunder was heard in the
cloudless blue sky, from which pealed a mighty
57
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
" This " "
voice. is Feridun ! it cried. Persians,

behold your King! He will deliver you from

the tyrant Zohak."

With one accord the multitudes prostrated

themselves before the youth, and hailed him
as their monarch with loud acclamations, march-

ing in his wake, as he proudly rode through

the fine gateway, confident of victory.

He made his way slowly through the Bazaars,

and the workers in brass and copper, the men
painting on fine vellum or wood, the enamel-

lers and jewellers, in fact everyone whom he

passed, left their business and followed Feridun

with great joy.

And so he came to the Palace, but here a

disappointment awaited him, for the wicked

Zohak had been conveyed by the power of
Iblis, the Spirit of Evil, to the city of Bagdad,

on the River Tigris.

There was nothing for it but to pursue him
thither. It was not a very easy journey for a

58
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

people not accustomed to marching. If you

glance at a map of Persia, you will observe

that they had to go through the provinces of

Hamadam and Kermanshah, which are hilly

countries, and then came a stretch of desert

before they reached the great River Tigris.

However, such was the power of the good

Genius who befriended Feridun, that the

Persians reached Bagdad in an incredibly short

time. On their march the stony paths became
level, the heat of the sun did not affect them,

and at every camping place they found hun-

dreds of tents, with clear streams running beside

them, and actually enormous trays of pillau

ready for the multitude to eat. Zohak was

awaiting them, in a huge, strongly fortified

tower built on the opposite bank of the river,

and he felt confident that here he was safe, as

he was guarded by strong enchantments and a

talisman of magic virtue.

But the Powers of Good are ever far

59
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

stronger than the Powers of Evil, and so it

proved in this case. The question was, how

were Feridun's followers to cross the Tigris,
for there was no bridge, and the boats of the

city were but few and small ?

Feridun, himself, was not in the least dis-

mayed. First, calling upon the Gods to help

him, he rode his white horse into the water,
which suddenly became of such miraculous

shallowness that all waded across in perfect

safety, and proceeded to assault the tower.

The stronghold was not, however, to be

taken by human means, and Feridun's good
Genius appeared to him at this crisis, giving him
a wonderful wand which would destroy every-

thing that opposed him. At its touch the walls

of the once impregnable fortress tottered and

fell, the magic talisman which guarded the

tower was destroyed, and many evil Demons

and Genii shrivelled up like dead leaves, and
became mere handfuls of dust.

60
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

But the wicked Zohak was nowhere to be

found, for Iblis had transported him to far-off

India, together with the entire Arab army.

Therefore, when Feridun had taken all the

treasures of Zohak, and had freed countless

fair damsels, who had been imprisoned in the

fortress by the cruel tyrant, he and his

followers started in pursuit of the Arab King.

Before they had gone very far, they were

joined by the usurper's soldiers, who declared

that they would no longer obey their cruel

master, so Zohak was deserted by all, and

wandered a homeless fugitive in fear of his life.

Being a man of
great courage, he deter-

mined to be avenged on Feridun or perish in

the attempt; and one night he approached the

camp of the young Persian King in a carefully

thought-out disguise.
A Persian camp is almost noisier by night

than it is by day. The horses neigh a great

deal, and every now and then one breaks loose

61
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
from its picket-rope and at once rushes to

fight with its

especial enemy. You would

hardly believe what a disturbance this makes,

as the horses squeal loudly and strike at one

another with their hoofs, while the grooms with

cries and shouts try to separate them before

they hurt themselves. And all the time the

little donkeys, which carry the bedding of the

soldiers, never cease from braying, and the

soldiers sit in parties round crackling camp

fires, and enliven the dark hours with wild
some of them "
songs, playing sitarrahs or

thumping tom-toms, and it

really seems as if

no one ever went to bed at all.

Into such a camp as this, Zohak made his

way and at once knew where Feridun was,

because in front of a fine tent, made of scarlet

cloth embroidered with pheasants, stood the

royal standard of Persia. This was still the

old leather apron that had once belonged to

Kavah, the blacksmith, but now it was so

62
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

covered with jewels and embroidery that you

would not have recognized it, and for many
centuries it was to Persia what the Union Jack
is to Great Britain.

Zohak crept softly up to the tent, and

cautiously pulling back the flap just an inch

or two, he saw Feridun lying on a pile of silk

carpets. He felt that Fate had at last delivered

his foe into his hand, and glided swiftly inside

with his sword drawn.

But the good Genius, who was never long

absent from the Persian King, aroused him

just in time, and Feridun sprang up and dealt

his enemy a terrible blow with his iron-headed
mace. He was about to kill him outright
when a supernatural voice commanded him to

forbear.

"Stay thy hand, Feridun! Thou, oh Zohak, f

must now suffer the penalty of thy horrible

crimes. The Gods have sentenced thee to be ;

bound with chains, and to be cast into a dark

63
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
cavern of Mount Demavend, there to drag out

thy miserable days."

And even at that moment, Zohak was seized

by invisible hands and carried off through the

air to his doom.
Feridun now reigned over Persia, and for

many years the country flourished exceedingly

under his wise rule ; but, unluckily, he did not

manage his sons as well as he did his sub-

jects.

When the three young Princes were of age,

he married them to the beautiful daughters of

the King of Yemen, and then divided his

empire into three parts. To Selim and Tur,

his elder sons, he gave the barren and
uncivilized provinces of Rum and Turan, but
to Irij,
his youngest and best beloved, he gave
Persia, and he himself dwelt with this son to
advise and support him in his kingdom.

However, this division by no means pleased

the elder brothers, and the two conspired
64
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

together to oust Irij from his kingdom and to

take it for themselves.

When the news of their design reached

Persia, Feridun, who appears to have greatly

changed in old age, advised Irij to give up

everything to his brethren, telling him that he

could not resist them successfully, and that,

life being so short, it

really was not worth
while to trouble overmuch about anything.

Irij agreed entirely with his father, and set

out to visit his brothers, and to assure them

that his kingdom was theirs, and that he him-
self only desired a quiet life. He alluded to

Jemshed's cruel fate, saying that it had not

greatly availed that monarch to have had the

whole world at his feet. And when he arrived
in the kingdom of Turan, travelling with a
band of his friends in a simple way without

any pomp or ceremony, the hearts of his

brothers were touched by his prompt sub-

mission.
65 E
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
But, as it
happened, Irij was possessed of

great personal attractions, and wherever he

moved all eyes uponwere and the him,
soldiers of Selim and Tur invariably broke out

into applause as he passed them. This not

unnaturally aroused the jealousy of the two

brothers, when they heard the warriors
and

Irij was far more kingly in appear-

saying that
ance than their own princes, and that they
would gladly march to battle under his banner,
Selim told Tur that their brother must be put
to death.

And the very next day Tur began to blame

Irij for having accepted Persia instead of one

of the two barren kingdoms to the north which

were perpetually harassed by the Turks. He

refused to listen to the soft words of his peace-

ably-inclined brother, and, working himself up

into a fury, ran upon him with a dagger and

slew him.

Then these cruel brothers embalmed the

66
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

head of the young prince, and sent it to old

Feridun.

This monarch was waiting in some anxiety

for the return of his favourite son, and his

loyal subjects had arranged a splendid reception

for their young ruler. Many bands of music,

fair damsels moving in the slow Persian dance,

and processions of men on horseback leading

riderless steeds, were ready to welcome Irij ;

but who can picture the dismay when the

horrible truth was known ?

Poor old Feridun, nearly crazed with grief,

ordered all his subjects to drape themselves in

black. The parchment of the cheerful drums
was broken and the flaunting banners were
rent asunder, as the monarch interred the

head of his beloved son, and called on

Heaven for vengeance.
And the mighty Gods heard the prayer of the
agonized father, although perhaps to Feridun
the day of retribution seemed long in coming.
67
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

Irij had no son to avenge him, but when

his little
daughter grew up and was married,
she became the mother of Minuchihr, and her

child was said by all to greatly resemble both

Feridun and his ill-fated heir.

The old monarch adored his great-grandson,

and did everything to fit him to rule over

Persia, and the boy was beloved of the whole

nation, the soldiers frequently telling him that

they were ready to follow him to the death.

Feridun had not been idle during all

these years, for he had collected a vast

army and had trained it to such a pitch of

efficiency that his wicked sons became seriously

alarmed.

From time to time reports reached them of

the bravery of the young Minuchihr, and,

thinking that discretion might be the better

part of valour, they sent a messenger with

magnificent presents to Feridun, but the old

man looked at the costly offerings coldly, and

68
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

inquiredof the envoy with what message he

was charged by his masters.

The nobleman then explained that Selim
and Tur were deeply penitent on account of
the murder of Irijand begged for pardon, as
the Evil Spirit had persuaded them to do the
wicked deed against their will. They asked
their father, as a proof of forgiveness, to

send his great-grandson to them ; and, if

Feridun wished, they would resign their

kingdoms to him.
But the aged king was not to be deceived

by fair words. He bade the envoy tell his

masters that Minuchihr intended to visit them,

but at the head of a great army, and, to let

him see that this was no idle boast, he showed

the nobleman a host of the mightiest warriors

of his kingdom, and then sent him and the

presents away with angry contempt.

The brothers were much vexed, but, having
decided to strike the first blow, marched forth
69
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
at the head of their armies towards Persia.

Feridun was in nowise perturbed at this move.

He said that the invaders were but as lions

walking straight into the traps prepared for

them, and he exerted himself to see that all

was ready in his own powerful army.

And the great forces met face to face, and

fought desperately from sunrise to sunset, the

army of Minuchihr winning the day, for the

Gods were on the side of the Persian host.
Both Selim and Tur were slain, and after the

battle the armies of the two wicked brothers

gave in their allegiance to the conqueror, who

returned with great triumph to old Feridun.

And when that monarch died, Minuchihr

ascended the thrones of Persia, Rum, and
Turan, and observed all the counsels of his

great-grandfather, being ever most devout in

the worship of the Gods who had helped

him in all his dangers.

And the Persians see in these tales of olden

70
 KING ZOHAK AND KING FERIDUN

days, that however much an evil man may

prosper at the outset, the Gods will surely

punish him in the end, while they never for-

sake those who trust in them and do their

will.

71
 Ill

The Stories of Zal and the

Childhood of Rustem

AND now I want to tell you something

about the two greatest Heroes of Persia,

whose names at the present day are applied

to any man who is especially brave or strong.
1
The most powerful warrior at the court of

King Minuchihr was called Sam, and he

longed greatly for a son to carry on his

mighty name. But when the Gods granted his

desire, the warrior was much grieved, because

the child, though beautiful and strong, had
snow-white hair.

73
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
All the Persians, who admired Sam for

his valour, pitied him on account of the boy,

saying that the child must be of the race of

the Demons, and would bring his father

nothing but misfortune.

And the general, hearkening to the voice of

the people, fell into much distress and deter-

mined to make away with the baby, who was
called Zal. %
Accordingly, he took the poor
child right up to the top of the Elburz moun-
tains and the?e left him, far from any living
creatures except the ibex, the hill' leopard,
the wild sheep, and the birds of the air./

1
But the Gods were not minded that Zal
should perish. The Simurgh, a marvellous

creature, half bird, half beast, and endowed

with great wisdom, was flying over the moun-

tains, and, perceiving a little baby lying on the

barren rocks, swooped down and carried it off

to its nest*

According to the story, a supernatural voice

74
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM
addressed the Simurgh, telling it to cherish the

young Zal, who in time would be the father

of the Champion of the whole world, and

the worthy Bird in consequence was kinder

than ever to the deserted child, and taught

him many languages as he grew up.

years passed by, and old Sam often

' The felt

very lonely and forsaken, for the Gods had

not given him another son in place of the one

whom he had deserted. ^ He thought some-

times that in spite of all his high position and
his riches, his life had been a failure, and one

night he fell asleep in a more melancholy

mood than usual, and had a strange dream.'
When he awoke he went straightway to

the magicians, who told him that the interpre-

tation of the dream was that his son was alive,

instead of having been eaten by wild beasts as

all had supposed, and the father, feeling his

heart burn with love towards the once despised

child r sent his servants to search for Zal on

75
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
the mountains, but they returned to him

empty-handed.
And yet again old Sam had a dream. He
saw a young man of a beautiful countenance
but with snowy hair, on horseback at the head

of a great army. At his right hand rode a

holy man who addressed Sam in reproachful

accents, saying that the warrior was his

deserted son, and that Heaven had protected

him, and would make his name famous

throughout the world.

^This time the father himself set off to

the Elburz mountains, and on their gravel

slopes knelt in prayer to the Gods, begging

them to forgive his crime and restore to him
his son. And as he wept and lamented, the
Simurgh heard his cries and understood the
situation at once. -"

Telling Zal that his father had come to seek

him, and that he must now go to his own

people, the marvellous Bird bore him on its

76
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM

broad wings down to where the broken-hearted

Sam was weeping.
It was not without many tears that Zal
said good-bye to the good Simurgh, which
had trained him so wisely, but his beloved

foster-parent consoled him by giving him as a

*'*
parting gift a feather from its wing. When-
7
ever thou art in danger burn this token," it

said, "and I will at once come to thy aid.'^

Thus Zal found himself leaving the Simurgh

and returning to the haunts of men in the

company of his rejoicing and repentant

father, who treated him with the utmost
affection.

The Persian King was deeply interested in

the strange upbringing of the young Hero, and

received him graciously, presenting him with
a helm and mace of gold, while the wise men
of the court, being summoned to read his horo-

scope, foretold that he would be the greatest

warrior of his generation. This information
77
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

greatly delighted the monarch, who gave him

fine horses and much wealth, and appointed
his father to the government of the provinces
of Zabulistan, Kabul, and Ind.

The youth spent his time in improving

his mind, seeking ever to converse with the

wisest men of Zabulistan, so that when Sam

was obliged to go with an army to subdue the
troublesome Demons of Mazanderan, he found
that his son was well able to rule over the

kingdom during his absence.

And all the people praised the wisdom and

justice displayed by the young governor, and

Zal, finding that everything was quiet in Zabu-

listan, made a tour through the provinces under

his sway, arriving at last at Kabul, where he

pitched his camp by a river not far from the

city.

Mihrab, King of Kabul, was of the detested

race of Zohak, but, as his grandfather had sub-

mitted to Feridun, he was permitted to hold

78
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM
his kingdom on condition of paying tribute

every year.
All the talk was of the daughter
of Kabul

of the king, a wonderfully beautiful maiden

who had many suitors. Zal soon heard that
this Princess, with skin whiter than ivory, hair

dark as the raven's wing, and cheeks rosy as a

pomegranate flower, was living in the fortress-

like palace of the town, and very naturally he

longed to see her.

But he could not well become friendly with
her father, as he knew that the King of Persia

would be angry were he to accept hospitality

from a descendant of the wicked Zohak. So
he said to himself that probably there were far

fairer girls in Persia than this much-praised

Afghan woman, and resolved to think of her

no more.

Mihrab, however, had been wonderfully im-

pressed with the beauty and bravery of the

young governor, and he gave his wife and

79
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH

daughter such an account of Zal, that the lovely

Rudabeh fell straightway in love with the

Hero, and horrified her maidens by telling them

of her affection for this- white-haired youth
whom she had never seen. They did their

utmost to make her forget him, but everything

was in vain, for she said that she would die if

she could not marry Zal, and implored her

attendants to help her to a sight of the object

of her affections.

When they saw that she was really in

earnest, they determined to assist their beloved

mistress, and at once went to the camp of

Zal, and began to gather roses, which were

growing by the stream close to the tent of the

Hero.
Zal did not like this intrusion, and sent a
servant to ask their business. The man re--

turned to his master and told him that they

were the slaves of the lovely Rudabeh, and
that should it be found that he was equal in

80
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM
birth to the Princess, she was ready to be his

wife.

All Zal's former desire to meet this beauteous

lady burned up afresh in his heart, and he

loaded the slaves with presents and sent them

back to their mistress.

Rudabeh was much pleased with the jewels
and silken garments, but she did not see her

way to meeting the Hero, for it was impossible

for him to come to the palace without the

knowledge of her father and mother.

Her servants, however, soon arranged a plan.

Their mistress asked leave of her parents to

go for a few days to a beautiful castle in the

country, and to this retreat young Zal came
after sunset and stood under the balcony of his

lady-love. Rudabeh leant over the balustrade,

and they talked together eagerly, but soon the
darkness of evening fell and they could no

longer see each other. Then the Princess let

down her magnificent hair and invited Zal to

81 F
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
climb up by it to the balcony, and when the

lovers were together they became lost in ad-

miration of one another's beauty, their affection

growing from a small stream into a mighty flood.

"
Zal said to the Princess : Thou alone, oh,

Rudabeh, shalt be my wife. Our love, alas,

must be kept secret, for thou art of the hated

race of Zohak. I must ask advice of my coun-

cillors, before demanding thee from thy father."

"
Rudabeh answered, My own beloved, all my
happiness is in thy hands. The mightiest kings
of the earth shall woo me in vain, for my heart

belongs in life and death to thee."

Then Zal, after tenderly embracing her,

tore himself away, and the next morning

assembled a council of the wise men of Zabu-

listan, and told them of his intended marriage.

They were astounded to hear that their

young chieftain wished to wed a maiden

of the hated race of the Serpent King, and
advised him to send a messenger with a letter
\ 82
 To face page 82.
ZAL AND RUDABEH.
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM
at once to his father. Zal was very angry but

he followed their counsel, and his envoy arrived

some weeks later, hot and dusty, at Sam's camp
in far-off Mazanderan.
The old chieftain was at first thunderstruck
at the news, but, having called the magicians to
his aid, he became overjoyed when they told

him that the Gods would bless the marriage of

his son with Rudabeh, and would give them

a child who would be the greatest warrior
the world had ever known. So he sent a kind

letter back to the impatient Zal, but said that

the betrothal must be kept a secret until the

war with the Demons was over, and he could

himself lay the matter before King Minuchihr.
Therefore, the lovers did not venture to meet

again, but wrote one another letters every day.

Now this sounds a simple matter, but it is not

nearly as easy to write a letter in Persian as it

is in English. It really is quite a serious business.

First of all the writer has to choose a large sheet
83
 x* I THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
of paper out of a tied-up roll, and when he
has smoothed it a little, he takes a pair of
Tf
scissors and cuts off a piece the size he wants,
and then sets to work. As there are no

tables or chairs in Persia, the scribe sits on his

heels, holds the paper up in his left hand, and,

dipping his pen into a tiny bottle of ink on the

floor, begins to draw in the letters very slowly,
from the to the left, just the
going right

opposite way to what we do.

He has an odd habit of writing his letter all

over the sheet, so that the reader is obliged to

look at the top, the bottom, and the sides of the

paper, as well as in the middle ;

and even a
^ ? v
\ W*o <
well-educated Persian takes quite a long time to

p" read even a few lines of writing.

M* The ink stands up on the shiny paper used,

and does not sink into it. This is convenient

for the writer if he makes a mistake. He never

crosses out a wrong word as we do, but he

licks the offending letters out with his
84

VI* **

fc) ^
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM

tongue ;
and when the epistle is at last finished,
it has to be signed with a seal, which is first

rubbed over with ink, and then pressed down

on the paper.
But we must return to Zal and Rudabeh.

Everyone knows how hard it is to keep a

secret ;
and one unlucky day the Princess'

mother found out that there was some mystery

in the air. She went to her daughter's room

and questioned her, and the girl at once said

that she was engaged to be married to Zal, and
that she loved him more than all the world.
Her mother was not angry when she knew
that Sam approved ;
but when Rudabeh's father

was informed of the matter, he fell into such a

passion of rage that he, might have killed his

t

daughter if her mother had not held him back.

He said that the Persian King would most

certainly deprive him of his kingdom, and that
perhaps he would be put to death, all on account
of Rudabeh's folly. At last, however, his wife
85
 THE STORY BOOK OF THE SHAH
soothed him, and he promised not to hurt his

daughter if she would come into his presence.

And Rudabeh appeared, proud and without

fear, in her most costly garments, laden with

all her jewels, instead of coming in mean

"
attire as a penitent. I am betrothed to the
"
noblest man in the world ! she exclaimed, and

her face was so full of gladness that her angry

father hardly dared to blame her for thus giving

her heart away without his consent.

But things did not go smoothly for some time.

When Sam returned in triumph from conquering

the Demons of Mazanderan, he told Minuchihr

about his son's betrothal, and the King was greatly

angered. He explained that all the work of the

good Feridun would be brought to nought if

the descendants of the Serpent King got the

mastery in Persia ;
and he requested Sam to

lead an army against Kabul and utterly destroy

the city and its inhabitants.
The chieftain of Kabul heard of the King's
86
 ZAL AND THE CHILDHOOD OF RUSTEM

design through spies, and his hatred again rose

against his daughter, for he knew that he had

but a small army and could never resist the

vast hosts of the Persian monarch.

Again he threatened to kill poor Rudabeh,

and this time he thought of putting her mother
also to death. But his wife succeeded in calm-

ing him, and in the end persuaded him to send

her to Sam at Kabul with splendid gifts of

horses, jewels, and beautiful slaves.

Sam was amazed at the riches brought to

his feet, but for some time he would not accept

them, because he feared the anger of King
Minuchihr. But soon he remembered the

great love he bore his son, and, saying that

Zal's happiness was more to him than the

displeasure of many monarchs, he told the

anxious mother he would do his utmost to

arrange the marriage.

A Then Zal went to the court of the King of
Persia to plead his own cause, and when
87