Music Welcome to Snewscast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us on Snewscast.com and connect with us on social media at Snewscast. This episode is supported by tokens of affection. Tonight, we'll read the first half, too. The Princess of Babylon found in the strange storybook by Mrs. Lang published in 1913. The second half will air next week. The story is taken from a lesser-known philosophical tale by Voltaire, written in 1768. The story focuses on Amazon, a handsome, unknown shepherd, and for Mosanta, the princess of Babylon, whose love and jealousy drive them to travel the world. Through their travels, they encounter the basic values of the Enlightenment. This episode first aired in January of 2020. Let's get cozy. Let's get cozy. Lose your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. Alice, King of Babylon, thought himself the greatest man in all the earth. For his subjects were continually telling him so, and he had no difficulty in believing them. It was very absurd, of course, but there is this to be said in his excuse. That though his ancestors had built Babylon 30,000 years before, it owed its chief beauties to him. Bellas, it was who constructed the vast palace with its famous hanging gardens, and planted with fruit trees the park, stretching from the Euphrates to the Tigris, everything being kept fresh and cool in that burning heat by means of canals and fountains which scattered their waters around. But though Babylon contained much that was beautiful, the palace itself held the most beautiful and precious thing of all, the King's only child, the princess for Mosonte, and her father was prouder of her than of his whole empire put together. Still, with all his delight and his daughter's presence, he knew his duty, and that now she was eighteen, it was needful to find her a suitable husband. Yet, who was worthy of such a prize? One by one, Bellis passed the kings of the earth in judgment before him, and could not answer this question. Then he remembered that the oracle which had been consulted at Formosante's birth had declared that only he who could bend the iron bow of Nimrod, the mighty hunter, should win the hand of the princess. Well, since that was the decision of the Oracle, which, of course, must be obeyed, matters became in one way a little easier. But could Bellis be mistaken? Had not the Oracle said something else? Oh, yes. He recollected now that the arm which could draw the bow must overcome also the largest and fiercest lion ever seen in Babylon, and be the best, the cleverest, and the most splendid of men, and possess the rarest object in the whole universe. And as one by one, Bellis recalled these conditions, he sighed aloud, for where should he look for a son-in-law like that? King Bellis need not have been so anxious as regard suitors for the princess. For as an old song says, where maidens are fair, many lovers will come. And Formosante was very fair indeed. The fame of her beauty had spread far and wide, and soon the court of Babylon received notice that the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Shav India, and the Khan of Sithya, such were the names these nations gave to their rulers, were on their way to Babylon to ask the hand of Formosante. Preparations for the great event had to be made instantly, and that very day the place was marked out in the park for the erection of a marble amphitheater capable of holding 500,000 persons. Opposite the amphitheater was a high throne for King Bellas and his daughter, and on each side, but a step lower, were those for the princes and nobles who might wish to see the contest. The seats for the three foreign kings were set a little apart. The first to arrive was the King of Egypt, mounted on the bull Aepis, and followed by a train of 8,000 attendants, and scarcely had Bellas bitted him welcome, then the sound of trumpets announced the approach of the King of India, lying upon cushions in a gorgeous litter drawn by twelve elephants, and attended by a still more numerous company. The last to appear was the King of Scythia, riding a tiger as tall as the biggest horse from Persia. He had with him only a few picked warriors, magnificent men armed with bows and arrows, but the king himself was more imposing than any of his soldiers, and the Babylonians, as they looked at him, said to themselves, ah, there is no doubt who will win the princess. When they were all assembled, the three monarchs fell on their faces before the king and his daughter, and then offered the gifts they had brought with them. The present of the Pharaoh consisted of two of the finest crocodiles that could be caught in the Nile, two hippopotamuses, two rats and two mummies, all of which caused the princess to shudder at their ugliness in his hands he held the book of Hermes, which his magicians assured him, was the rarest treasure on earth. The Shav India brought a hundred elephants and a document written by the hand of Zaka himself, while the Khan of Sithyaia, who could neither read nor write, signed to his warriors to bring forward a hundred horses, covered with skins of black fox fur. As soon as the offerings had been made, Formosante bowed modestly, but did not raise her eyes or speak for that was never expected of a princess. Ah, why have I not three daughters exclaimed King Bellas as he conducted his guests to their thrones. Then I could have made six people happy. Now, here is the golden basin holding the lots which you must draw. The one who draws the longest first pulls the bow. It was the Pharaoh who was the lucky man. And the master of the ceremonies stepped forward with the long golden case, bearing the bow of Nimrod. The Pharaoh was about to take it from him when there suddenly appeared at the barrier which had been erected in front of the royal seats, a young man mounted on a unicorn, with a bird upon his rest, accompanied by a single attendant, also riding on a unicorn. His face was fair, and his horse shone like the sun, and altogether he was so different from the dwellers in Babylon that the 500,000 spectators in the amphitheater rose to their feet in order to stare at him better, and suddenly they shouted with one voice. He is the only man on earth handsome enough for the princess. Formosante heard and glanced up at him, then looked hastily down. The kings heard too and grew pale. At this moment the usheres approached the stranger and inquired if he was a king. The young man replied that he did not have that honor, but that he had traveled far to see whether the suitors who were to present themselves were worthy of Formosante, whose renown had reached even his distant country. By the king of Babylon's orders, places were found for him and his attendant in the front row of the amphitheater, his bird perched on his shoulder, and the two unicorns crouched at his feet. Now, always ready, the master of the ceremonies, who had during this time been holding the case, took the bow from it to the sound of trumpets, and presented it to the king of Egypt. The Pharaoh, who had not the slightest doubt that the prize would fall to him, laid it for a moment on the head of the sacred bull Ebes, and stepped into the middle of the arena. the bow, the maid of iron, looked flexible, and he fitted an arrow to the string with a light heart. But try as he would, he could not mend it. Again and again he put forth all his strength, making such dreadful faces that while that shouts of laughter rang through the amphitheater, and even the well brought up for Mosante could not resist a smile. Deeply hurt at his master's failure, the grand almanair of Egypt hasten to his side. "'Let not your majesty,' he said, struggle further for this empty honor, which is after all only a matter of muscles and canoes. In the other tests you are sure to be the victor. You will conquer the lion, for have you not the saber of the God Osiris. The princess of Babylon is to be the prize of the king who has given proofs of the greatest intelligence, and numerous are their riddles which you have guests. Her husband must be the most virtuous of princes, well, were you not the favorite pupil of the Egyptian priesthood? And do you not possess the two rarest objects in the world, the bull apis, and the book of Hermes? No, you are quite safe. There's no one to dispute with you the hand of the princess for Mousunte You're right, answered the king, and seated himself on his throne. The bow was next delivered to the King of India, who spent fifteen days in vainly trying to draw it, and when he failed as hopelessly as the King of Egypt had done before him, consult himself with thinking that the King of Sithia would fare no better than they. But he was wrong. The King of Sithia had passed his whole life in shooting with bows and arrows, whereas the other two kings had only begun to practice when they heard of the conditions to be fulfilled by the husband of Formosante. When therefore the Scythian monarch grasped the bow, there was an eager Russell among the 500,000 in the amphitheater. They leaned forward with straining eyes, and held their breath like one man, as they perceived a slight movement of the bow. The king's heart beat high as he felt it quiver under his hands, but, pull as hard as he might, he could not bend it further. A sigh of disappointment swept through the audience, partly for him and partly for the princess. At this rate, she will never be married, they groaned. Then the young stranger left his seat and went up to the King of Sidhya. "'Do not be surprised,' he said. "'If your majesty has not been entirely successful. "'These bows are made in my country, and there is a certain knack in drawing them. "'You've won a greater in bending it even a little than I should have done in drawing it all together. As he spoke, he picked up an arrow and fitting it into the string of the bow drew, without any apparent effort, the cord to his ear and the arrow flew out of sight beyond the barrier. At this spectacle, a shout broke from half a million throats. The walls of Babylon rang with cries of joy and the women murmured, what a comfort that such a handsome young man should have so much strength and waited with great interest to see what would happen next. Well, this happened, which nobody expected at all. The young man took from the folds of his turban, an ivory tablet, on which he wrote some lines addressed to the princess, with a golden needle, telling her how jealous the rest of the world would be of the man who carried off the prize for which so many were striving. To us who read them, they do not seem perhaps to fulfill the second of the conditions imposed, but the Oracle knew that to the person whose eyes fell on them for the first time, they would appear to contain all the wit and wisdom of the world. So when the princess glanced at the tablet held out to her at the end of the bow, she felt that nothing more beautiful had ever been written. And the three kings looked on, were rooted to the ground, in astonishment and disgust. Meanwhile, King Bellas, having consulted his magicians, declared that although neither of the three kings could bend the bow, his daughter must nevertheless be married, and that they would now go on to the next test, which was the slaying of the lion. The Pharaoh, who had been educated in all the learning of his country, replied that it really was too ridiculous to expect a king, to expose himself to the fury of wild beasts in order to obtain a bride, and that no one had a greater admiration for the princess for Mosante than him. Yet if he were slain by the lion, he would not be able to marry her any the more. This was quite true, and the King of India entirely agreed with him. Indeed they went so far as to say that King Bellas was making a just of them, and that it would be necessary to bring large armies from their respective kingdoms in order to punish him. When between them they had to throne to him, they could then draw lots for form of Sante. Thus grumbling, they each sent off a messenger ordering a levy of 300,000 men to be raised without delay.

The King of Scythia, however, gave utterance to no complaints, but descended into the arena, a curved sword in his hand. Not that he was desperately in love with the beautiful for Masante. It was a passion for glory and for no woman which had brought him to Babylon. And when he saw that his two rivals had no intention of fighting the lion, he was filled with delight. He was not afraid of any lion that traw the earth, of course. He might not be able to kill it, and it might even kill him. But after all, a man could only die once. The lion, when he rushed out from his cage, looked capable of swallowing all three kings at one mouthful, so large and fierce was he. But the king of Scythia stood firm and pledged his sword at the beast's throat. Unluckily the point of it hit against his teeth and broke into splinters and the lion with a roar which shook the amphitheater to its foundation, buried his claws deep in the thighs of his enemy. Another minute and all would have been over had not the young stranger leapt to the king's side, and, seizing a sword from the belt of

an attendant, cut off the lion's head at a single blow. He next produced a little box of appointment, which he begged the king to rub into his wounds.

It was only an accident, he said, that prevented you from vanquishing the lion, and your courage is still as untarnished as if he lay dead at your feet. These words pleased the king even more than the ointment which was to to cure his herds, and full of gratitude he returned to his tent. Left alone in the arena, the stranger turned to his attendant, and bade him wash the lion's head in the stream that ran below the amphitheater, and when that was done, to take out the teeth of the beast, and put in their place diamonds of the same size, which he produced from his sash. As soon as all was ready, the young man said to the bird which had remained perched on his shoulder. Fair bird, I wish you to carry the head of this lion and lay in at the feet of Formosante. So the bird carried the lion's head, bowing himself low before her as he placed it on the ground, and the diamonds in the mouth shown so brightly that the whole court was dazzled with their brilliance. Indeed, the bird itself was hardly less wonderful with his beak of coral and his claws of silver mixed with purple. No peacock possessed so splendid a tale, and though his size was that of an eagle, his eyes were gentle as well as piercing. The ladies crowded round him to pat his head and stroke his golden feathers, but though he was polite to them all, he would not be tempted away from the princess. Everyone agreed that they had never beheld anything like the grace with which he received the biscuits and pistachio nuts offered him by Formosante, the elegant gestures with which he conveyed them to his beak. Meanwhile, Bellas had been considering attentively the diamonds in the lion's mouth and made up his mind about the young stranger.

It is plain, he said, that he is the son either of the king of China or of that part of world known as Europe or of Africa, which is, I am told, on the borders of Egypt. At any rate, let a magnificent feast be prepared for him. At the same time, he ordered his equity to ask the unknown with all possible respect who he was. The stranger was about to answer when they're suddenly arrived on the scene of third unicorn written by a man very plainly dressed. He quickly dismounted and addressing the victor told him that Ock Mar, his father, had only a short time to live, and that they must start at once if his son wished to see him alive. Let us go then, replied the young stranger, then turning to the king he added, Dane sire to permit the princess to accept the bird, which I am leaving behind me. They are both of them unique. He bowed to the king and to the spectators, and went down the marble steps to where his unicorn was waiting. But not before the equity had obtained the information desired by Bellas and learned that the dying aqua was an old shepherd, much respected in the neighborhood of his home. Nothing could equal the surprise of Bellas and his daughter on hearing this news. In fact, the king refused to believe it and desired the equity to ride after the stranger at once and find out more about him but the unicorns went like the wind,

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