The news reached Farangís, who tore her cheeks
And came afoot before Afrásiyáb,
Girt with a bloody cord, her moon-like face
Besmirched with blood; she came in fear and trembling,
And, as she scattered dust upon her head,
Exclaimed: “O monarch full of excellence!
Why wilt thou bring me to such misery?
Why hast thou wrapped thy heart up in deceit?
Dost thou not from thy height perceive the abyss?
Take not a monarch's and a guiltless head;
The Judge of sun and moon will disapprove.
When Siyáwush departed from Írán
He did thee homage—thee of all the world—
Gave umbrage to the Sháh, left treasures, crown,
And throne to make thee his support and shelter.
What hast thou seen in him to make thee quit
The path of right? No man beheadeth kings
And long retaineth his own sovereignty.

Wrong not my blameless self too, for the world
Is fleeting and is full of sobs and sighs.
One man though crowned it casteth into prison,
One who ne'er had a crown it maketh king;
Yet fate hath laid the grave's grip on them both,
And in the end both lie alike in dust.
Make not thyself a butt to all the world
By listening to malicious Garsíwaz.
Thou knowest well what tyrannous Zahhák,
The Arab, suffered from brave Farídún;
And likewise how both Salm and savage Túr
Fared at the hands of great Sháh Minúchihr.
Now living at the throne of Sháh Káús
Are Zál and Rustam the vindictive one,
Gúdarz, son of Kishwád, whose hand is steel
And rendeth lions' hearts and leopards' hides,
Bahrám and Zanga son of Sháwárán,
Who heedeth not the maces of the valiant,
And Gív, son of Gúdarz, at whom the earth
Is all a-tremble on the day of battle.
In grief for Siyáwush the streams will boil
And heaven will execrate Afrásiyáb.
Herein thou art a tyrant to thyself,
And often will my words recur to thee.
Thou art not casting onagers in sport,
Nor art thou terrifying antelopes,
But plundering a monarch of his throne,
And sun and moon will curse thee. Give not thou
Túrán so madly to the winds, and never
Mayst thou have reason to recall my words.”
She as she spoke caught sight of Siyáwush,
And tore her cheeks with lamentable cries:—
“O king! O brave! O chief! O sovereign!
O lion proud of head! O man of might!
Thou hast left home and country in Írán,
And recognised my father as thy king,
Yet art thou haled afoot with bounden hands!
Where are the crown and throne of high estate,
Where all the royal oaths and covenants
That made the Sun and Moon and Saturn quail?
Where would be Sháh Káús and his proud chiefs
If at this moment they beheld thee thus?
Where are the mighty Rustam, Tús, and Gív,
Zál, Farámarz, and their associates?
The tidings of this wrong will reach Írán
And vex the day of its prosperity.
?? hath befallen thee through Garsíwaz:
Curse on him, on Gurwí and on Damúr!
He that shall lay a hand on thee for ill,
Be his head smitten off and flung away.
May God vouchsafe to lighten this for thee,
And make thy foes' hearts quake. Would that mine eyes
Were out ere they beheld thee haled like this,
But could I ever deem that mine own sire
Would banish all the sunlight from my breast?”
The monarch heard his child's words and the world
Was blackened in his eyes. He said to her:—
“Begone. What know'st thou of our purposes?”
His heart was all a-fire against his daughter,
He shut the eye of wisdom recklessly.
Within the lofty palace was one chamber
Unknown to her; the monarch bade his guards
To drag her thither, as they would the mad,
And having flung her down inside that room
To bolt the door and leave her in the gloom.