Now at the hour when chanticleer awaketh
The tymbals sounded in the palace-court,
Whereat the army eager to depart
Turned toward the desert. All the local chiefs,
Wherever there was any mighty man,

Went forth to furnish victuals for the way,
Such as were worthy of the Sháh and host.
Along the route whereby the army marched
The valleys and the plains were like bázárs;
No man could venture to withhold his hand
Upon the mountains, wastes, or camping-grounds.
The great mon, who with gifts and offerings
Kept coming to give welcome to the Sháh,
Upon beholding such a glorious monarch
Approached in crowds to do him reverence,
While he excused them from attending him
Upon the march and gave them robes of honour.
Gív came forth with an army and with all
The leaders of that land to give him welcome.
The prudent Sháh received Gív graciously,
With honours such as Siyáwush had paid,
And, lighting when he reached the sea, inspected
The sails, and stayed two sennights on the shore
In talk with Gív of all that he had seen,
And said: “Whoe'er hath viewed not Gang hath naught
To make him wish to tarry on the earth.”
The Sháh then bade his men to load the ships
And, sending first two boats, launched after them
A thousand vessels. He bade all that skilled
In seamanship, and showed a dauntless heart
Upon the depths of ocean, to set sail.
They crossed the sea, the voyage of a year,
In seven months; so speeding was the breeze
That Sháh and army made their way across,
And not a sleeve was turned by hostile winds.
Whenas the leader reached dry land once more,
And disembarking looked upon the plain,
He came and chafed his face upon the dust,
Invoking holy God. He lavished food
And raiment on the mariners and steersmen,
And ordered robes of honour and dínárs
For those that had endured the toil aboard;
Then took the desert-route while all men marvelled.
Ashkash on hearing brought a host to meet him,
And lighting from his charger kissed the ground,
And did obeisance. They bedecked Makrán
Throughout, and summoned minstrelsy, the harp
Was heard in all the ways and wastes, and thou
Hadst said: “The harp is warp, the air is woof.”
They decked the walls with hangings of brocade,
And scattered drachms and sweetmeats underfoot.
The magnates of Makrán—both men of name
And mighty warriors—appeared before
The conquering Sháh with gifts and offerings.
Ashkash presented all the land's best products.
The Sháh approved all that Ashkash had done
As ruler of Makrán, and chose a chief,
Bestowing on him many gifts and blessings.
When with the noble chieftains of Írán
Khusrau had left Makrán and drawn toward Chín,
Came Rustam, son of Zál, the son of Sám,
To meet him with a glad, contented host.
That noble cavalier, when Kai Khusrau
Appeared afar, beheld the parasol,
Alighted from his steed, and did obeisance.
The noble Sháh clasped Rustam to his breast,
Told of the wonders seen by him at sea,
And how Afrásiyáb, the sorcerer,
Had disappeared. He stayed as Rustam's guest
One sennight and then left Máchin and Chín,
Bestowing them on the Faghfúr and Khán,
Who ofttimes blessed him. Many a gift and counsel
He gave them and released their hearts from care,
Then took his way toward Siyáwushgird
Upon the Ard of month Sapandármad.
His eyes and heart were full on entering
His father's city. When he reached the spot
Where Garsíwaz, the man of evil mark,
Gurwí, the accursed, and executioners
Had shamefully beheaded Siyáwush,
He poured that dark dust on his head and rent
His face and breast while Rustam rubbed his face
In that dust too and cursed Gurwí's soul black.
Then Kai Khusrau exclaimed: “Thou, O my lord!
Hast left me here as thy memorial;
I have forgone no jot of vengeance for thee,
And will ensue it while the world endureth.
I made the throne quit of Afrásiyáb,
And I will seek no rest or sleep henceforth
In hope that I may get him in my clutches,
And make the world both black and strait to him.”
Next turning to his father's treasure-hoard,
As he had been instructed by his mother,
He opened it and furnished forth supplies.
He stayed two weeks with gladness in that city,
And gave two hundred purses of dínárs
To Rustam and abundant gifts to Gív.
Now Gustaham, son of Naudar, on hearing:—
“The Sháh is visiting his father's city,”
Set forth to meet him with a mighty escort
Of chieftains and of warriors of Írán,
And, seeing in the distance the Sháh's head
And crown, alighted and fared far afoot,
While all the host acclaimed the earth's just king,
Who ordered Gustaham to mount his steed,
And thus they went rejoicing, hand in hand,
To Gang-bihisht. The troops received high honour.
Their loyalty was like a fruitful tree
In constant bearing. Sháh and cavalier
Were busy at the banquet and the chase,
While all the Turkmans of exalted rank
Had every favour that they could desire.
By day-time and by night-time equally
Khusrau sought tidings of Afrásiyáb,
But nobody could show a trace of him;
There was no mention of him in the world.
One night the Sháh, when he had bathed himself,
Went with the scriptures of the Zandavasta
Apart, and all night wept and laid his head
Upon the ground before the Maker, saying:—
“This feeble slave of Thine hath evermore
Some trouble in possession of his soul.
The world—its mountains, deserts, wastes, and waters—
Will I thresh out to find Afrásiyáb
Because he walketh not Thy way, O Judge!
Contemning every one on earth as vile.
Thou knowest that he is neither just nor true,
A shedder of much blood of guiltless heads.
Oh! that the righteous Judge, the only God,
Would guide me to that doer of ill deeds,
For though I am but an unworthy slave
I am the Maker's worshipper. I hear
No fame or rumour of Afrásiyáb
On earth: I see him not but Thou seest all.
If Thou art pleased with him, O righteous Judge!
Divert my thoughts from any further strife,
Quench in my heart the fire of my revenge,
And make my purposes conform with Thine.”
Then from the place of prayer he sought his throne,
A noble youth and of unsleeping fortune.
At Gang-bihisht he lived a restful life
For one whole year exempt from war and strife.