Accordingly he sent a messenger and said to her: “Woman, king Darius grants to thee to save from death one of thy kinsmen who are lying in bonds, whomsoever thou desirest of them all.” She then, having considered with herself, answered thus: “If in truth the king grants me the life of one, I choose of them all my brother.” Darius being informed of this, and marvelling at her speech, sent and addressed her thus: “Woman, the king asks thee what was in thy mind, that thou didst leave thy husband and thy children to die, and didst choose thy brother to survive, seeing that he is surely less near to thee in blood than thy children, and less dear to thee than thy husband.” She made answer: “O king, I might, if heaven willed, have another husband and other children, if I should lose these; but another brother I could by no means have, seeing that my father and my mother are no longer alive. This was in my mind when I said those words.” To Darius then it seemed that the woman had spoken well, and he let go not only him for whose life she asked, but also the eldest of her sons because he was pleased with her: but all the others he slew. One therefore of the seven had perished immediately in the manner which has been related.