The oldest rooms of the palace surround the central courtyard. These include the Sala dos Árabes (Arab room) - decorated with intricate motifs and azulejos; the Sala dos Cisnes (Swans room) - with a magnificent ceiling decorated with swans - and the Sala das Pegas (Magpies room), painted with 136 magpies, each one holding a rose and a scroll with the words 'Por bem' There are two different stories surrounding this last room. According to one story, the room was decorated with magpies since the king thought the women at the court chattered like magpies.Another story claims the king made advances to one of the ladies-in-waiting by giving her a rose behind the back of his wife, Queen Philippa. A magpie snatched the rose and the king, caught red-handed, excused himself with the words 'Por bem' (For the good) and commissioned a painting of a magpie for every lady-in-waiting. In other variants of the story the king is caught kissing one of the ladies.