Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/92

 The woman heard these words and answered her husband, "I am more than sure that if you leave it to me, this trick will soon be revealed to you."

He replied that if this could be investigated, they would lead a happy and joyful life in the future. She, arranged to develop a close acquaintance with the wife of the goldsmith, whom she had met occasionally before, in the belief that thereby she could easily fulfill his desire. So, they met several times at prayer time in front of the Lion and as they talked together about various things, she happened to mention how happy she was to be married to a man whom the Lord valued so much. And after she considered the beauty of the Lion, the other woman told her, "There is only one thing; I feel that such an excellent work is perfect in every respect, but one, and that is not being able to weigh this animal. Without this defect, surely, a similar work could not be found in our Hemisphere.

These words disturbed the wife of the goldsmith because she could not understand how there would be any defect in her husband's Lion. She answered to the other woman that if others had raised such criticism to her husband, she would nevertheless be certain, that he would also have known how to weigh it. “And if we meet again,” she said, “I hope to be able to remove any doubt."