Page:Persian Literature (1900), vol. 1.djvu/125

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THE SHÁH NÁMEH

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Proceeding in his career of desolation and ruin, Gíw came near to the city, and found it arrayed in all the splendor of heaven; every street was crowded with beautiful women, richly adorned, and young damsels with faces as bright as the moon. The treasure-chamber was full of gold and jewels, and the country abounded with cattle. Information of this discovery was immediately sent to Kai-káús, who was delighted to find that Mázinderán was truly a blessed region, the very garden of beauty, where the cheeks of the women seemed to be tinted with the hue of the pomegranate flower, by the gate-keeper of Paradise.

This invasion filled the heart of the king of Mázinderán with grief and alarm, and his first care was to call the gigantic White Demon to his aid. Meanwhile Kai-káús, full of the wildest anticipations of victory, was encamped on the plain near the city in splendid state, and preparing to commence the final overthrow of the enemy on the following day. In the night, however, a cloud came, and deep darkness like pitch overspread the earth, and tremendous hail-stones poured down upon the Persian host, throwing them into the greatest confusion. Thousands were destroyed, others fled, and were scattered abroad in the gloom. The morning dawned, but it brought no light to the eyes of Kai-káús; and amidst the horrors he experienced, his treasury was captured, and the soldiers of his army either killed or made prisoners of war. Then did he bitterly lament that he had not followed the wise counsel of Zál. Seven days he was involved in this dreadful affliction, and on the eighth day he heard the roar of the White Demon, saying:

“O king, thou art the willow-tree, all barren,With neither fruit, nor flower. What could induceThe dream of conquering Mázinderán?Hadst thou no friend to warn thee of thy folly?Hadst thou not heard of the White Demon’s power—Of him, who from the gorgeous vault of HeavenCan charm the stars? From this mad enterpriseOthers have wisely shrunk—and what hast thouAccomplished by a more ambitious course?Thy soldiers have slain many, dire destructionAnd spoil have been their purpose—thy wild willHas promptly been obeyed; but thou art nowWithout an army, not one man remainsTo lift a sword, or stand in thy defence;Not one to hear thy groans and thy despair.”