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''The Three Princes of Serendip'' is the English version of the ''Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo'' published by Michele Tramezzino in Venice in 1557. Tramezzino claimed to have heard the story from one Christophero Armeno who had translated the Persian fairy tale into Italian adapting Book One of Amir Khusrau's ''Hasht-Bihisht''〔See , accessible ()〕 of 1302. The story first came to English via a French translation, and now exists in several out-of-print translations.〔e.g. Remer, T. G., Ed. (1965) Serendipity and the Three Princes of Serendip; From the Peregrinaggio of 1557. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK. and Hodges, E. J. (1964) The Three Princes of Serendip. Atheneum, New York.〕 ''Serendip'' is the Persian and Urdu name for Sri Lanka, which was adopted from Sanskrit ''Suvarnadweepa'' or golden island or originally from Tamil "Seren deevu" . In contrast, some trace the etymology to ''Simhaladvipa'' which literally translates to "Dwelling-Place-of-the-Sinhalese-race". The story has become known in the English speaking world as the source of the word serendipity, coined by Horace Walpole because of his recollection of the part of the "silly fairy tale" where the three princes by "accidents and sagacity" discern the nature of a lost camel. In a separate line of descent, the story was used by Voltaire in his 1747 Zadig, and through this contributed to both the evolution of detective fiction and also to the self-understanding of scientific method. ==The story== "In ancient times there existed in the country of Serendippo, in the Far East, a great and powerful king by the name of Giaffer. He had three sons who were very dear to him. And being a good father and very concerned about their education, he decided that he had to leave them endowed not only with great power, but also with all kinds of virtues of which princes are particularly in need." The father searches out the best possible tutors. "And to them he entrusted the training of his sons, with the understanding that the best they could do for him was to teach them in such a way that they could be immediately recognized as his very own." When the tutors are pleased with the excellent progress that the three princes make in the arts and sciences they report it to the king. He however still doubts their training and summoning each (of his sons) in turn, declares that he will retire to the contemplative life leaving them as king. Each politely declines, affirming the father's superior wisdom and fitness to rule. The king is pleased, but fearing that his sons' education may have been too sheltered and privileged, feigns anger at them for refusing the throne and sends them away from the land. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Three Princes of Serendip」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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