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Now King Darius gave a great banquet for all that were under him and all that were born in his house and all the nobles of Media and Persia
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and all the satraps and generals and governors that were under him in the hundred and twenty-seven satrapies from India to Ethiopia.
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They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they departed; and Darius the king went to his bedroom, and went to sleep, and then awoke.
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Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another,
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"Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts and great honors of victory.
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He shall be clothed in purple, and drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed, and have a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace about his neck;
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and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called kinsman of Darius."
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Then each wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of Darius the king,
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and said, "When the king wakes, they will give him the writing; and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written."