Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/29

 After he promised him that, he said, "Sire, when the lamb was still very small, and when its mother was grazing one day in the countryside, and had strayed somewhat, it was taken by a wolf. And because I happen to have a bitch, which I keep to guard the herd, and which at the time had given birth to a litter of puppies, I did not know that I could find a better way than letting the little lamb feed at the teats of the bitch. It was bred that way, and when I judged it to be food worthy of you, I killed it and sent it to you right away and delivered it to your majordomo."

The Emperor, who heard this, started really to believe, that these young men who had such a high and worthy mind, were gifted with prophetic virtues. He sent the shepherd away and returned to the young men with these words, “Everything that you have told me I found to be true, and I am led to believe that if there is such a noble and high virtue in you in the art of guessing, three other men like you cannot be found in the world. But please tell me, what are the indications you had at the table today which enabled you to imagine the things you told me?” In reply the eldest brother said, "Sire, I was aware that the wine, which you have brought us today, had its source in a cemetery, because as soon as I had drunk the first glass, which always makes a man's heart cheerful and happy, I was instead overcome by a deep sadness and melancholy. Since it affected me that way, I judged that the wine could only have originated in a cemetery."