am sent a letter to
Minuchihr, again to deprecate his wrath, and appointed Zal the
messenger. In this letter Sam enumerates his services at Karugsar and
Mazinderan, and especially dwells upon the destruction of a prodigious
dragon.

"I am thy servant, and twice sixty years
Have seen my prowess. Mounted on my steed,
Wielding my battle-axe, overthrowing heroes,
Who equals Sam, the warrior? I destroyed
The mighty monster, whose devouring jaws
Unpeopled half the land, and spread dismay
From town to town. The world was full of horror,
No bird was seen in air, no beast of prey
In plain or forest; from the stream he drew
The crocodile; the eagle from the sky.
The country had no habitant alive,
And when I found no human being left,
I cast away all fear, and girt my loins,
And in the name of God went boldly forth,
Armed for the strife. I saw him towering rise,
Huge as a mountain, with his hideous hair
Dragging upon the ground; his long black tongue
Shut up the path; his eyes two lakes of blood;
And, seeing me, so horrible his roar,
The earth shook with affright, and from his mouth
A flood of poison issued. Like a lion
Forward I sprang, and in a moment drove
A diamond-pointed arrow through his tongue,
Fixing him to the ground. Another went
Down his deep throat, and dreadfully he writhed.
A third passed through his middle. Then I raised
My battle-axe, cow-headed, and with one
Tremendous blow, dislodged his venomous brain,
And deluged all around with blood and poison.
There lay the monster dead, and soon the world
Regained its peace and comfort. Now I'm old,
The vigour of my youth is past and gone,
And it becomes me to resign my station,
To Zal, my gallant son."

Mihrab continued in such extreme agitation, that in his own mind he saw
no means of avoiding the threatened desolation of his country but by
putting his wife and daughter to death. Sindokht however had a better
resource, and suggested the expediency of waiting upon Sam herself, to
induce him to forward her own views and the nuptials between Zal and
Rudabeh. To this Mihrab assented, and she proceeded, mounted on a richly
caparisoned horse, to Zabul with most magnificent presents, consisting
of three hundred thousand dinars; ten horses with golden, and thirty
with silver, housings; sixty richly attired damsels, carrying golden
trays of jewels and musk, and camphor, and wine, and sugar; forty pie