THE DEATH OF THE HERO'S FATHER

WHEN three years were over the two brothers were divided. For the father of Ali Ghuli Khan, for the love he bore the Shah, was made governor of the province of Erewan.* Thither he went, and by his rule he made the province blossom like a garden in spring. Justice flourished, and his charity filled the barns of the gleaners (i.e., the poor). Suddenly Time, the magician, struck his fortune with his wand, and the king gave him charge of Candahar, on which the curse of Afghan rule had fallen; but hardly had he said farewell to Erewan when he parted from life too, and for that high lord there was lamentation in the house of heaven. And his little son was sent to Isfahan, where he abode in his uncle's house. And there his uncle became as his father, and Hadijeh was his playmate.