appearance, they grew envious of his good fortune, and privately
meditated his fall. One day they found him asleep at the foot of a
mountain, and they immediately went to the top and rolled down a heavy
fragment of rock upon him with the intention of crushing him to death;
but the clattering noise of the stone awoke him, and, instantly
employing the knowledge of sorcery which had been communicated to him,
the stone was suddenly arrested by him in its course. The brothers
beheld this with astonishment, and hastening down the mountain, cried
aloud: "We know not how the stone was loosened from its place: God
forbid that it should have done any injury to Feridún." Feridún,
however, was well aware of this being the evil work of his brothers, but
he took no notice of the conspiracy, and instead of punishing them,
raised them to higher dignity and consequence.

They saw that Kavah directed the route of Feridún over the mountainous
tracts and plains which lie contiguous to the banks of the Dijleh, or
Tigris, close to the city of Bagdad. Upon reaching that river, they
called for boats, but got no answer from the ferryman; at which Feridún
was enraged, and immediately plunged, on horseback, into the foaming
stream. All his army followed without delay, and with the blessing of
God arrived on the other side in safety. He then turned toward the
Bait-el-Mukaddus, built by Zohák. In the Pahlavi language it was called
Kunuk-duz-mokt. The tower of this edifice was so lofty that it might be
seen at the distance of many leagues, and within that tower Zohák had
formed a talisman of miraculous virtues. Feridún soon overthrew this
talisman, and destroyed or vanquished successively with his mace all the
enchanted monsters and hideous shapes which appeared before him. He
captured the whole of the building, and released all the black-eyed
damsels who were secluded there, and among them Shahrnáz and Arnawáz,
the two sisters of Jemshíd before alluded to. He then ascended the empty