
Rostam Sings at the Enchanted Feast
From B5.4, Rostam Slays a Witch. It illustrates B5.4.6–15:
- B5.4.6He left the saddle lying on the ground,And marveled at the feast that he had found.
- B5.4.7He gazed upon the roasted meat nearby,And bread arranged before his wondering eye.
- B5.4.8The feast was spread within the wizards’ lair;A Div withdrew and vanished into air.
- B5.4.9He sat beside the stream with cup in hand,And found a fine tanbur upon the sand.
- B5.4.10He struck its strings; the wilderness seemed allTransformed around him to a feasting hall.
- B5.4.11He sang: “Ill-starred, I wander year by year;Few joyful days have ever brought me cheer.
- B5.4.12My life is war with dragon and with Div;Through desert wilds no respite they will leave.
- B5.4.13Wherever I may go, the field is war;The mount and desert are my garden floor.
- B5.4.14No wine, no cup, no fragrant meadow’s bloomHas Fortune granted me to ease my gloom.
- B5.4.15My lot is still the nahang to withstand,Or face the leopard roaming through the land.”
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