When he came joyfully from Mehrab's palace

He remembered Zal often

He saw the precious Sindokht sleeping

He saw her face withered, her heart in turmoil

He asked and said, 'What happened? Tell me.'

Why is your face withered like a flower petal?

She replied to Mehrab in this manner

For thoughts in my heart have become long

From this flourishing palace and this desire

And from these Arabian horses adorned

And from these subjects devoted to the general

From this crown and the kingship it bestows

And from this face and our tall stature

From this name, and our knowledge and wisdom

With this well-being and this truth

Time, from time to time, brings decline

The unsuccessful must be handed over to the enemy

All our suffering must be counted as wind

One tight coffin is the result of this for us

A tree whose opium is our poison

We killed and gave its water to suffering

We hung its crown and treasure upon it

When it rose to the sun and became shaded

It came to the earth, the head of the wealthy

This is the end and conclusion of our journey

Know where our peace will end

Mehrab said these words to Sindokht

What you bring new will never turn old

The house of happiness was in this manner

Wisdom found from it was fearful

One comes in, and another passes by

No passage, for the wheel will give its turn

No more joy and sorrow will return

There is no conflict with the just

Sindokht told him this tale

He will place it on another's face as history

The wise and fortunate priest found wisdom

He taught his child the story of the tree

I told the tale, guided by wisdom's way

The general should look at my words

The tall cypress bent down in submission

It gave the red narcissus its dew

For the heavens do not pass above such a being

We must be the ones, O wise one, to follow

Know that Rudabeh has set traps for Sam's son

Secretly laying various snares

She has led his bright heart astray

We must find a solution and keep an eye on it

I have given her much advice, but it did not help

I see her heart is confused and her face pale

When Mehrab heard this, he jumped to his feet

And placed his hand on his sword

His body trembled and his face turned azure

His heart full of blood, and his soul cold with dread

He said, 'I will now shed Rudabeh's blood

And uproot her from the face of the earth

When Sindokht saw this, she sprang to her feet

And wrapped her arms around his neck

She said, 'Now listen to one of lesser rank

And heed my words for a moment

Then do what your wisdom guides you to

Your soul and intellect will be your guide

She twisted and threw him down

He roared like a raging elephant

He said to me, 'When the daughter appeared

I should have immediately cut off her head

I didn't kill her and strayed from the ancestral path

Now she has brought such alchemy upon me

A son who strays from his father's path

The brave do not count him as their father's son

I fear for my life and face disgrace

Why do you keep me from battle?

If Sam the hero and King Manuchehr

Find out about our plans

Smoke will rise from Kabul to the sun

Neither the city nor the crops will remain intact

Sindokht said to the border guard

Do not foolishly change your words on this matter

From this news, Sam the knight did learn

In his heart, fear and anxiety did churn

From the wolves of the desert, he turned back

This word is open, it's no longer a track

Thus spoke Mehrab, 'Oh moon-faced one, true

Do not speak with me in a manner askew'

How can one’s mind submit to earthly strife

When the wind itself commands the dust of life

My heart is not troubled by this nothingness

If only I find safety from harm's distress

For who would bind Sam the knight in his stride

From Ahvaz to Kandahar, he will not be denied

Sindokht said, 'O honored and noble lord'

With words of misfortune, I have no accord'

Your harm is clear, my harm it shall be

Your troubled heart is bound up with me

This is true, it has set on my heart's crest

This suspicion has lingered since the first request

If it is, this work is not so strange

That so many ill thoughts should have been arranged

Fereydun became the king of Yemen's tall trees

The world-conqueror saw how his hands' fate frees

Whenever you estrange from your own kin

Your thoughts darken, as does the thought within

To Sindokht, the renowned did say

Bring Rudabeh to me without delay

Sindokht feared the sharp man, with a mind set on hurt

Who would bring her pain and woes from the dirt

I will first seek your promise to hold true

Then wash her heart from hatred, to renew

Sindokht said, 'Let not the name be a lie'

For Rudabeh shall never face ill in my eye

She said, 'See that the king of this earth

Shall turn his heart against us, full of mirth'

Neither home nor father, nor mother will stay

Rudabeh with the river shall have their way

When Sindokht heard, she lowered her face

And bowed, as tears began to trace

She smiled at her daughter with lips full of cheer

Her face opened like the day under the night so near

She brought the good news, a tiger's fight came near

From the grave of life, it strikes with claws so clear

Now quickly open your veil, and go before

Before your father, weeping at the door

Rudabeh asked, 'What is this veil I should wear'

What use is a crown with nothing to spare

My soul is matched with Sam's son, it is true

Why should it be hidden and not in view?

She came before her father like the morning sun

Drenched in rubies and gold

A paradise adorned with beauty

Like the radiant sun in delightful spring

When her father saw her, he was stunned

He secretly called upon the Creator

He said to her, 'O one washed of wisdom

How does this fit among the noble ones?

That a fairy would pair with a demon

That the moon would be your crown and ring

When Rudabeh heard that conversation

She became grim and her face turned saffron

Her black eyelashes on her grim daffodil-like eyes

She closed them and said nothing

Her father's heart full of anger and head full of war

He walked growling like a leopard

The heartbroken daughter went home

Her face saffron-colored, full of tears

Both sought refuge in God

Both the heart-stricken moon and the throne