A shout ascended from the Íránian host,
And all the warriors put on their helms.
Tús with a full heart and with weeping eyes
Donned his cuirass in haste. He greatly mourned
Those gallant chiefs and trembled like a leaf.
He mounted on his saddle and appeared
As 'twere the mountain-mass that men up pile
Upon the back of lusty elephants,
And turned his charger's reins toward Farúd
With heart revengeful and with head a-fume.

Tukhár the spokesman said: “A Mountain cometh
In fury toward the height. 'Tis Tús the chief!
Contend not with the veteran Crocodile.
Secure thee in the hold and wait on fortune.
Expect no merrymake since thou hast slain
Alike his son and son-in-law in battle.”
The young Farúd, wroth with Tukhár, replied:—
“When war and strife confront us what care I
For Tús or elephant or mighty lion,
For warrior-leopard or for tiger? These
But give a man the heart to light, and serve not
To scatter earth upon the raging fire.”
Then said Tukhár the much-experienced: “Kings
Despise not counsel. Iron though thou be,
And able to uproot a mount of flint,
Yet art thou but a single cavalier;
And thirty thousand warriors of Írán
Will come against thee to the mountain-top.
No strong-hold will be left here, stone or dust:
They will sweep all away, and furthermore
If evil by this means shall come to Tús
His downfall will cause sorrow to Khusrau,
And so defeat the vengeance for thy sire—
A breach which nevermore will be repaired.
Why combat with a Lion in thy rage?
Go to the hold and fight not foolishly.”
This, which he should have spoken at the first,
He left unsaid till then; so to Farúd
All through this worthless, foolish minister
Resulted battle and the loss of life.
The youth had eighty moon-faced female slaves
At home who stood upon the roof to watch him,
And babbled ceaselessly. He could not brook
The thought of a retreat before their eyes,
But raised his reins and rushing on like wind
Set to his string another poplar shaft;
But first Tukhár said: “If thou meanest fight,
The best for thee, or else thou mayest not conquer
The noble Tús, will be to overthrow
His steed, for monarchs do not war afoot,
However much they may be put to it;
Besides one wooden arrow from a bow
Will never set a period to his life,
And when the general shall reach the summit
His warriors will follow, and thou hast not
The power to oppose; thou hast not looked
His arrows in the face.”

The youth attended

To what Tukhár said, strung his bow, and shot.
The poplar arrow struck the general's steed—
A bow-shot worthy of a cavalier—
The charger came down headlong and expired
While Tús both raged and blustered. He returned
To camp, his buckler hanging from his neck,
On foot, all dusty, and distraught in mind,
Farúd the while with gibes pursuing him:—
“What ailed the noble paladin, and how
Will he proceed amid the ranks of war
Who cannot fight a single horseman here?”
The women-slaves began to laugh, and sent
Their peals of laughter through the sky. They cried:—
“The old man staggereth down the mountain-slope,
Affrighted at the arrows of a youth!”
When Tús descended from the height the chiefs,
Full of concern, approached him, did obeisance,
And said: “O famous paladin of earth!
What can be better than thy safe return?
We have no cause to bathe our cheeks in tears.”
The noble Gív was grievously distressed
Because the valiant general had come back

Afoot, and said: “This youth exceedeth bounds
In turning thus our chieftains' faces pale!
What though he be a king and weareth earrings,
Is he to flout so great a host as this?
It is not right that we should acquiesee
In his pretensions thus. If Tús displayed
Some hastiness, Farúd hath filled the world
With tumult. We would die for Siyáwush,
But we must not forget this injury.
Farúd hath given to the winds Zarásp,
That noble cavalier sprung from Naudar!
The body of Rívníz is drowned in blood!
What further shame is ours? Farúd, though he
Jamshíd's own son, Kubád's own marrow, be,
Hath made a new departure witlessly.”