espectfully kissing the ground, say to him:--
"Thou art great as king can be,
Boundless in thy majesty;
What is all this earth to thee,
All beneath the sky?
Peris, mortals, demons, hear
Thy commanding voice with fear;
Thou art lord of all things here,
But, thou canst not fly!
"That remains for thee; to know
Things above, as things below,
How the planets roll;
How the sun his light displays,
How the moon darts forth her rays;
How the nights succeed the days;
What the secret cause betrays,
And who directs the whole!"
This artful address of the Demon satisfied Kaus of the imperfection of
his nature, and the enviable power which he had yet to obtain. To him,
therefore, it became matter of deep concern, how he might be enabled to
ascend the Heavens without wings, and for that purpose he consulted his
astrologers, who presently suggested a way in which his desires might be
successfully accomplished.
They contrived to rob an eagle's nest of its young, which they reared
with great care, supplying them well with invigorating food, till they
grew large and strong. A framework of aloes-wood was then prepared; and
at each of the four corners was fixed perpendicularly, a javelin,
surmounted on the point with flesh of a goat. At each corner again one
of the eagles was bound, and in the middle Kaus was seated in great pomp
with a goblet of wine before him. As soon as the eagles became hungry,
they endeavored to get at the goat's flesh upon the javelins, and by
flapping their wings and flying upwards, they quickly raised up the
throne from the ground. Hunger still pressing them, and still being
distant from their prey, they ascended higher and higher in the clouds,
conveying the astonished king far beyond his own country; but after long
and fruitless exertion their strength failed them, and unable to keep
their way, the whole fabric came tumbling down from the sky, and fell
upon a dreary solitude in the kingdom of Chin. There Kaus was left, a
prey to hunger, alone, and in utter despair, until he was discovered by
a band of Demons, whom his anxious ministers had sent in search of him.
Rustem, and Gudarz, and Tus, at length heard of what had befallen the
king, and with feelings of sorrow not unmixed with indignation, set off
to his assistance. "Since I was born," said Gudarz, "never did I see
such a man as Kaus. He seems to be entirely destitute of reason and
understanding; alwa
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