Húmán withdrew with all his favour changed,

And told Pírán: “O favourite of fortune!
Great ill hath come on us! This lion-heart
Is Rustam of Zábul, and we may now
Weep for our troops. He talked at large with me,
Recalling what we each had done amiss,
And I, my brother! was the first accused.
He spake much of revenge for Siyáwush,
Of past events, of waste and settlement,
Of what he purposed and of righteous dealing,
About Bahrám and those Gúdarzians,
And all that fell. His love is all for thee
Of whom he spake at large with kindliness.
He calleth now for thee of all this host;
I know not why. Go see him spear in hand,
Set like a hill upon another hill,
With mail and mace and leopard-skin cuirass,
Bestriding his great, furious Elephant.
Then wilt thou see that I have told no lies;
E'en fire receiveth brightness from his sword.
He will not budge without an interview;
It is for thy sake that he tarrieth thus.
Bespeak him fairly when thou seest him,
Draw not thy sword, and act not hastily.”
Pírán replied: “Exalted one! I fear
My time hath come. If yonder warrior
Be Rustam, then this plain will be a scene
Of grief for us. Our fields already burn;
I know not what our evil star hath done.”
He went with tearful eyes before the Khán,
Pierced through the liver, angry, seared at heart,
And said to him: “O monarch! be not hasty,
Because the case is altered with us now.
Whenas Kámús the warrior's time had come
The thought occurred to me: ‘This Iron Wall
Is Rustam, with his raw hide lasso-coils.’
Afrásiyáb may come in all his pomp,
But none will dream of seeing Rustam's back;
Dívs sicken fighting him. What is one man
Or one whole plain-full in opposing him?
He hath been long lord of Zábulistán,
And foster-sire erewhile to Siyáwush,
And warreth like a father in his anguish
To make the world strait to Afrásiyáb;
This elephantine one hath summoned me
Of all this countless host, I know not why;
But I will go and ascertain his will
Because my spirit is brought low with care.”
The Khán said: “Go, say that which must be said
With courtesy. If he desireth peace
And wealth, why toil our armies on this plain?
Agree to give great gifts and then return;
'Tis better not to court so great a fight;
But, since he is arrayed in leopard-skin,
Good sooth! he may be bent upon a conflict;
Then we will battle likewise in full force,
And press him closely on the field of strife.
Put we our trust in God and war with Rustam
With all our strength; his body is not brass
And iron, but is blood and hair and flesh,
Nor shall we have to fight him in the sky:
Why burn thy heart with care and grief? Know this,
That, even if he feed on stone and iron,
Shafts and two-headed darts will pierce him. We
Outnumber them three hundred times. 'Tis ill
To be in dudgeon on this battlefield.
This Zábulí, this famous warrior,
Outvieth not an elephant in fight,
And I will show him with mine own such play
That he no more will meet me in the fray.”