Not long after their union, Rudabeh, the graceful silver-cypress of Kabul, realized she was carrying a child. Yet as months passed, her radiant spring-like beauty withered, her skin turned pale as saffron, and her body grew agonizingly heavy. When her anxious mother, Sindokht, questioned her, Rudabeh confessed with tears that day and night she groaned in agony, feeling as though her womb was stuffed with heavy stone or solid iron.
When the hour of delivery approached, the burden proved too vast to bear, and Rudabeh lost consciousness, slipping into a mortal swoon. The palace of Zal echoed with the lamentations of Sindokht, who tore her hair and scratched her cheeks in utter despair. News reached Zal the White-Haired, who rushed to his bride's bedside, his eyes brimmed with tears and his heart consumed by sorrow.
In that desperate hour, Zal remembered the miraculous feather given to him by the Simorgh upon the peaks of Mount Alborz. He quickly brought forth a censer, ignited a flame, and burned a small piece of the sacred plume. Instantly, the sky darkened, and the sovereign Simorgh descended like a rain-cloud laden with jewels. Zal fell prostrate, showering the divine bird with praise.
The Simorgh spoke softly to Zal: 'Why is there sorrow in your heart, and mist in the lion's eye? From this silver cypress, a lion-child shall be born—a hero whose footsteps lions will kiss, whose roar will tear the hide of war-leopards, and whose mace will shatter the hearts of warriors. He shall possess the strength of an elephant and the wisdom of Sam.'
The Simorgh then revealed the miraculous secret of the birth: 'Fetch a tempered dagger and an insightful physician. Intoxicate the moon-faced lady with wine so she feels no pain. Then cut open her side, extract the lion-cub from her womb, and sew up the incision. Prepare an ointment of specified herbs, milk, and musk, apply it to the wound, and stroke it with my feather; the flesh shall heal that very day.' Dropping a feather from her wing, the Simorgh soared into the clouds. Zal executed the divine instructions to the letter, saving Rudabeh and bringing forth Rostam, the future world-champion of Iran.