Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/27

 "And as for me, said the second brother, they could not make all the wise men of the world believe that this lamb that has been placed before us today, had not been nourished on the milk of a bitch."

And the third brother added, saying, "Brothers, I feel very sorry about something, of which I became aware this morning, and this is what I was able to understand from some indications, that this gentleman, from whom we have received so many courtesies, has had one of his counselor's sons killed for misdeeds. And the father is thinking about nothing else than that by making his lord die, he can exact revenge for his son's death."

The Emperor understood the reasoning of the young people very well. He was very disturbed by the words of the third brother. He entered their room and, concealing the pain in his heart, he said to them, "Please, what were you discussing?” To this the young men responded with reverence, that for the moment they weren't discussing anything, and that since the meal was over, they wanted to leave the table.

But as he insisted on the fact that they should share their thoughts with him, and he ensured them that before he entered, he had heard them, they couldn't in any way hide the truth, and they told him everything in an orderly manner as they had done while they were dining. And after he dwelt with them in this way for quite a while, he returned to his room, and immediately made the man who was in charge of his kitchen come and questioned him about the area of the country where the wine had been made which he had sent to the young men in the morning.