Of this he knew nothing, but sitting down without question, filled a cup with wine, and taking a harp which he found lying by the side of the flagon, sang: 

  “The scourge of the wicked am I,
  And my days still in battle go by;
  Not for me is the red wine that glows
  In the reveler’s cup, nor the rose
  That blooms in the land of delight;
  But with monsters and demons to fight.”

The music and the voice of the singer reached the ears of a witch that was in those parts.  Forthwith, by her art, she made her face as fair as spring, and, approaching Rustem, asked him how he fared, and sat down by his side.  The hero thanked Heaven that he had thus found in the desert such good fare and excellent company; for he did not know that the lovely visitor was a witch.  He welcomed her, and handed her a cup of wine; but, as he handed it, he named the name of God, and at the sound her color changed, and she became as black as charcoal.

When Rustem saw this, quick as the wind he threw his lasso over her head.

“Confess who you are,” he cried; “show yourself in your true shape.”

Then the witch was changed into a decrepit, wrinkled old woman.  Rustem cut her in halves with a blow of his sword.

The next day he continued his journey with all the speed that he could use, and came to a place where it was utterly dark.  Neither sun, nor moon, nor stars could be seen; and all that the hero could do was to let the reins fall on his horse’s neck, and ride on as chance might direct.

In time he came to a most delightful country, where the sun was shining brightly, and where the ground was covered with green.  Rustem took off his cuirass of leopard-skin, and his helmet, and let Raksh find pasture where he could in the fertile fields, and lay down to sleep.  When the keeper of the fields saw the horse straying among them and feeding, he was filled with rage; and running up to the hero, dealt him with his stick a great blow upon the feet.

Rustem awoke.

“Son of Satan,” said the keeper, “why do you let your horse stray in the cornfields?”

Rustem leaped upon the man, and without uttering a word good or bad, wrenched his ears from his head.

Now the owner of this fertile country was a young warrior of renown named Aulad.  The keeper ran up to him with his ears in his hand, and said: 

“There has come to this place a son of Satan, clad in a cuirass of leopard-skin, with an iron helmet.  I was going to drive his horse out of the cornfields, when he leaped upon me, tore my ears from my head without saying a single word, and then lay down to sleep again.”

Aulad was about to go hunting with his chiefs; but when he heard the keeper’s story he altered his plan, and set out to the place where he heard that Rustem had been seen.  Rustem, as soon as he saw him approach, and a great company with him, ran to Raksh, leaped on his back, and rode forward.  Aulad said to him, “Who are you?  What are you doing here?  Why did you pluck off my keeper’s ears and let your horse feed in the cornfields?”