سندبادنامه 120.1

120.1

A terrible beast, fast-running, eating little, traveling far,
bearing the prize away from gazelles in desire and in galloping;
crossing the desert, mountain-like, bearing endurance gladly,
carrying loads all night until daybreak, plucking thorns all day until nightfall;
like the wind and running water, racing through desert and through valley,
like fire and heavy earth, in the mountains and in the resting place;
the star astonished at its intent, bewildered by its countless tricks,
the leagues of its gallop stretching from the border of al-Ṭāʾif to Khotan.
When the king saw its stature and massive form, it found favor in his eyes and assumed a great place
in his heart. He commanded the chief of the elephant-drivers to train it and teach it the arts of retreat
and attack, motion and stillness, charge and wheeling, turning and assault, so that
it would be fit for battle and the arena, and worthy to be ridden by kings. The elephant-driver did homage,
and according to the king’s command, for three continuous years he fulfilled the conditions of service
and the requirements of obedience in training and instructing it. When the period of training reached its conclusion, the king