first，because the King of Roum hath invoked thine assistance and hath sent thee gifts which thou hast accepted；and，secondly，because while no enemy dareth attack our country，thine army may go forth safely and，should it succour the King of Graecia-land and defeat his foe，the glory will be thine.Moreover，the news of it will be noised abroad in all cities and countries and especially，when the tidings shall reach the Islands of the Ocean and the Kings of Mauritania shall hear it，they will send thee offerings of rarities and pay thee tribute of money.' The King pleased by the Wazir's words and approving his rede，gave him a dress of honour and said to him，'Of the like of thee should Kings ask counsel，and it seemeth fit that thou shouldst conduct the van of our army and our son Sharrkan command the main battle.' Then he sent for his son who came and kissed ground before him and sat down；and he expounded to him the matter，telling him what the Ambassadors and the Wazir Dandan had said，and he charged him to take arms and equip himself for the campaign，enjoining him not to gainsay Dandan in aught he should do.Moreover，he ordered him to pick out of his army ten thousand horsemen，armed cap-a-pie and inured to onset and stress of war.Accordingly，Sharrkan arose on the instant，and chose out a myriad of horsemen，after which he entered his palace and mustered his host and distributed largesse to them，saying，'Ye have delay of three days.' They kissed the earth before him in obedience to his commands and began at once to lay in munitions，and provide provisions for the occasion；whilst Sharrkan repaired to the armouries and took therefrom whatsoever he required of arms and armour，and thence to the stable where he chose horses of choice blood and others.When the appointed three days were ended，the army drew out to the suburbs of Baghdad city；[157]and King Omar came forth to take leave of his son who kissed the ground before him and received from the King seven parcels of money.[158] Then he turned to Danden and commended to his care the army of his son；and the Wazir kissed the ground before him and answered，'I hear and I obey；' and lastly he charged Sharrkan that he should consult the Wazir on all occasions，which he promised to do.After this，the King returned to his city and Sharrkan ordered the officers to muster their troops in battle array.So they mustered them and their number was ten thousand horsemen，besides footmen and camp followers.Then they loaded their baggage on their beasts and the war drums beat and the trumpets blared and the bannerols and standards were unfurled，whilst Sharrkan mounted horse，with the Wazir Dandan by his side，and the colours fluttering over their heads.So the host fared forth and stinted not faring，with the ambassadors preceding them，till day departed and night drew nigh，when they alighted and encamped for the night.And as soon as Allah caused the morn tomorrow，they mounted and tried on，guided by the Ambassadors，for a space of twenty days；and by the night of the twenty first they came to a fine and spacious Wady well grown with trees and shrubbery.Here Sharrkan ordered them to alight and commanded a three days' halt，so they dismounted and pitched their tents，spreading their camp over the right and the left slopes of the extensive valley，whilst the Wazir Dandan and the Ambassadors of King Afridun pitched in the sole of the Wady.[159]As for Sharrkan，he tarried behind them for awhile till all had dismounted and had dispersed themselves over the valley sides；he then slacked the reins of his steed，being minded to explore the Wady and to mount guard in his own person，because of his father's charge and owing to the fact that they were on the frontier of Graecia land and in the enemy's country.So he rode out alone after ordering his armed slaves and his body guard to camp near the Wazir Dandan，and he fared on along the side of the valley till a fourth part of the night was passed，when he felt tired and drowsiness overcame him，so that he could no longer urge horse with heel.Now he was accustomed to take rest on horseback；so when slumber overpowered him，he slept and the steed ceased not going on with him till half the night was spent and entered one of the thickets[160] which was dense with growth；but Sharrkan awoke not until his horse stumbled over wooded ground.Then he started from sleep and found himself among the trees，and the moon arose and shone brightly over the two horizons，Eastern and Western.He was startled when he found himself alone in this place and said the say which ne'er yet shamed its sayer，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！' But as he rode on，in fear of wild beasts，behold，the moon spread her glad light over a meadow as if it were of the meads of Paradise；and he heard pleasant voices and a loud noise of talk and laughter captivating the senses of men.So King Sharrkan alighted and，tying his steed to one of the trees，went over a little way till he came upon a stream and heard a woman talking in Arabic and saying，'Now by the crush of the Messiah，this is not well of you！ but whose utters a word，I will throw her and truss her up with her own girdle[161]！'He kept walking in the direction of the sound and when he reached the further side he looked and behold，a stream was gushing and flowing，and antelopes at large were frisking and roving，and wild cattle amid the pasture moving，and birds expressed joy and gladness in their divers tongues，and that place was purfled with all manner flowers and green herbs，even as a poet described it in these couplets，'Most beautiful is earth in budding bloom，When lucid waters course through plain and wood：
No work but His th' All great，th' All glorious，Giver of all gifts，Giver of all good！'
