Time passed. The monarch's star was blessed.
Zarduhsht,
The old, said to the ruler of the world:—
“'Tis not accordant to our Faith for thee
To pay a tribute to the prince of Chín,
Nor consonant with custom and religion.
Moreover I can not assent thereto,
For no one of our Sháhs in days of yore
Hath yielded tax and tribute to the Turkmans,
Who all were impotent against Írán.”
Gushtásp assented, saying: “I will order
No tribute to be paid.”

A valiant dív,

On hearing this, went to the king of Chín,
And said to him: “O monarch of the world!
Throughout it all the people great and small
Agree in executing thy commands,
And not one cometh forth against thy spearpoint

Excepting Sháh Gushtásp, son of Luhrásp,
Who leadeth out a host against the Turkmans,
Hath made his hostile purpose clear, and wrought
His devilry against a king like thee.
More than a hundred thousand cavaliers
Are mine, and I will bring them if thou wilt.
Go to then, let us follow up his doings;
See that thou fear not to contend with him.”
Arjásp, when he had heard the dív speak thus,
Descended from the royal Turkman throne,
And, having summoned all the priests, announced
What he had heard to them. “Know ye,” said he,
“That God's Grace and pure Faith have left Írán,
Where some old dotard hath appeared who claimeth
To be a prophet, and his words are these:—
‘I have come down from heaven, I have come down
From Him who is the Master of the world.
I have beheld the Lord in Paradise,
And all the Zandavasta is His writing;
I saw, moreover, Áhriman in Hell,
But dared not venture near; the Lord then sent me
To teach the monarch of the earth the Faith.’
The chief among the nobles of Irán,
The most illustrious son of Sháh Luhrásp,
He whom the Íránians call Gushtásp, hath bound
The cincture round his loins, as hath withal
His brother, that courageous cavalier,
The general of Írán, Zarír by name.
All gather to Zarduhsht to be instructed,
And are befooled by that old sorcerer.
All have with one consent embraced his Faith:
His cult and ritual fulfil the world.
By such fond methods and buffoonery
Hath he become a prophet in Írán.
Needs must I write a letter to that rebel,
Give him great gifts, for gifts unasked are pleasant,
And say to him: ‘Abandon this ill course,
Be awed before the God of Paradise,
Put far from thee that ancient miscreant,
And hold a feast according to our customs.’
If then he will accept of our advice
Our bonds will not prove galling to his feet;
If he reject it and revive old feuds
We will assemble our disbanded troops,
And, mustering a goodly host, invade
Írán in consequence of these his doings,
And, fearing not the pains and his resistance,
Will bring him to contempt, before us drive,
Put him in chains, and gibbet him alive.”