When of his reign seven years had passed, and all
The archmages were in travail and dismay,
In Farwardín, when the eighth year began,
And showed the world the sun which they adored,
Upon Urmuzd's day there was born a child
With good stars and earth-brightening presages.
His sire forthwith gave him the name Bahrám,
Rejoicing in that little one. At court
There were astrologers, for it is well
To hearken to their words. One was a noble
With Grace and sense, an Indian chieftain named
Surúsh, another hight Hushyár, a Persian,
Who by his arts could curb the sky itself.
These prudent seekers of the Way appeared
Before the Sháh at his command. They used
Their astrolabes to take the stars and sought
To read the future with their Rúman tablets.
The stars ordained: “The child will be a king,
Lord of the seven climes, glad-hearted, holy.”
They went before the Sháh forthwith and took
Their astrolabes and tablets. Thus they said:—
“We have collected knowledge of all kinds,
And learned that heaven will love this goodly child.
The seven climes will be his realm, and he
Will be a mighty Sháh and worshipful.”
As soon as they had left the court, the chiefs,
And ministers, the holy archimages,
Sat and consulted o'er some shift whereby
The babe might favour not his sire but be
A righteous sovereign, “for if he hath
His father's temper he will wreck the realm,
The archimages and the paladins
Will not rejoice, and he will be not glad,
And bright of soul.”

Then all the archimages

Approached the Sháh with open, loyal hearts,
And said: “This sprightly babe is far beyond
Reproach and calumny. Now all the world
Is under thy command; the toil and service
Of every clime are thine. Look for some place
Where knowledge is, and its possessors make

Their land rejoice, and choose among the great
Some statist who is lauded in that land,
And let this virtuous prince learn worth from him,
So that the world may joy in his behests.”
The Sháh, on hearing this, assembled all
The envoys of his realm and sent them forth
To Rúm, to Hind, to Chín, and other lands
Inhabited. A chief, too, went among
The Arabs to discern if they would prove
A gain or loss. To every quarter fared
A crier seeking one to educate
Bahrám, some man of eloquence and learning,
Accomplishment and knowledge; so there came
From every clime an archmage wise, advised,
And fortunate, and, as they reached the court,
Each sought for that appointment from the Sháh,
Who, after welcoming them graciously,
Assigned to each a lodging in the city.
Thus on a night Nu'mán came with Munzir,
And likewise many famous Arab spearmen.
When all these chiefs had gathered thus in Párs
They came to Yazdagird, the king, and said:—
“We are thy slaves to hear and answer thee.
Who of these nobles is so fortunate
As to embrace the world-lord's precious child,
To be his teacher, and to cause the light
To shine upon the darkness of his heart?
We out of Rúm and Hindústán and Párs,
Geometricians and astrologers,
Philosophers and men exceeding wise,
Men of affairs and rhetoricians,
Are all of us the dust upon thy feet,
And all thy guides to knowledge. See thou then
Which one among us is approved by thee,
And which of us will profit thee the most.”
Then spake Munzir on this wise: “We are slaves
Who only live in this world for the Sháh.
He knoweth all the worth of us, for he
Is as the shepherd, we are as the flock.
Bold, riders we, adept in horsemanship,
More than a match for sages. We possess
No readers of the stars in figures versed,
But we have minds devoted to the realm,
And in this matter we are strong, O Sháh!
Moreover we are slaves before thy son,
And sing the praises of his majesty.”
When Yazdagird had heard he summoned up
His spirits and his wisdom, and, perceiving
From such an outset what would be the outcome,
Consigned Bahrám, the precious, to Munzir,
For whom, for so the Sháh bade, they prepared
A robe of honour and exalted sky-ward
His head. They robed his person and then called
The charger of the monarch of Yaman.
The plain-ward from the hall of Yazdagird
Went camels, horses, litters, slaves, and nurses,
Past count, and stretched from palace to bázár.
The road through the bázárs were draped with hangings,
And all was decked from city-gate to court.
Now when Munzir approached Yaman the men
And women all went out to welcome him.
Or ever he reached home he 'gan to seek
For many women of illustrious birth,
And made his choice among the landed folk
Of Persian race, among the Arabians,
Among the wealthy, great, and eminent,
And chose four ladies—two of Arab stock
And two of royal Persian—whose high strain
Was manifest in their accomplishment,
To serve as nurses.*

Thus they tended him
Four years. When he had had his fill of suckling,
And grew apace, they weaned him, which was hard
To do, and reared him delicately. At seven
What said he to Munzir in princely fashion?
“Great chief! make me not out a babe unweaned!
Entrust me unto tutors that are learned,
My time is being wasted; scorn me not.”
Munzir replied: “Not yet, O prince! hast thou
A need for knowledge. When that time shall come,
And thou hast grown solicitous to learn,
I will not leave thee playing in the house:
But playing is the thing to make thee grow.”
Bahrám rejoined: “Make me not out to be
An idle child for, though my years are few,
And though my neck and chest are not yet those
Of warriors, I have wisdom. As for thee,
Thou hast small wisdom though thou hast the years.
I am not as thou deemest. Know'st thou not
That one in quest of opportunities
Will start with matters that concern him most?
To seek twice is to sacrifice one's prospects.
What is ill-timed is fruitless. Of man's body
The head is chief, and thou shouldst have me taught
What the great kingshould know. The first thing needful
Is knowledge since it is the head of right,
And blest is he that from the first ensueth
His proper end.”

Munzir scanned him with wonder,

Invoking God beneath his breath, and sent
Upon a dromedary to Shúrsán
A chief forthwith who found three archimages,
Accomplished men and well reputed there.

One was to teach the young prince penmanship,
And lighten the dark places in his heart;
The second to instruct him in the use
Of hawk and cheetah for his recreation,
As well as polo, archery, swordmanship
Against the foeman, how to rein his steed,
And to exalt himself among the brave;
The third to inculcate the arts of kingship,
The style and business of administration,
And everything that he should bear in mind.*

When these archmages came before Munzir
They held much talk with him, and in their charge
He placed the prince, because Munzir himself
Was both a scholar and a warrior.
Bahrám, that seed of kings, grew so adept
That he was competent to play the man,
And when he heard of new accomplishments
He longed to learn them. When he was eighteen
The valiant warrior was like the sun;
He needed not archmages to instruct him
In erudition, how to play at polo,
In manage of the cheetah and the hawk,
To wheel a steed upon the battlefield,
And charge. Thus said he to Munzir: “O man
Of honest rede! send these professors home.”
Thereat Munzir bestowed great gifts upon them,
And they returned rejoicing. Then the prince
Said to Munzir: “Call for the spearmen's steeds,
And bid the cavaliers to wheel before me,
To couch their lances, and then name the price
Of what I fancy; I will better it.”
Munzir said: “O accomplished atheling!
The keeper of my steeds is thine to bid,
The master of the horse is all thine own;
Why should I toil and trouble for such things
If thou art forced to purchase Arab steeds?”
Bahrám replied: “O famous one! may all
Thy years be satisfied with good. I want
A steed that I may spur adown the height,
And never draw the bridle in alarm,
Then, having rendered him so sure of foot,
Cause him to vie with winds upon the course,
Because one should not press a beast untried.”
Munzir then bade Nu'mán: “Go thou and choose
A drove of our own valiant herdsmen's horses;
Go round the desert of the spearmen, see
What chargers thou canst get.”

He hurried forth,

Chose, and produced a hundred warriors' mounts.

Bahrám, on seeing them, went on the plain,
And wheeled about upon them for a while,
But every steed, albeit fleet as wind,
Possessed no wings when ridden by Bahrám.
At length he chose a chestnut broad of breast,
With feet like wind, and, of another brand,
A bay. Thou wouldst have said: “A crocodile
Hath come forth from the deep!” His shoes flashed
fire,
And from his ruddy breast fell drops of blood.
Munzir paid for the two what they were worth
(The wood of Kúfa was their native place)
And bold Bahrám accepted the two steeds,
Bright as Ázargashasp, and guarded them,
Like some fresh apple, lest a blast should harm.
One day the young prince spake thus to Munzir:—
“O man of understanding, bright of mind!
Thou hast no pretext for thus keeping me,
Not sparing me a moment from thy sight.
There is a secret impulse in the hearts
Of all that thou beholdest. As grief paleth,
So pleasure greateneth, a man. In short
Some fair-faced damsel will increase my joy,
For woman is the solace of our pains.
In woman doth a young man find repose,
Be he a monarch or a paladin;
She is his guide to Faith and to all good.
Command to have some damsels brought to me,
Some five or six, like suns and full of charm.
Perchance, when I have chosen one or two,
My thoughts will fix on justice and the Faith.
It may be too that I shall have a child
To ease my heart, the world-lord will approve me,
And I shall have the praise of every one.”
On hearing such words from the youth, Munzir
The agéd, blessed him and then bade a man*

To make all haste to the slave-dealer's shop
Upon that quest, who brought out forty damsels
Of Rúm, all fit to please and soothe the heart,
As tall in stature as a cypress-tree,
All objects of desire, of charm, and grace.
Bahrám chose two, among those rosy-cheeked,
With rosy skins and bones of ivory.
One of these Stars could play upon the lute,
The other with her cheeks all tulip-like
Was as Canopus of Yaman, in height
A cypress, and with tresses lasso-wise.
Munzir paid for them when they were approved.
With cheeks bright as the gem of Badakhshán*

Bahrám gave thanks with smiles upon his face,
And spent his days at polo and the chace.