When the washerman returned late at night from the river with half-damp clothes, a heavy shadow of grief hung over his home, for he and his wife had recently lost their young child, and she sat weeping with a scratched face and a darkened spirit. The washerman bade her calm her heart and shared a miraculous revelation. He recounted how, while washing garments at the stream, he spotted a wooden chest floating upon the waters. Upon hauling it ashore and opening its sealed lid, he found a radiant infant resting amidst silks and fine brocade, surrounded by lustrous pearls, rubies, emeralds, and glowing red dinars.
When the washerwoman beheld the child's shining countenance—resembling the noble Ardashir—she praised the Creator of the World, took the child to her breast with immense maternal joy, and felt her grief wash away. They named the boy Darab, for he had been rescued from the flowing waters (ab). To guard their secret and escape hardship, they packed their belongings, leaving their homeland behind, and traveled sixty parasangs to settle in a city where they were completely unknown. Selling some of the precious gems to a local nobleman, they built a prosperous life, cherishing Darab so tenderly that no harsh wind ever touched him.
As the years turned, Darab grew into a lad of extraordinary strength and royal splendor. He wrestled with adults in the streets, possessing such formidable prowess that no one could match his force, leaving his peers overwhelmed. Darab naturally spurned the washerman's humble trade, fleeing whenever pressed to wash clothes. When confronted, he demanded to be educated in wisdom and the sacred scriptures of the Zand and Avesta. The washerman placed him under the care of scholars, where Darab quickly mastered literature and knowledge.
Yet his warrior spirit craved action; he asked to be taught the arts of chivalry and combat. The washerman entrusted him to a renowned master horseman. Over an extended time, Darab mastered every warlike art—maneuvering the reins, wielding the lance and shield, striking with the polo mallet, and shooting with the bow. He achieved such astonishing mastery that even a fierce leopard could not withstand his grip in battle.