Such gifts quickly paved the way for an interview, for Rudaveh immediately sent for Zal.

On appearing beneath her window, this lover began so sweet a serenade that the princess stepped out in her balcony, where, loosening her long black braids,--which hung down to the ground,--she bade Zal use them to climb up to her.

He, however, gallantly refused, for fear he should hurt her, and deftly flinging his noose upward caught it fast in a projection, and thus safely reached the balcony, where this Persian Romeo acceptably wooed his Juliet.
The royal parents, on discovering these clandestine meetings, questioned the young man, who proved his intelligence by solving six riddles, and, after giving satisfactory tokens of his other qualifications, was allowed to marry the princess, for the oracles predicted that from this union would arise a hero who would honor his native land.
Time now passed happily until the moment came when Rudaveh's life was in imminent danger.

In his quandary, Zal flung the golden feather into the fire with so trembling a hand that it fell to one side so that only one edge was singed.

This proved sufficient, however, to summon the faithful Simurgh, who, after rapturously caressing her nursling, whispered in his ear a magic word, which not only enabled him to save the life of his dying wife, but also assured his becoming the happy father of a stalwart son named Rustem.
This boy, stronger and handsomer than any child yet born, required no less than ten nurses, and after being weaned ate as much as five men! Such being the case, he was able, by the time he was eight years of age, to slay a mad white elephant with a single stroke of his fist.
Many similar feats were performed during the boyhood of this Persian Hercules, who longed to fight when the realm was finally invaded by the Tartar chief Afrasiab and war began to devastate the land.
Loud neighed the steeds, and their resounding hoofs Shook the deep caverns of the earth; the dust Rose up in clouds and hid the azure heavens .-- Bright beamed the swords, and in that carnage wide, Blood flowed like water.
When the Persians, in their distress, implored Zal to meet and defeat this dreaded foe, the hero answered he was far too old to perform such a task, but that his son Rustem would fight in his stead.