Page:Persian Literature (1900), vol. 1.djvu/294

 dodged round him, and continued driving arrows into him to the extent of forty, which subdued his strength, and made him writhe in agony. He then fixed the dagger, which was armed at right angles with knives, upon his spear, and going nearer, thrust it down his gasping throat.

Dreadful the weapon each two-edged blade Cut deep into the jaws on either side, And the fierce monster, thinking to dislodge it, Crushed it between his teeth with all his strength, Which pressed it deeper in the flesh, when blood And poison issued from the gaping wounds; Then, as he floundered on the earth exhausted, Seizing the fragment of a flinty rock, Gushtásp beat out the brains, and soon the beast In terrible struggles died. Two deadly fangs Then wrenched he from the jaws, to testify The wonderful exploit he had performed.

When he descended from the mountain, these two teeth were delivered to Ahrun, and they were afterwards conveyed to the king, who could not believe his own eyes, but ascended the mountain himself to ascertain the fact, and there he beheld with amazement the dragon lifeless, and covered with blood. "And didst thou thyself kill this terrific dragon?" said he. "Yes," replied Ahrun. "And wilt thou swear to God that this is thy own achievement? It must be either the exploit of a demon, or of a certain Kaiánian, who resides in this neighborhood." But there was no one to disprove his assertion, and therefore the king could no longer refuse to surrender to him his youngest daughter.

And now between Gushtásp, and Mabrín, and Ahrun, the warmest friendship subsisted. Indeed they were seldom parted; and the three sisters remained together with equal affection. One day Kitabún, the wife of Gushtásp, in conversation with some of her female acquaintance, let out the secret that her husband was the person who killed the wolf and the dragon.

No sooner was this story told, than it spread, and in the end reached the ears of the queen, who immediately communicated it to the king, saying:--"This is the work of Gushtásp, thy son-in-law, of him thou hast banished from thy presence--of him who nobly would not disclose his name, before Mabrín and Ahrun had attained the object of their wishes." The k