The idea conveyed by the phrase, “Enough is as good as a feast,” applies in full force to the use of salt as a condiment, for an excess of this substance in one’s food certainly spoils its flavor. According to one version of a Roumanian forest-myth, a prince, while following the chase, came upon a beautiful laurel-tree, whose branches were of a golden hue. This tree so pleased his fancy that he determined to have his dinner beneath its shade, and gave orders to that effect. Preparations were made accordingly; but during the temporary absence of the cook, a fair maiden emerged from the tree and strewed a quantity of salt upon the viands, after which she re-entered the tree, which closed over her. When the prince returned and began eating his dinner, he scolded the cook for using too much salt, and the cook quite naturally protested his innocence. On the following day the same thing occurred, and the prince thereupon determined to keep watch, in order if possible to detect the culprit. On the third day, when the maiden came forth from the tree on mischief bent, the prince caught her and carried her away, and she became his loyal wife.[332] This section may be appropriately concluded with the following translation of a Roman legend illustrating the value of common salt as an article of food:[333]— _The Value of Salt. A Roman Folk-tale._ There was once a king who had three daughters, and he was very anxious to know which of them loved him most; he tried them in various ways, and it always seemed as if the youngest daughter came out best by the test. Yet he was never satisfied, because he was prepossessed with the idea that the elder ones loved him most. One day he thought he would settle the matter once for all, by asking each separately how much she loved him. So he called the eldest by herself, and asked her how much she loved him. “As much as the bread we eat,” was her reply; and he said within himself, “She must, as I thought, love me the most of all; for bread is the first necessary of our existence, without which we cannot live. She means, therefore, that she loves me so much she could not live without me.” Then he called the second daughter by herself, and said to her, “How much do you love me?” And she answered, “As much as wine.” “That is a good answer too,” said the king to himself. “It is true she does not seem to love me quite so much as the eldest; but still, scarcely can one live without wine, so that there is not much difference.” Then he called the youngest by herself, and said to her, “And you, how much do you love me?” And she answered, “As much as salt.” Then the king said, “What a contemptible comparison! She only loves me as much as the cheapest and commonest thing that comes to the table. This is as much as to say, she doesn’t love me at all. I always thought it was so. I will never see her again.”