Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/26

 He kindly begged them to stay with him as long as they wished, assuring them as best he could of his great esteem for their quick and high intelligence.

Because the young men saw themselves so truly honored by such a great prince, they were infinitely grateful for his great courtesy and they proved very ready to satisfy his every desire. So, the Emperor himself accompanied them to the prepared room and treated them regally from now on. Never a day went by, without the emperor discussing various subjects with them for at least four hours. He was very unguarded with them, and delighted by their quick intelligence. Sometimes, he would even hide in a small neighboring room, hearing them always talk of other things and then left being delighted.

He gave these young men the same food that he would eat, and one day, when dinner was prepared, he had them served a fat lamb among many other very delicate dishes and a flask of precious wine. And he withdrew into the small room to listen with much delight to their reasoning. Now, as the young men were seated at the table, and started to eat the lamb and to taste the wine that the Emperor had sent them, the eldest brother said, "To be honest, I think that the vine from where this precious wine came, had its roots in a burial site, I don't think that it could be otherwise."