ABSTRACT
He quaffed cups seven or eight, and verily His feet and hide waxed strong. The cups had made The young man confident ; he came, achieved His purpose, and then went back to his mother In high delight thereat, and thus it chanced : A Hon of the Sháh’s had broken loose, And came along the road. Now at the time The shoemaker was still in drink-a sea That made his fingers thumbs. He ran, bestrode The roaring Hon, and then reaching out He clutched its ears. The lion had been fed ; The youth maintained his seat. Post-haste the keeper Came running after them, a chain in one hand, A lasso in the other. He beheld A shoemaker upon the lion’s back, Perched there like some bold rider on an ass, Ran to the palace-gate, came unabashed Before the Sháh, and told about the wonder
That he had seen, with his own eyes, and none Beside had heard. The world-lord all amazed Called the high priest and chiefs, and bade the former :— “ See what the stock of this shoemaker is. If he shall prove a paladin by birth ’Tis well, for courage fitteth paladins.”
