Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/47

 The people were amazed and greatly admired the spectacle they were witnessing. And the Queen was immediately informed of all that had occurred. Therefore, the Queen was happy and extremely satisfied, and the young men who were still at the seashore, were greatly celebrated and honored at the city gate and before they returned to the palace assigned to them, they had to present themselves to her. So, they obeyed her command and returned to the city. Having reached the royal pace, they met with the Queen. She received them with great honors and solemnity, and affectionately asked them to reveal the great secret with which they had performed the great miracle. As the young man, who had driven away the Hand from the sea, wanted to satisfy the demand of the Queen, he withdrew with her from the people who were present so that they could not overhear the words he spoke.

"You must know, Madam," he said, "that as soon as I saw the open Hand above the sea this morning, I realized, that it could only mean that if five men with a single purpose could be found, it would be sufficient to conquer all countries in the world; and because it should be understood, that since until now this meaning has not been discovered, one could foresee that the Hand would continue to cause serious harm and evil to your people.