Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/122

 For these reasons, among many others, they tried to persuade him, saying also that even if the woman was such a perfidious animal, he could make a choice out of eight or ten. In this way he could easily find a good one whom, after he had accepted her as his wife, could bear a successor for his state.

After he had heard these words, who were against his nature, the Prince was willing to be somewhat accommodating, and he resolved to do so in order not to be rightly reproached by his people that he was very obstinate. Since he had heard about the beauty of four maidens, daughters of four great lords, friends of his, he sent four ambassadors to request them to come to him. The maidens received precious gifts from the ambassadors and in a short time they were brought to their prince.

They were received by him gladly and with great honor and he ordered that each of them was to be assigned one of the four quarters that had been built at the corners of the seraglio where the statue had been placed.

And because it was already late, he requested that one of them be brought to his room and he began to caress and embrace her. And as he talked with her about various matters, he placed his hand in a basket of rose petals which were near him, removed a few of them and wanted to throw them on the bosom of the young woman. It so happened that a very small petal fell on her face.