Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/127

 After some time he woke up, believing that the young woman was beside him, but he noticed that she was not there. He was very surprised and rose immediately. He lit the lamp and diligently looked for her in every part of the room. He found that all the doors were closed except for the one that led to the stable which was open. With bursts of great anger, he removed his sword and went towards the stable through the open door. He heard the young woman cry and concealed himself in a corner where he saw the groom kicking and punching her violently because she had kept him waiting so long. She bitterly sobbed and excused herself that she could not have come earlier because of the Lord with whom she was sharing the bed that night. She said that as soon as he fell asleep, she got up from the bed and rushed to him as quickly as she could and she begged him to stop beating her.

When the Prince saw this, he became very angry and he could hardly refrain from killing both of them. However, considering his dignity he decided to keep his revenge against the wicked woman in reserve for another time, saying to himself, "Wicked woman, how can you withstand to be so ferociously beaten when your face is so delicate that the touch of a rose petal makes you faint in my presence?" And he truly realized the great craftmanship of the statue. He then left and returned to his bed to find out the wickedness of the others, but he did not speak to anyone about it.