130 THE WONDER-BOOK OF HORSES 



The aged man was astonished, for he saw that 

 not the half had been told him concerning the 

 boy's stature and grace. He commanded his ele- 

 phant to kneel while he descended and lifted him 

 up and blessed him, and placed him in the howdah 

 beside him; and the two rode side by side into 

 Zaboulistan. 



" For more than a hundred years," said the 

 grandfather, " have I been the chief of the princes 

 of Iran, and at no time has any one arisen to dis- 

 pute my will. Yet never have my eyes been glad- 

 dened as now. I am an old, old man, and you are 

 only a child ; but you shall soon sit on my throne 

 and enjoy the pleasures which have been mine, 

 and wield the power both in your father's king- 

 dom and in my own." 



" I am glad," answered Rustem, " that I can 

 call you my grandfather. But I care nothing at 

 all for pleasure, and I never think of play, or rest, 

 or sleep. What I want most of all things is a 

 horse of my own, and a hard saddle such as the 

 Turanian riders use, and a coat-of-mail and a 

 helmet like those your warriors have. Then with 

 my lance and my arrows, which I already can use 

 quite well, I will vanquish the enemies of Iran, 

 and my courage shall be like yours and my 

 father's." 



