At long last, I caught the first glimmer of light on the horizon. The sun was rising. If Daniyyel was still alive, I was now free by law to remove him from the lions' den.

Nothing else mattered. Without bothering to put on my regal adornments, I ran barefoot to the den, barely noticing the dust and sharp stones beneath my feet. I couldn't arrive quickly enough, but when I reached the stone, my excitement turned to dread. If Daniyyel made no response, then I would lose the slight trace of hope that he had survived, for I would then be certain of his death.

A few servants hurried after me. Some of them were no doubt curious about Daniyyel's fate, but most no doubt feared I lost my mind and would soon begin eating grass like Nebuchadnezzar.

"Daniyyel?!" I called. "Are you alive?!"

There was no reply.

Unable to believe the awful truth, I sank to my knees, trying to ignore the crushing weight that had settled on my chest. "Daniyyel! Servant of the living God!" My voice was beginning to break. "Has your God, whom you serve continuously, been able to deliver you from the lions?!"

"May King Daryawesh live forever!"

Leaping to my feet, I commanded that the stone be rolled away at once. To my bewilderment, Daniyyel stood among the lions, who watched him with a keen interest, but made no move to harm him.

"How is this possible?!" I demanded.

"My God sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths," Daniyyel answered. "They have not hurt me because I was innocent before him."

"Of course you are!" I replied.

"Nor have I done wrong before you, my king."

"No, of course you haven't!"

I could have wept for joy as I ordered that Daniyyel be brought out from among the lions. As I embraced him, I noted that there was no wound on him, not even a bruise from being cast into the den. I assured him that my laws would no longer cause him to suffer.

"I didn't suffer," he replied. "When I fell into the den, it was sort of dark at first. Then it became lighter, like a cloudless summer's night with myriads of stars and a full moon. I could see the lions, but they didn't move, so I stretched out and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I was lying on my side with my back against one of the male lions, but I was warm and comfortable, so I fell asleep again."

I smiled. I had finally managed to catch Daniyyel asleep. That was why he hadn't responded at first.

"Was the stench awful?" I asked.

"When the angel shielded me from the lions, I was also guarded against the aroma of decaying meat and lion waste," he answered. "I woke up a second time in the middle of the night and walked around a bit to stretch, and the lions just looked up at me before falling asleep again. I thought it would be a good time to thank God for his mercy, and as I finished praying, young lions started crawling over to me, so I cuddled them as I would small kittens."

To say that I was astonished would be a severe understatement, and I understood how Cyrus must have felt when his son decided to try capturing live wild animal babies without knowing the difference between harmless creatures and beast that would kill him.

"Any lioness will ferociously guard her cubs, and this mother has a taste for human flesh," I stated, still unable to believe that my friend truly stood before me unharmed.

Daniyyel became more serious. "I fear for the young lions, my king. The mother will not be able to produce milk for them if she remains hungry, and I fear the other lions may eat them if no other meat remains. You said yourself what valuable assets young lions would be, and…"

"Say no more, my friend! I shall see to it that the lions are well fed until the cubs are old enough to be weaned! Now pass the word that I will hear no matters of state today, and then I want you to take the rest of the day off, but do be sure to wear proper ceremonial robes for the banquet this evening."

He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Banquet, Your Majesty? I'm afraid I was not made aware of the occasion, so my preparation will no doubt prove greatly insufficient."

"Never you mind, my friend! Take this day to amuse yourself, and leave the rest to me!" I seized his shoulders and kissed the air near his face, pulling him into yet another embrace for the longest time before pulling away and gently slapping his shoulder. "Go now."

If Daniyyel had any idea what I was about to do, he may have attempted to stop me, so I thought it best to conceal the matter. Storming into my palace, I found the wretched edict I had been tricked to signing and shouted for the guards.

"Do you see the seals of these other men who have signed?!" I demanded. "I want these men and their families brought before me at once!"

The accusers had insisted that I follow the law to condemn Daniyyel, but they had forgotten that the Code of Hammurabi states as its very first point that if a man sets out to entrap another and put him to death, if the accused man is found innocent, the man who sought to ensnare him shall be executed. Furthermore, Persian law dictated that if a man deserved to be put to death, his wife and children should suffer the same fate.

When they stood before me, I was too angry to speak. Several times, I opened my mouth, but I nearly stuttered, for although I was usually eloquent, I was so furious that I was nearly choking on my own words.

"Does Your Majesty wish to place these men and their families in prison?" a guard asked respectfully.

"At once!" I ordered. "Then return to me!"

By the time the guards had finished their deed, I had calmed myself enough to explain the sentence. I did not wish to witness the final pleas and terrified screams of the condemned; however, I would walk regularly to the lions' den to make sure there was an abundance of bones and that the lions had grown fatter, signs that my orders had been fulfilled exactly as I commanded. I wished each of Daniyyel's accusers to be tortured two days before he received his sentence, and each man was to see his family die the following day. On the third day, the conspirator himself would be given to the lions.

"Do it one family at a time," I concluded, "not all at once. I don't want the lions so overwhelmed with so much meat that it goes rancid. I want them hungry and eager to attack each time they're offered their next meal. Offer them one family before this hour has passed, for they are famished, and remember, I will have no harm befall Daniyyel II."

The guards left to do my bidding hastily, not even taking the time to ask me to clarify the identity of Daniyyel II, which was the name I had decided to give the lion cub I would raise. He would forever be a testimony to how Daniyyel's God had spared him not only from the lions in the den, but also the two-legged lions that had prowled the Babylonian court. For the cub who would eventually be sent as a gift to Susa, I thought to use the name Cyrus II.

They returned shortly to assure me that the first part of my command had been carried out exactly as I had spoken. The lions had been so famished that they had broken the bones of their prey before it even hit the ground, but now they were so full that they dozed. As for the young lions, they were alive and well, napping with drops of their mother's milk on their chins.

"Bring me Hebrew priests," I ordered. "Do not arrest them. Let them walk beside you with dignity, for I will only have men who are willing to come."

Before midday had arrived, the priests stood before me. They seemed rather bewildered, but they bowed humbly and asked how they might be of service.

"I have wronged your God," I stated. "I vowed that if he allowed my friend to live, I would atone for what I have done. Tell me what I must now do."

The priests could hardly believe what they had heard. Why would a king ask priests of another nationality how he could serve their God?

After several moments of silence, one of them began, "Your Majesty, there is the sin offering and the trespass offering, but what pleases God most of all is obedience, if you believe in him and live your life accordingly."

"So I've noticed," I replied, remembering how pleased God had been with Daniyyel.

We spoke for nearly an hour. Although Daniyyel would have been more than happy to tell me how to please his God, I desired the direct counsel of a priest. Besides, I had given him the day free of duties to spend as he saw fit.

"One more thing before you return to your homes," I stated. "Go to the kitchen and tell my servants how your God instructs you to eat, foods that are acceptable to you, and those that are forbidden. I want the banquet this evening to have only foods that Daniyyel may enjoy, for he is as a brother to me, and it is in his honor that I hold this feast."

After the priests did as I had bidden, and I had rewarded them for their time and information, I went to my chamber and succumbed to the slumber that had evaded me the previous evening. Perhaps it goes without saying that as soon as I rose from my rest, Daniyyel was outside my door, asking about my health and if I had slept well.

"Do you know what a day off is?" I jested.

"You requested my presence for some manner of banquet this evening, my king" he stated. "It's late afternoon now."

"Indeed. Do follow me to the throne room."

Seizing a piece of fruit since I had missed my midday meal, I ordered that all my lords and nobles be summoned, as well as the commanders of my army. I had just barely finished my fruit when they arrived.

Turning to Daniyyel, I motioned to my throne. "Do be seated."

He frowned slightly. "Your Majesty?"

"I insist."

"Very well, Sire."

Looking slightly uncomfortable with the situation, Daniyyel seated himself on the throne. He seemed to feel unworthy, as if he hoped I wouldn't laud him unnecessarily. Furthermore, although he faithfully served any king, he had no wish to take the place of one.

"I hardly know what to say," I began. "I cannot reinstate Daniyyel as my second-in-command, for the office was never taken from him in the first place. Even among the lions, he entreated his God for the welfare of my people."

The men present were wise enough to make murmurings of agreement.

"I also cannot say I pardon Daniyyel, for I cannot pardon a man who was never guilty."

There were more sounds of concurrence.

"Wicked men have deceived us," I continued. "They used cunning to entrap me into signing an unjust law, but I assure you that tomorrow when Daniyyel resumes his regular duties, he shall amend all necessary legislation. Our enemies are now in prison, awaiting their turn to pay for their treason!"

Here the men cheered. Many of them had despised the conspirators and were glad to be rid of them.

"I myself will proclaim throughout the empire what Daniyyel's God has done for him. I will proclaim the greatness of this God and his power of deliverance."

There was respectful silence.

"It will soon be time for the banquet, which I hold in honor of our dear friend, Daniyyel, but before we dine, does anyone have anything they'd like to tell their second-in-command?"

One of my lords stepped forward and knelt before Daniyyel. "Sir, if ever I prove disloyal to you, may your God judge me in this life and the next."

Daniyyel remained seated on my throne until every man had knelt and made a similar statement. As he was a humble man, Daniyyel was very uneasy with the situation. I wondered if he was even less comfortable here than he had been in the lions' den, but I wished to demonstrate in no uncertain terms that I would tolerate no more plots against my friend's life.

I suppose all involved parties received what they wished. The satraps and governors saw me pass judgment on them based on the laws to which I was also bound, recalling well that even for the king, the laws of Persia could never change, just as they had insisted I do for Daniyyel. The lions were fed a ration of fresh meat every week, and the lioness had birthed five healthy male cubs, three of whom Daniyyel called Miykael, Azarya, and Chananyah after his friends who would later jest that he should have simply brought the lions into the furnace with them, and they all could have thrown a lavish festival together. As for my friend, Daniyyel saw the greatness of his God proclaimed throughout the empire, and I now had plenty of time to ponder whether or not the God of Daniyyel had also become the God of Darius.