How Khusrau Parwíz heard of the Case of Bahrám Chúbína and wrote a Letter to the Khán, and how he replied

Thus matters fared till tidings reached Írán,
Reached the great monarch of the brave: “A king­ship
And treasure greater than thine own are now
Bahrám Chúbína's and untoiled for!”

Vexed

And troubled by solicitude, his heart
Wrung by the doings of Bahrám Chúbína,
He held consult with his own magnates, spake,
Discussing all expedients, and at night
Called for a scribe and made an arrow-head
His pen-point. To the Khán of Chín he wrote
A letter, and thou wouldst have said: “He made
His sword the pen.”

He first praised God, “the One,

The Guide to good, who setteth up on high
Sun, moon, and Saturn, who enthroneth kings,

Who pricketh sinners and increaseth Grace.
By ignorance, by knowledge, by uprightness,
And by perversity, by harm and loss,
'Tis owned that He is One and hath no comrade,
No peer, no mate. Whoever seeketh good
Shall find it but so may not he whose hands
Are steeped in ill, and he that maketh choice
Of God's way must forgo ingratitude.”
He then said thus: “Bahrám Chúbína (may
He ne'er in this world see his wishes won!)
Was an ungrateful servant to the Sháh,
Ignoring both his master and his God.
He was of small account, unfamed and weak,
Till my sire took him up when season served;
But when the monarch of the world thus raised him
He only did according to his nature:
His conduct is well known to great and small.
The mighty and the wise rejected him,
But thou didst welcome him when he arrived,
And take him by the hand as one well born—
A thing incredible to upright folk,
And not approved by me. Thou hast forgotten
Perchance his conduct when thou went'st in fear
Because of him. He lashed thee many times
Upon the head—a thing that none commend.
* Thou shouldest not make barren thine own fame,
And barter thy tranquillity to him.
When they deliver this let thine advice,
Now dark, consider well if thou wilt profit
By sending us that slave, his feet in fetters;
Else I dispatch an army from Írán,
And for Túrán turn daylight into gloom.”
Now when the letter reached the Khán, and he
Had heard the intention of Khusrau Parwíz,
He told the envoy: “When thou com'st to court
To-morrow morning ask for the reply.”
The envoy came in haste; he had not slept
All night. He waited till he saw the Torch
Resplendent of the sun, then made all haste
To have an audience of the Khán who sent
For scribe with pen and ink and silk of Chín,
And wrote in answer: “To the Maker be
Such praise as magnates give from me, a slave,”
Proceeding thus: “Thy letter I have read,
And set the messenger before me. Speak
Thou unto slaves expressions such as thine.
It fitteth not thine ancient family
To disallow the greatness of the great,
Or not to make the lowly know his place.
Mine are the whole of Chín and of Túrán,
And the Haitálian crown. I ne'er broke faith;
Suggest it not. To break my pledge when I
Have ta'en Bahrám Chúbína by the hand
Will make men call me base-born. I fear none
Save holy God, but as for thee if greatness
Increase with thee so also should thy wisdom.”
He set his seal thereto and told the envoy:—
“Companion with the wind.”

Within a month

The envoy reached the Sháh who when he read
The letter writhed and was in fear of fortune.
He called the Íránians, told the Khán's reply,
And showed the letter, and the Great, when they
Had read it, mused. He gat from them this answer:—
“O glory of the throne and crown of kings!
Weigh these things well; consult some ancient sage;
Let not this letter make thee rash; turn not
The torch of former Grace to gloom; select
Some old Íránian sage, wise, eloquent,
A warrior and a scribe, and let him go
Hence to the Khán to speak and hear his views,
Inform him what Bahrám Chúbína was
At first and, after, to what ends he used
His leadership, and having ordered all
Was fain to make a bondslave of his lord.
If this be not accomplished in one month
Then let the envoy stay a year forwhy
'Twill not be easy to disparage him
Because he is the Khán's own son-in-law.
The envoy must be very plausible,
And none must gather what his purpose is.”
Thereafter brave Bahrám Chúbína, hearing
That some one from Írán had brought the Khán
A letter, went to him forthwith and said:—
“My gracious lord! I hear yon recreant knave
Is plying thee with letters. Choose from Chín
A gallant host and occupy Írán.
My scimitar shall conquer it and Rúm;
I will salute thee monarch of those lands,
And there the watchmen of the night shall have
Thy name upon their lips. I will behead
Inglorious Khusrau Parwíz, and may
No top or toe be left him! I took service
That I might root out the Sásánians.”

The Khán, on hearing, pondered and his heart
Was like a wood with thoughts. He summoned all
The elders—eloquent, learned, heedful men—
Told them Bahrám Chúbína's scheme, revealed
What had been secretly proposed and gat
This answer from the men of lore, alike
From those of his own kin and alien:—
“'Tis no light task, but hard, to consummate
The measure of the lineage of Sásán;
Yet if Bahrám Chúbína shall march forth,
And show the wise the way, he in Írán
Will find full many a friend since he will have
The Khán to back and help him, and thy fortune
Soon will achieve the work. We ought to listen
To what he saith.”

Bahrám Chúbína's heart

Revived when this he heard; he laughed and changed
In bearing. All the warriors agreed
That they must choose two young men who were fit
To have command, inured to toil and soldiers.
There was in Chín a noble named Chínwí,
And one Zhangwí—a chief. The Khán sent, sum­moned,
And made those men of war his paymasters.
He bade them both: “Be circumspect in fight,
And ever look up to Bahrám Chúbína
Alike in times of joyance and of wrath,
Secure the fords of the Jíhún and send it
In dust up to the sky.”

He gave to them

A valiant host—all chiefs and warrior-lions.
Drums sounded at Bahrám Chúbína's portal,
And Sol's face changed to ebony with dust.
From Chín toward Írán he took his way
Upon Sapandármad at break of day.