Translation:The Three Princes of Serendip/Novella 7
Novella VII – Sunday
IN my country, called Chimo, among other skills in which people usually train their children, it is rare if they do not also involve music. Hence, many are found there that excel in the music profession. And while I was the son of a man of few means, he willingly spent his earnings solely so that I had skills that were equal to those of other young men of my age. In my youth I tirelessly studied music so that I surpassed all my companions by far in ability. And seeing that in my city the sound of the lute was greatly appreciated, I put all of my soul into it. Every day I made major improvements so that in a short amount of time I surpassed all others in excellence. And I was teaching this skill to many in my city and also to others that came from nearby towns to learn, and I used to earn a great deal of money.
Now it happened that in the meantime an old merchant arrived in our city who had brought with him a young woman who played the lute so beautifully that no one else in this profession in the world could be found that could compare with her. As her fame spread through the city, it also reached the ears of the Lord who greatly delighted in music and he invited the old merchant to come to see him. And when he heard of the skills of the young woman from him, he begged him affectionately to bring her into his presence. The merchant replied that because of the rare talent that she possessed, he had adopted her as his daughter and because she had decided to always live in chastity, he kept her in a room, served by four maids. She never wanted to leave the room and spent her time there in prayer and good works. Therefore, the merchant pleaded with the King that if he liked to listen to her art, he would be grateful if he came to his residence where he could leisurely hear the great talents of the maiden at his convenience. When the Lord heard why it was difficult for the young woman to leave the dwelling, he decided to arrive at the merchant's residence at night and he went there, accompanied only by one of his gentlemen.
When he arrived there and entered the young woman's room, he noticed her beauty and honesty and immediately felt an ardent love for her. And he asked her to be so kind to let him hear her art. She consented to the words of the Lord, took the lute in her hand and began to play it in such soft tones that he admitted to the merchant that he had never heard anyone in this profession who had approached her excellence. And when he asked her again to let him hear her play once more, she obeyed, and taking the lute in her hand, she played so sweetly for quite some time so that before the Lord took leave of her, he was greatly enamored of her skill and presented her with a precious jewel. He thanked her and the merchant greatly for the courtesy received and returned to his palace.
Now, because she was so excellent, the professional fame of the young woman spread in a short amount of time all over the city. And I lost my past reputation and name and I was also abandoned by my pupils. It was painful beyond measure to have lost my livelihood which I had worked so hard to acquire. One day I went to the merchant's residence and in a private conversation let him know the serious harm that his arrival with the young woman had caused me. And I begged him that because of her I was in such a sorrowful state, he might at least be agreeable to let me hear her music. He entered the young woman's room and told her of my wish. Since I was already old, she easily agreed to let me enter and let me listen to her. When I was in her presence, I saw her singular beauty and I convinced myself that she surpassed me and anyone else in musical skill. I wanted to make sure of this and I begged her affectionately, while she was holding her lute in her hand, if she would agree to let me listen to her artistry. She readily consented and let me hear such a sweet melody, that I believe that no one else in the whole world could compare with her. I was so ardently enamored with so much excellence that I beseeched both her and the merchant, since I was already old, that they would be willing to accept me as a servant. Because of the rare skills of the young woman I would not be lacking in providing them faithful and diligent service. My request was heard favorably and the merchant assigned me to take care of the young woman's dwelling. I earned her favor through continuous and prompt service, and in a short time I noticed that she appreciated and revered me as if I were her own father. In this way, through the sweetness of such servitude provided, I forgot everything and I spent a peaceful and happy life in the dwelling of the young woman. I noticed that whenever she played the lute, she would tend to utter a deep sigh. This led me to believe that this was caused by love so one day I decided to ask her about it. I had to wait three months before the occasion presented itself when she and I were discussing various events in nature and the unhappy state of mortal beings.
"Dear lady," I said to her, "it may not be hard for you to reveal to me the cause of so many sighs, which I hear you make continually, because I am a man, well advanced in age and with life experience, and perchance I might be able to provide some remedy for your distress. And if you think my request is bold, then I humbly beg your pardon with the great reverence I have for your skills."
After I finished these words the young woman started to weep. My dearest father," she said to me, "since you dedicated you to our service I have known from many signs, that you have always loved me tenderly as a true daughter, and in everything you have been faithful and diligent to us in all your work. I shall tell you now of the reasons for my sighs. I dearly pray you that what I am going to reveal to you, you will keep a secret and not share it with anyone else and that you will be able to find a remedy for my great passion." "Now you must know that when I was ten years old, I was in the custody of my cruel and wicked uncle after my father and mother had died when I was still an infant. I delighted so much in music that there was no one of my age which surpassed me in this art and it was then that I was sold to a rich merchant. He took me around various parts of the world over a five-year period and many Lords heard me play and I used to earn a lot of money with my music. Now it happened that when he went to a faraway land, he arrived with his merchandise at the court of a great Prince, where I performed my music for many of his barons. The music was beautifully performed and the Prince was told about my artistry. Because he was very fond of music, my master was immediately ordered to bring me into his presence. When I arrived there, I took the lute in my hand and began to play. The Prince was greatly delighted by my music. When I asked to take leave, I was presented a beautiful jewel, and returned to my dwelling with my master.
The very same day the Lord made my master understand that he would pay him any price if he would leave me with him. He received a great deal of money from selling me to him and he returned to his country a rich man. The Prince immediately had me dressed in rich and precious clothing and in a short amount of time he was so ardently in love with me that, while I was only his slave, I could ask him anything I wanted. But because fortune doesn't show itself benign and favorable for too long to mortal beings, it so happened that when he took me on a hunt, I proposed to him to do what I was able to do, strike a deer in the foot and the ear with a single arrow.
Because I had carelessly said a few words about the strike which he felt were to brazen and had injured his honor, he suddenly became very angry and ordered his ministers to undress me, bind my hands behind me and take me into a nearby forest where wild animals would devour me at night. The ministers carried out the order, undressed me and left me at the mercy of fate. Miserable and sorrowful, fearing that death awaited me, I started to walk and arrived at the main road. At sunset, a large company of passing merchants on their way to their lodging, heard my grave cries. Among them was our master who found me when he heard my voice. And moved by compassion he unbound me, and dressed me in his own clothing and took me to his lodgings. There he interrogated me about what I had done and what great misfortune had befallen me. But I told him nothing else than that my sole occupation had been music. So, he asked the innkeeper to bring a lute and placed it in my hands. Accompanied by music, the song delighted him, and he accepted me as his daughter. He takes me everywhere and let me perform as you see. But I cannot forget how happy I was when I was with my Lord and I still passionately love him. Whenever I take the lute in my hand, I feel so aroused and want to give my Lord so much pleasure, that I utter many heartfelt and sorrowful sighs. Therefore, I beg you dearly after I have told you the cause of my pain, to give me any remedy you can."
After the young woman had spoken these words, I was so moved by compassion for such grave misfortune that I could not hold back my tears. I promised her that I had to find with all my might a remedy for her grave sorrow. With the indications she had given me I was willing to seek her Lord and let him know that in spite of the cruel death he had condemned her to, she still loved him passionately. I took leave from her and went on my way. Within eight days I arrived in a beautiful and great city where it was announced that anyone who could tell a beautiful story in your presence would be presented with many rich gifts. I decided to come before you and tell you of events that did not happen to others but to myself.
Immediately when Beramo heard these words, he said to himself, "Good heavens, this is truly my Diliramma."
And he inquired with the storyteller where and with whom she was. He sent several messengers to her master, promising him that he would receive a great treasure if he would bring the young woman into his presence. Because he delighted in her music and the news of her skills had reached his ears, he greatly desired to listen to it. When Beramo's messengers reached the merchant he desired to oblige, more to be in the great Lord's graces than for the offer made to him in his name. He immediately set out for the Lord's country together with the young woman. As soon as the merchant told her the reason for their journey, she realized that the old servant had fulfilled his promise to her very well, by bringing the Lord news about herself.
And not long after reaching the imperial city, they informed Beramo of their arrival. Accompanied by a single gentleman, Beramo went to the dwelling where Diliramma and the merchant were lodged. As soon as he saw her, he embraced her, unable to hold back his sweet tears. One cannot say how overwhelmed he was with joy. And he told the merchant of how cruel he had been to the young woman. He kept Diliramma with him after he had given him many gold pieces.
She felt greatly obliged to the old servant and begged the Lord affectionately that after he had restored her to her previous status, he would, out of love for her, bestow upon him a just award. This request was easily obtained from Beramo whose health fully recovered from the joy after he had found his Diliramma again. He called the three young sons of the King of Serendip, and addressed them as follows: “Because I truly know, young men endowed with great and noble intelligence, while many doctors in my kingdom were not able to find a cure for my serious illness, only you with your subtle skills of observation and counsel have returned me to my previous state of good health. I would really like to know how you were able to imagine such a way to save my life.?”
To which the eldest replied, "Sire, because I noticed that by having lost the ability to sleep you had succumbed to such a grave illness that little hope for your life remained. I knew also that a great many illnesses are usually cured by their opposites. I thought that since you were unable to close your eyes to sleep while you were in your palace, that if you were for at least seven days required to change dwellings you might be able to recover your previous health. Therefore, I suggested to you that if you had to live each day in one of seven palaces which had to be built rapidly, I believed that in this way sleep would easily return to your eyes.
The second brother said, "because I knew that Diliramma whom you loved so much and whom you believed had been devoured by wild animals, was the reason for your illness, I was led to believe that if you entertained yourself with other women, you would forget her, and thereby you would be freed from your illness. So, I suggested to you that one of seven beautiful young women should be placed in each of the seven palaces."
After he had said this, the third brother added, "Because I could not believe that Diliramma had been devoured by wild animals since there was no indication of her death in the forest, I reasoned that if you proclaimed in various provinces that seven storytellers were sought who could tell beautiful tales, and who would receive rich gifts when they returned to their cities. There was the chance that one of them might have news to confirm about Diliramma's state. And in this way the idea of the seven storytellers came to my mind. Beramo thanked all three young men profusely and in recognition that his life was due to their great and noble intelligence, he presented great gifts to them and sent them back to their country.
They set out on the way, and arrived in the kingdom of their father, who was already old and not well. He received them with great joy, and knew that they had truly reached perfection, by having learned with wisdom the various manners, and customs of different nations. After he had blessed them, he passed from his present life.
The oldest brother succeeded him in the kingdom, and he ruled it for a long time with much prudence and great contentment of his vassals. The second brother who did not want to fail in his commitment to the Queen who restored the mirror to Beramo, returned to her country and according to the promise he made, took her as his wife and became the ruler of that kingdom.
Not long thereafter, Beramo who had a young daughter and still remembered the benefits he had received, sent for the third brother and offered him his daughter as a wife. He did accept her and set off with a large company on a journey and returned to Beramo's court, where the wedding was celebrated with great solemnity. When soon afterwards, his father-in-law died, he became the Lord of all of his empire.
THE END.
In Venice by Michele Tramezzino, 1557.