Mihrāb had occasion to communicate with Zāl, and on his return homeward his wife, Sindokht, inquired after the white-haired youth, asking what he was like in form and feature, and what account he gave of his stay with the Sīmūrgh. Mihrāb described his host in the warmest terms of admiration, telling of his valor, his accomplishments, and his manly beauty, his only defect being the strange crown of silvery hair. The beautiful princess was present, and, with her dark eyes fixed upon her father’s face, she drank in every word of his eulogy, and her heart warmed toward the stranger. When she retired to her own apartments, she confided to her maid the fact that she was deeply impressed with the description she had heard, and a few days later she declared to the attendant that she was deeply in love with the stranger, and besought the maid’s assistance. The servant was startled and frightened by this confession, and remonstrated with her beautiful mistress upon the absurdity of her position: “What, hast thou lost all sense of shame, All value for thy honored name! That thou in loveliness supreme, Of every tongue the constant theme, Should choose, and on another’s word, The nursling of a mountain bird! A being never seen before, Which human mother never bore! And can the hoary locks of age A youthful heart like thine engage?“ But her remonstrance was in vain, the willful Persian beauty had set her heart upon a man whom she had never seen,[246] and she quietly answered: “My attachment is fixed, my election is made, And when hearts are enchained ’tis vain to upbraid. Neither Kizar nor Faghfūr I wish to behold, Nor the monarch of Persia with jewels and gold; All, all I despise, save the choice of my heart, And from his beloved image I never can part.” When the attendants learned that the princess was so deeply in earnest they loyally entered into her feelings far enough to aid her in every possible way in bringing about a meeting with the man she loved. It was springtime in the beautiful vales of Persia, and the earth was rich with many colored flowers, while the breath of hyacinths and lilies of the valley floated upon the air. The glittering pheasant moved through the undergrowth, and the bulbul sang his love song in the lofty trees.