{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_1751/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_1751","id":"gutenberg_1751","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1751","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales","Fantasy"],"text":"Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer\n\n\n\n\n\nTWILIGHT LAND\n\nBy Howard Pyle\n\n\n\n\nTable of Contents\n\n     Introduction\n     The Stool of Fortune\n     The Talisman of Solomon\n     Ill-Luck and the Fiddler\n     Empty Bottles\n     Good Gifts and a Fool\u2019s Folly\n     The Good of a Few Words\n     Woman\u2019s Wit\n     A Piece of Good Luck\n     The Fruit of Happiness\n     Not a Pin to Choose\n     Much Shall Have More and Little Shall Have Less\n     Wisdom\u2019s Wages and Folly\u2019s Pay\n     The Enchanted Island\n     All Things are as Fate Wills\n     Where to Lay the Blame\n     The Salt of Life\n\n\n\n\nIntroduction\n\nI found myself in Twilight Land. How I ever got there I cannot tell, but\nthere I was in Twilight Land.\n\nWhat is Twilight Land? It is a wonderful, wonderful place where no sun\nshines to scorch your back as you jog along the way, where no rain falls\nto make the road muddy and hard to travel, where no wind blows the dust\ninto your eyes or the chill into your marrow. Where all is sweet and\nquiet and ready to go to bed.\n\nWhere is Twilight Land? Ah! that I cannot tell you. You will either have\nto ask your mother or find it for yourself.\n\nThere I was in Twilight Land. The birds were singing their good-night\nsong, and the little frogs were piping \u201cpeet, peet.\u201d The sky overhead\nwas full of still brightness, and the moon in the east hung in the\npurple gray like a great bubble as yellow as gold. All the air was full\nof the smell of growing things. The high-road was gray, and the trees\nwere dark.\n\nI drifted along the road as a soap-bubble floats before the wind, or as\na body floats in a dream. I floated along and I floated along past the\ntrees, past the bushes, past the mill-pond, past the mill where the old\nmiller stood at the door looking at me.\n\nI floated on, and there was the Inn, and it was the Sign of Mother\nGoose.\n\nThe sign hung on a pole, and on it was painted a picture of Mother Goose\nwith her gray gander.\n\nIt was to the Inn I wished to come.\n\nI floated on, and I would have floated past the Inn, and perhaps have\ngotten into the Land of Never-Come-Back-Again, only I caught at\nthe branch of an apple-tree, and so I stopped myself, though the\napple-blossoms came falling down like pink and white snowflakes.\n\nThe earth and the air and the sky were all still, just as it is at\ntwilight, and I heard them laughing and talking in the tap-room of\nthe Inn of the Sign of Mother Goose--the clinking of glasses, and the\nrattling and clatter of knives and forks and plates and dishes. That was\nwhere I wished to go.\n\nSo in I went. Mother Goose herself opened the door, and there I was.\n\nThe room was all full of twilight; but there they sat, every one of\nthem. I did not count them, but there were ever so many: Aladdin, and\nAli Baba, and Fortunatis, and Jack-the-Giant-Killer, and Doctor Faustus,\nand Bidpai, and Cinderella, and Patient Grizzle, and the Soldier who\ncheated the Devil, and St. George, and Hans in Luck, who traded and\ntraded his lump of gold until he had only an empty churn to show for it;\nand there was Sindbad the Sailor, and the Tailor who killed seven flies\nat a blow, and the Fisherman who fished up the Genie, and the Lad who\nfiddled for the Jew in the bramble-bush, and the Blacksmith who made\nDeath sit in his apple-tree, and Boots, who always marries the Princess,\nwhether he wants to or not--a rag-tag lot as ever you saw in your life,\ngathered from every place, and brought together in Twilight Land.\n\nEach one of them was telling a story, and now it was the turn of the\nSoldier who cheated the Devil.\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, \u201ca story of a\nfriend of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake a fresh pipe of tobacco,\u201d said St. George.\n\n\u201cThank you, I will,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil.\n\nHe filled his long pipe full of tobacco, and then he tilted it upside\ndown and sucked in the light of the candle.\n\nPuff! puff! puff! and a cloud of smoke went up about his head, so that\nyou could just see his red nose shining through it, and his bright eyes\ntwinkling in the midst of the smoke-wreath, like two stars through a\nthin cloud on a summer night.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, \u201cthe story of\na friend of mine. Tis every word of it just as true as that I myself\ncheated the Devil.\u201d\n\nHe took a drink from his mug of beer, and then he began.\n\n\u201cTis called,\u201d said he--\n\n\n\n\nThe Stool of Fortune\n\nOnce upon a time there came a soldier marching along the road, kicking\nup a little cloud of dust at each step--as strapping and merry and\nbright-eyed a fellow as you would wish to see in a summer day. Tramp!\ntramp! tramp! he marched, whistling as he jogged along, though he\ncarried a heavy musket over his shoulder and though the sun shone hot\nand strong and there was never a tree in sight to give him a bit of\nshelter.\n\nAt last he came in sight of the King\u2019s Town and to a great field of\nstocks and stones, and there sat a little old man as withered and brown\nas a dead leaf, and clad all in scarlet from head to foot.\n\n\u201cHo! soldier,\u201d said he, \u201care you a good shot?\u201d\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cthat is my trade.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you like to earn a dollar by shooting off your musket for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cthat is my trade also.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then,\u201d said the little man in red, \u201chere is a silver button\nto drop into your gun instead of a bullet. Wait you here, and about\nsunset there will come a great black bird flying. In one claw it carries\na feather cap and in the other a round stone. Shoot me the silver button\nat that bird, and if your aim is good it will drop the feather cap and\nthe pebble. Bring them to me to the great town-gate and I will pay you a\ndollar for your trouble.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cshooting my gun is a job that fits me\nlike an old coat.\u201d So, down he sat and the old man went his way.\n\nWell, there he sat and sat and sat and sat until the sun touched the rim\nof the ground, and then, just as the old man said, there came flying a\ngreat black bird as silent as night. The soldier did not tarry to look\nor to think. As the bird flew by up came the gun to his shoulder, squint\nwent his eye along the barrel--Puff! bang--!\n\nI vow and declare that if the shot he fired had cracked the sky he\ncould not have been more frightened. The great black bird gave a yell so\nterrible that it curdled the very blood in his veins and made his hair\nstand upon end. Away it flew like a flash--a bird no longer, but a\ngreat, black demon, smoking and smelling most horribly of brimstone,\nand when the soldier gathered his wits, there lay the feather cap and a\nlittle, round, black stone upon the ground.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cit is little wonder that the old man had\nno liking to shoot at such game as that.\u201d And thereupon he popped\nthe feather cap into one pocket and the round stone into another, and\nshouldering his musket marched away until he reached the town-gate, and\nthere was the old man waiting for him.\n\n\u201cDid you shoot the bird?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI did,\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cAnd did you get the cap and the round stone?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen here is your dollar.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait a bit,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cI shot greater game that time than\nI bargained for, and so it\u2019s ten dollars and not one you shall pay me\nbefore you lay finger upon the feather cap and the little stone.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the old man, \u201chere are ten dollars.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo! ho!\u201d thought the soldier, \u201cis that the way the wind blows?\u201d--\u201cDid I\nsay ten dollars?\u201d said he; \u201ctwas a hundred dollars I meant.\u201d\n\nAt that the old man frowned until his eyes shone green. \u201cVery well,\u201d\n said he, \u201cif it is a hundred dollars you want, you will have to come\nhome with me, for I have not so much with me.\u201d Thereupon he entered the\ntown with the soldier at his heels.\n\nUp one street he went and down another, until at last he came to a\ngreat, black, ancient ramshackle house; and that was where he lived. In\nhe walked without so much as a rap at the door, and so led the way to\na great room with furnaces and books and bottles and jars and dust and\ncobwebs, and three grinning skulls upon the mantelpiece, each with a\ncandle stuck atop of it, and there he left the soldier while he went to\nget the hundred dollars.\n\nThe soldier sat him down upon a three-legged stool in the corner and\nbegan staring about him; and he liked the looks of the place as little\nas any he had seen in all of his life, for it smelled musty and dusty,\nit did: the three skulls grinned at him, and he began to think that the\nlittle old man was no better than he should be. \u201cI wish,\u201d says he, at\nlast, \u201cthat instead of being here I might be well out of my scrape and\nin a safe place.\u201d\n\nNow the little old man in scarlet was a great magician, and there was\nlittle or nothing in that house that had not some magic about it, and of\nall things the three-legged stool had been conjured the most.\n\n\u201cI wish that instead of being here I might be well out of my scrape,\nand in a safe place.\u201d That was what the soldier said; and hardly had the\nwords left his lips when--whisk! whir!--away flew the stool through the\nwindow, so suddenly that the soldier had only just time enough to gripe\nit tight by the legs to save himself from falling. Whir! whiz!--away it\nflew like a bullet. Up and up it went--so high in the air that the earth\nbelow looked like a black blanket spread out in the night; and then down\nit came again, with the soldier still griping tight to the legs, until\nat last it settled as light as a feather upon a balcony of the king\u2019s\npalace; and when the soldier caught his wind again he found himself\nwithout a hat, and with hardly any wits in his head.\n\nThere he sat upon the stool for a long time without daring to move, for\nhe did not know what might happen to him next. There he sat and sat, and\nby-and-by his ears got cold in the night air, and then he noticed for\nthe first time that he had lost his head gear, and bethought himself of\nthe feather cap in his pocket. So out he drew it and clapped it upon his\nhead, and then--lo and behold!--he found he had become as invisible as\nthin air--not a shred or a hair of him could be seen. \u201cWell!\u201d said he,\n\u201chere is another wonder, but I am safe now at any rate.\u201d And up he got\nto find some place not so cool as where he sat.\n\nHe stepped in at an open window, and there he found himself in a\nbeautiful room, hung with cloth of silver and blue, and with chairs and\ntables of white and gold; dozens and scores of waxlights shone like so\nmany stars, and lit every crack and cranny as bright as day, and there\nat one end of the room upon a couch, with her eyelids closed and fast\nasleep, lay the prettiest princess that ever the sun shone upon. The\nsoldier stood and looked and looked at her, and looked and looked at\nher, until his heart melted within him like soft butter, and then he\nkissed her.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d said the princess, starting up, wide-awake, but not a\nsoul could she see, because the soldier had the feather cap upon his\nhead.\n\n\u201cIt is I,\u201d said he, \u201cand I am King of the Wind, and ten times greater\nthan the greatest of kings here below. One day I saw you walking in your\ngarden and fell in love with you, and now I have come to ask you if you\nwill marry me and be my wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how can I marry you?\u201d said the princess, \u201cwithout seeing you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall see me,\u201d said the soldier, \u201call in good time. Three days\nfrom now I will come again, and will show myself to you, but just now it\ncannot be. But if I come, will you marry me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes I will,\u201d said the princess, \u201cfor I like the way you talk--that I\ndo!\u201d\n\nThereupon the soldier kissed her and said good-bye, and then stepped\nout of the window as he had stepped in. He sat him down upon his\nthree-legged stool. \u201cI wish,\u201d said he, \u201cto be carried to such and such a\ntavern.\u201d For he had been in that town before, and knew the places where\ngood living was to be had.\n\nWhir! whiz! away flew the stool as high and higher than it had flown\nbefore, and then down it came again, and down and down until it lit as\nlight as a feather in the street before the tavern door. The soldier\ntucked his feather cap in his pocket, and the three-legged stool under\nhis arm, and in he went and ordered a pot of beer and some white bread\nand cheese.\n\nMeantime, at the king\u2019s palace was such a gossiping and such a hubbub as\nhad not been heard there for many a day; for the pretty princess was not\nslow in telling how the invisible King of the Wind had come and asked\nher to marry him; and some said it was true and some said it was not\ntrue, and everybody wondered and talked, and told their own notions of\nthe matter. But all agreed that three days would show whether what had\nbeen told was true or no.\n\nAs for the soldier, he knew no more how to do what he had promised to do\nthan my grandmother\u2019s cat; for where was he to get clothes fine enough\nfor the King of the Wind to wear? So there he sat on his three-legged\nstool thinking and thinking, and if he had known all that I know he\nwould not have given two turns of his wit upon it. \u201cI wish,\u201d says he, at\nlast--\u201cI wish that this stool could help me now as well as it can carry\nme through the sky. I wish,\u201d says he, \u201cthat I had a suit of clothes such\nas the King of the Wind might really wear.\u201d\n\nThe wonders of the three-legged stool were wonders indeed!\n\nHardly had the words left the soldier\u2019s lips when down came something\ntumbling about his ears from up in the air; and what should it be but\njust such a suit of clothes as he had in his mind--all crusted over with\ngold and silver and jewels.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d says the soldier, as soon as he had got over his wonder again,\n\u201cI would rather sit upon this stool than any I ever saw.\u201d And so would\nI, if I had been in his place, and had a few minutes to think of all\nthat I wanted.\n\nSo he found out the trick of the stool, and after that wishing and\nhaving were easy enough, and by the time the three days were ended the\nreal King of the Wind himself could not have cut a finer figure. Then\ndown sat the soldier upon his stool, and wished himself at the king\u2019s\npalace. Away he flew through the air, and by-and-by there he was, just\nwhere he had been before. He put his feather cap upon his head, and\nstepped in through the window, and there he found the princess with her\nfather, the king, and her mother, the queen, and all the great lords and\nnobles waiting for his coming; but never a stitch nor a hair did they\nsee of him until he stood in the very midst of them all. Then he whipped\nthe feather cap off of his head, and there he was, shining with silver\nand gold and glistening with jewels--such a sight as man\u2019s eyes never\nsaw before.\n\n\u201cTake her,\u201d said the king, \u201cshe is yours.\u201d And the soldier looked so\nhandsome in his fine clothes that the princess was as glad to hear those\nwords as any she had ever listened to in all of her life.\n\n\u201cYou shall,\u201d said the king, \u201cbe married to-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier. \u201cOnly give me a plot of ground to build\na palace upon that shall be fit for the wife of the King of the Wind to\nlive in.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have it,\u201d said the king, \u201cand it shall be the great parade\nground back of the palace, which is so wide and long that all my army\ncan march round and round in it without getting into its own way; and\nthat ought to be big enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cit is.\u201d Thereupon he put on his feather cap\nand disappeared from the sight of all as quickly as one might snuff out\na candle.\n\nHe mounted his three-legged stool and away he flew through the air until\nhe had come again to the tavern where he was lodging. There he sat him\ndown and began to churn his thoughts, and the butter he made was worth\nthe having, I can tell you. He wished for a grand palace of white\nmarble, and then he wished for all sorts of things to fill it--the\nfinest that could be had. Then he wished for servants in clothes of gold\nand silver, and then he wished for fine horses and gilded coaches.\nThen he wished for gardens and orchards and lawns and flower-plats and\nfountains, and all kinds and sorts of things, until the sweat ran down\nhis face from hard thinking and wishing. And as he thought and wished,\nall the things he thought and wished for grew up like soap-bubbles from\nnothing at all.\n\nThen, when day began to break, he wished himself with his fine clothes\nto be in the palace that his own wits had made, and away he flew through\nthe air until he had come there safe and sound.\n\nBut when the sun rose and shone down upon the beautiful palace and all\nthe gardens and orchards around it, the king and queen and all the court\nstood dumb with wonder at the sight. Then, as they stood staring, the\ngates opened and out came the soldier riding in his gilded coach with\nhis servants in silver and gold marching beside him, and such a sight\nthe daylight never looked upon before that day.\n\nWell, the princess and the soldier were married, and if no couple had\never been happy in the world before, they were then. Nothing was heard\nbut feasting and merrymaking, and at night all the sky was lit with\nfireworks. Such a wedding had never been before, and all the world was\nglad that it had happened.\n\nThat is, all the world but one; that one was the old man dressed in\nscarlet that the soldier had met when he first came to town. While all\nthe rest were in the hubbub of rejoicing, he put on his thinking-cap,\nand by-and-by began to see pretty well how things lay, and that, as they\nsay in our town, there was a fly in the milk-jug. \u201cHo, ho!\u201d thought he,\n\u201cso the soldier has found out all about the three-legged stool, has he?\nWell, I will just put a spoke into his wheel for him.\u201d And so he began\nto watch for his chance to do the soldier an ill turn.\n\nNow, a week or two after the wedding, and after all the gay doings had\nended, a grand hunt was declared, and the king and his new son-in-law\nand all the court went to it. That was just such a chance as the old\nmagician had been waiting for; so the night before the hunting-party\nreturned he climbed the walls of the garden, and so came to the\nwonderful palace that the soldier had built out of nothing at all, and\nthere stood three men keeping guard so that no one might enter.\n\nBut little that troubled the magician. He began to mutter spells and\nstrange words, and all of a sudden he was gone, and in his place was\na great black ant, for he had changed himself into an ant. In he ran\nthrough a crack of the door (and mischief has got into many a man\u2019s\nhouse through a smaller hole for the matter of that). In and out ran the\nant through one room and another, and up and down and here and there,\nuntil at last in a far-away part of the magic palace he found the\nthree-legged stool, and if I had been in the soldier\u2019s place I would\nhave chopped it up into kindling-wood after I had gotten all that I\nwanted. But there it was, and in an instant the magician resumed his\nown shape. Down he sat him upon the stool. \u201cI wish,\u201d said he, \u201cthat this\npalace and the princess and all who are within it, together with its\norchards and its lawns and its gardens and everything, may be removed to\nsuch and such a country, upon the other side of the earth.\u201d\n\nAnd as the stool had obeyed the soldier, so everything was done now just\nas the magician said.\n\nThe next morning back came the hunting-party, and as they rode over the\nhill--lo and behold!--there lay stretched out the great parade ground\nin which the king\u2019s armies used to march around and around, and the land\nwas as bare as the palm of my hand. Not a stick or a stone of the palace\nwas left; not a leaf or a blade of the orchards or gardens was to be\nseen.\n\nThe soldier sat as dumb as a fish, and the king stared with eyes and\nmouth wide open. \u201cWhere is the palace, and where is my daughter?\u201d said\nhe, at last, finding words and wit.\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d said the soldier.\n\nThe king\u2019s face grew as black as thunder. \u201cYou do not know?\u201d he said,\n\u201cthen you must find out. Seize the traitor!\u201d he cried.\n\nBut that was easier said than done, for, quick as a wink, as they came\nto lay hold of him, the soldier whisked the feather cap from his pocket\nand clapped it upon his head, and then they might as well have hoped to\nfind the south wind in winter as to find him.\n\nBut though he got safe away from that trouble he was deep enough in the\ndumps, you may be sure of that. Away he went, out into the wide world,\nleaving that town behind him. Away he went, until by-and-by he came to\na great forest, and for three days he travelled on and on--he knew not\nwhither. On the third night, as he sat beside a fire which he had built\nto keep him warm, he suddenly bethought himself of the little round\nstone which had dropped from the bird\u2019s claw, and which he still had in\nhis pocket. \u201cWhy should it not also help me,\u201d said he, \u201cfor there must\nbe some wonder about it.\u201d So he brought it out, and sat looking at it\nand looking at it, but he could make nothing of it for the life of him.\nNevertheless, it might have some wishing power about it, like the\nmagic stool. \u201cI wish,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cthat I might get out of this\nscrape.\u201d That is what we have all wished many and many a time in a like\ncase; but just now it did the soldier no more good to wish than it does\ngood for the rest of us. \u201cBah!\u201d said he, \u201cit is nothing but a black\nstone after all.\u201d And then he threw it into the fire.\n\nPuff! Bang! Away flew the embers upon every side, and back tumbled the\nsoldier, and there in the middle of the flame stood just such a grim,\nblack being as he had one time shot at with the silver button.\n\nAs for the poor soldier, he just lay flat on his back and stared with\neyes like saucers, for he thought that his end had come for sure.\n\n\u201cWhat are my lord\u2019s commands?\u201d said the being, in a voice that shook the\nmarrow of the soldier\u2019s bones.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cI am the spirit of the stone,\u201d said the being. \u201cYou have heated it in\nthe flame, and I am here. Whatever you command I must obey.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay you so?\u201d cried the soldier, scrambling to his feet. \u201cVery well,\nthen, just carry me to where I may find my wife and my palace again.\u201d\n\nWithout a word the spirit of the stone snatched the soldier up, and\nflew away with him swifter than the wind. Over forest, over field, over\nmountain and over valley he flew, until at last, just at the crack of\nday, he set him down in front of his own palace gate in the far country\nwhere the magician had transported it.\n\nAfter that the soldier knew his way quickly enough. He clapped his\nfeather cap upon his head and into the palace he went, and from one room\nto another, until at last he came to where the princess sat weeping and\nwailing, with her pretty eyes red from long crying.\n\nThen the soldier took off his cap again, and you may guess what sounds\nof rejoicing followed. They sat down beside one another, and after the\nsoldier had eaten, the princess told him all that had happened to her;\nhow the magician had found the stool, and how he had transported the\npalace to this far-away land; how he came every day and begged her to\nmarry him--which she would rather die than do.\n\nTo all this the soldier listened, and when she had ended her story he\nbade her to dry her tears, for, after all, the jug was only cracked,\nand not past mending. Then he told her that when the sorcerer came again\nthat day she should say so and so and so and so, and that he would be by\nto help her with his feather cap upon his head.\n\nAfter that they sat talking together as happy as two turtle-doves,\nuntil the magician\u2019s foot was heard on the stairs. And then the soldier\nclapped his feather cap upon his head just as the door opened.\n\n\u201cSnuff, snuff!\u201d said the magician, sniffing the air, \u201chere is a smell of\nChristian blood.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the princess, \u201cthat is so; there came a peddler to-day, but\nafter all he did not stay long.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019d better not come again,\u201d said the magician, \u201cor it will be the\nworse for him. But tell me, will you marry me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the princess, \u201cI shall not marry you until you can prove\nyourself to be a greater man than my husband.\u201d\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the magician, \u201cthat will be easy enough to prove; tell me\nhow you would have me do so and I will do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the princess, \u201cthen let me see you change yourself\ninto a lion. If you can do that I may perhaps believe you to be as great\nas my husband.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall,\u201d said the magician, \u201cbe as you say. He began to mutter spells\nand strange words, and then all of a sudden he was gone, and in his\nplace there stood a lion with bristling mane and flaming eyes--a sight\nfit of itself to kill a body with terror.\n\n\u201cThat will do!\u201d cried the princess, quaking and trembling at the sight,\nand thereupon the magician took his own shape again.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cdo you believe that I am as great as the poor soldier?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot yet,\u201d said the princess; \u201cI have seen how big you can make\nyourself, now I wish to see how little you can become. Let me see you\nchange yourself into a mouse.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the magician, and began again to mutter his spells.\nThen all of a sudden he was gone just as he was gone before, and in his\nplace was a little mouse sitting up and looking at the princess with a\npair of eyes like glass beads.\n\nBut he did not sit there long. This was what the soldier had planned\nfor, and all the while he had been standing by with his feather hat upon\nhis head. Up he raised his foot, and down he set it upon the mouse.\n\nCrunch!--that was an end of the magician.\n\nAfter that all was clear sailing; the soldier hunted up the three-legged\nstool and down he sat upon it, and by dint of no more than just a little\nwishing, back flew palace and garden and all through the air again to\nthe place whence it came.\n\nI do not know whether the old king ever believed again that his\nson-in-law was the King of the Wind; anyhow, all was peace and\nfriendliness thereafter, for when a body can sit upon a three-legged\nstool and wish to such good purpose as the soldier wished, a body is\njust as good as a king, and a good deal better, to my mind.\n\nThe Soldier who cheated the Devil looked into his pipe; it was nearly\nout. He puffed and puffed and the coal glowed brighter, and fresh clouds\nof smoke rolled up into the air. Little Brown Betty came and refilled,\nfrom a crock of brown foaming ale, the mug which he had emptied. The\nSoldier who had cheated the Devil looked up at her and winked one eye.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said St. George, \u201cit is the turn of yonder old man,\u201d and he\npointed, as he spoke, with the stem of his pipe towards old Bidpai, who\nsat with closed eyes meditating inside of himself.\n\nThe old man opened his eyes, the whites of which were as yellow as\nsaffron, and wrinkled his face into innumerable cracks and lines. Then\nhe closed his eyes again; then he opened them again; then he cleared\nhis throat and began: \u201cThere was once upon a time a man whom other men\ncalled Aben Hassen the Wise--\u201d\n\n\u201cOne moment,\u201d said Ali Baba; \u201cwill you not tell us what the story is\nabout?\u201d\n\nOld Bidpai looked at him and stroked his long white beard. \u201cIt is,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Talisman of Solomon\n\nThere was once upon a time a man whom other men called Aben Hassen\nthe Wise. He had read a thousand books of magic, and knew all that the\nancients or moderns had to tell of the hidden arts.\n\nThe King of the Demons of the Earth, a great and hideous monster,\nnamed Zadok, was his servant, and came and went as Aben Hassen the Wise\nordered, and did as he bade. After Aben Hassen learned all that it was\npossible for man to know, he said to himself, \u201cNow I will take my ease\nand enjoy my life.\u201d So he called the Demon Zadok to him, and said to the\nmonster, \u201cI have read in my books that there is a treasure that was one\ntime hidden by the ancient kings of Egypt--a treasure such as the eyes\nof man never saw before or since their day. Is that true?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is true,\u201d said the Demon.\n\n\u201cThen I command thee to take me to that treasure and to show it to me,\u201d\n said Aben Hassen the Wise.\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Demon; and thereupon he caught up the Wise\nMan and transported him across mountain and valley, across land and\nsea, until he brought him to a country known as the \u201cLand of the Black\nIsles,\u201d where the treasure of the ancient kings was hidden. The Demon\nshowed the Magician the treasure, and it was a sight such as man had\nnever looked upon before or since the days that the dark, ancient ones\nhid it. With his treasure Aben Hassen built himself palaces and gardens\nand paradises such as the world never saw before. He lived like an\nemperor, and the fame of his doings rang through all the four corners of\nthe earth.\n\nNow the queen of the Black Isles was the most beautiful woman in the\nworld, but she was as cruel and wicked and cunning as she was beautiful.\nNo man that looked upon her could help loving her; for not only was\nshe as beautiful as a dream, but her beauty was of that sort that it\nbewitched a man in spite of himself.\n\nOne day the queen sent for Aben Hassen the Wise. \u201cTell me,\u201d said she,\n\u201cis it true that men say of you that you have discovered a hidden\ntreasure such as the world never saw before?\u201d And she looked at Aben\nHassen so that his wisdom all crumbled away like sand, and he became\njust as foolish as other men.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said he, \u201cit is true.\u201d\n\nAben Hassen the Wise spent all that day with the queen, and when he left\nthe palace he was like a man drunk and dizzy with love. Moreover, he had\npromised to show the queen the hidden treasure the next day.\n\nAs Aben Hassen, like a man in a dream, walked towards his own house, he\nmet an old man standing at the corner of the street. The old man had a\ntalisman that hung dangling from a chain, and which he offered for sale.\nWhen Aben Hassen saw the talisman he knew very well what it was--that\nit was the famous talisman of King Solomon the Wise. If he who possessed\nthe talisman asked it to speak, it would tell that man both what to do\nand what not to do.\n\nThe Wise Man bought the talisman for three pieces of silver (and wisdom\nhas been sold for less than that many a time), and as soon as he had the\ntalisman in his hands he hurried home with it and locked himself in a\nroom.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said the Wise Man to the Talisman, \u201cshall I marry the\nbeautiful queen of the Black Isles?\u201d\n\n\u201cFly, while there is yet time to escape!\u201d said the Talisman; \u201cbut go not\nnear the queen again, for she seeks to destroy thy life.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut tell me, O Talisman!\u201d said the Wise Man, \u201cwhat then shall I do with\nall that vast treasure of the kings of Egypt?\u201d\n\n\u201cFly from it while there is yet chance to escape!\u201d said the Talisman;\n\u201cbut go not into the treasure-house again, for in the farther door,\nwhere thou hast not yet looked, is that which will destroy him who\npossesses the treasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut Zadok,\u201d said Aben Hassen; \u201cwhat of Zadok?\u201d\n\n\u201cFly from the monster while there is yet time to escape,\u201d said the\nTalisman, \u201cand have no more to do with thy Demon slave, for already he\nis weaving a net of death and destruction about thy feet.\u201d\n\nThe Wise Man sat all that night pondering and thinking upon what the\nTalisman had said. When morning came he washed and dressed himself, and\ncalled the Demon Zadok to him. \u201cZadok,\u201d said he, \u201ccarry me to the palace\nof the queen.\u201d In the twinkling of an eye the Demon transported him to\nthe steps of the palace.\n\n\u201cZadok,\u201d said the Wise Man, \u201cgive me the staff of life and death;\u201d and\nthe Demon brought from under his clothes a wand, one-half of which was\nof silver and one-half of which was of gold. The Wise Man touched the\nsteps of the palace with the silver end of the staff. Instantly all\nthe sound and hum of life was hushed. The thread of life was cut by the\nknife of silence, and in a moment all was as still as death.\n\n\u201cZadok,\u201d said the Wise Man, \u201ctransport me to the treasure-house of the\nking of Egypt.\u201d And instantly the Demon had transported him thither. The\nWise Man drew a circle upon the earth. \u201cNo one,\u201d said he, \u201cshall have\npower to enter here but the master of Zadok, the King of the Demons of\nthe Earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd now, Zadok,\u201d said he, \u201cI command thee to transport me to India,\nand as far from here as thou canst.\u201d Instantly the Demon did as he\nwas commanded; and of all the treasure that he had, the Wise Man took\nnothing with him but a jar of golden money and a jar of silver money.\nAs soon as the Wise Man stood upon the ground of India, he drew from\nbeneath his robe a little jar of glass.\n\n\u201cZadok,\u201d said he, \u201cI command thee to enter this jar.\u201d\n\nThen the Demon knew that now his turn had come. He besought and implored\nthe Wise Man to have mercy upon him; but it was all in vain. Then the\nDemon roared and bellowed till the earth shook and the sky grew dark\noverhead. But all was of no avail; into the jar he must go, and into the\njar he went. Then the Wise Man stoppered the jar and sealed it. He wrote\nan inscription of warning upon it, and then he buried it in the ground.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Aben Hassen the Wise to the Talisman of Solomon, \u201chave I\ndone everything that I should?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Talisman, \u201cthou shouldst not have brought the jar of\ngolden money and the jar of silver money with thee; for that which is\nevil in the greatest is evil in the least. Thou fool! The treasure is\ncursed! Cast it all from thee while there is yet time.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I will do that, too,\u201d said the Wise Man. So he buried in the earth\nthe jar of gold and the jar of silver that he had brought with him, and\nthen he stamped the mould down upon it. After that the Wise Man began\nhis life all over again. He bought, and he sold, and he traded, and\nby-and-by he became rich. Then he built himself a great house, and in\nthe foundation he laid the jar in which the Demon was bottled.\n\nThen he married a young and handsome wife. By-and-by the wife bore him a\nson, and then she died.\n\nThis son was the pride of his father\u2019s heart; but he was as vain and\nfoolish as his father was wise, so that all men called him Aben Hassen\nthe Fool, as they called the father Aben Hassen the Wise.\n\nThen one day death came and called the old man, and he left his son all\nthat belonged to him--even the Talisman of Solomon.\n\nYoung Aben Hassen the Fool had never seen so much money as now belonged\nto him. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the world he could\nnot enjoy. He found friends by the dozens and scores, and everybody\nseemed to be very fond of him.\n\nHe asked no questions of the Talisman of Solomon, for to his mind there\nwas no need of being both wise and rich. So he began enjoying himself\nwith his new friends. Day and night there was feasting and drinking and\nsinging and dancing and merrymaking and carousing; and the money that\nthe old man had made by trading and wise living poured out like water\nthrough a sieve.\n\nThen, one day came an end to all this junketing, and nothing remained to\nthe young spend-thrift of all the wealth that his father had left him.\nThen the officers of the law came down upon him and seized all that was\nleft of the fine things, and his fair-weather friends flew away from his\ntroubles like flies from vinegar. Then the young man began to think of\nthe Talisman of Wisdom. For it was with him as it is with so many of\nus: When folly has emptied the platter, wisdom is called in to pick the\nbones.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said the young man to the Talisman of Solomon, \u201cwhat shall I\ndo, now that everything is gone?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d said the Talisman of Solomon, \u201cand work as thy father has worked\nbefore thee. Advise with me and become prosperous and contended, but do\nnot go dig under the cherry-tree in the garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I not dig under the cherry-tree in the garden?\u201d says the\nyoung man; \u201cI will see what is there, at any rate.\u201d\n\nSo he straightway took a spade and went out into the garden, where the\nTalisman had told him not to go. He dug and dug under the cherry-tree,\nand by-and-by his spade struck something hard. It was a vessel of brass,\nand it was full of silver money. Upon the lid of the vessel were these\nwords, engraved in the handwriting of the old man who had died:\n\n\u201cMy son, this vessel full of silver has been brought from the\ntreasure-house of the ancient kings of Egypt. Take this, then, that thou\nfindest; advise with the talisman; be wise and prosper.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd they call that the Talisman of Wisdom,\u201d said the young man. \u201cIf I\nhad listened to it I never would have found this treasure.\u201d\n\nThe next day he began to spend the money he had found, and his friends\nsoon gathered around him again.\n\nThe vessel of silver money lasted a week, and then it was all gone; not\na single piece was left.\n\nThen the young man bethought himself again of the Talisman of Solomon.\n\u201cWhat shall I do now,\u201d said he, \u201cto save myself from ruin?\u201d\n\n\u201cEarn thy bread with honest labor,\u201d said the Talisman, \u201cand I will teach\nthee how to prosper; but do not dig beneath the fig-tree that stands by\nthe fountain in the garden.\u201d\n\nThe young man did not tarry long after he heard what the Talisman had\nsaid. He seized a spade and hurried away to the fig-tree in the garden\nas fast as he could run. He dug and dug, and by-and-by his spade struck\nsomething hard. It was a copper vessel, and it was filled with gold\nmoney. Upon the lid of the vessel was engraved these words in the\nhandwriting of the old man who had gone: \u201cMy son, my son,\u201d they said,\n\u201cthou hast been warned once; be warned again. The gold money in this\nvessel has been brought from the treasure-house of the ancient kings\nof Egypt. Take it; be advised by the Talisman of Solomon; be wise and\nprosper.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd to think that if I had listened to the Talisman, I would never have\nfound this,\u201d said the young man.\n\nThe gold in the vessel lasted maybe for a month of jollity and\nmerrymaking, but at the end of that time there was nothing left--not a\ncopper farthing.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said the young man to the Talisman, \u201cwhat shall I do now?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou fool,\u201d said the Talisman, \u201cgo sweat and toil, but do not go down\ninto the vault beneath this house. There in the vault is a red stone\nbuilt into the wall. The red stone turns upon a pivot. Behind the stone\nis a hollow space. As thou wouldst save thy life from peril, go not near\nit!\u201d\n\n\u201cHear that now,\u201d says the young man, \u201cfirst, this Talisman told me not\nto go, and I found silver. Then it told me not to go, and I found gold;\nnow it tells me not to go--perhaps I shall find precious stones enough\nfor a king\u2019s ransom.\u201d\n\nHe lit a lantern and went down into the vault beneath the house. There,\nas the Talisman had said, was the red stone built into the wall. He\npressed the stone, and it turned upon its pivot as the Talisman had said\nit would turn. Within was a hollow space, as the Talisman said there\nwould be. In the hollow space there was a casket of silver. The young\nman snatched it up, and his hands trembled for joy.\n\nUpon the lid of the box were these words in the father\u2019s handwriting,\nwritten in letters as red as blood: \u201cFool, fool! Thou hast been a fool\nonce, thou hast been a fool twice; be not a fool for a third time.\nRestore this casket whence it was taken, and depart.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will see what is in the box, at any rate,\u201d said the young man.\n\nHe opened it. There was nothing in it but a hollow glass jar the size of\nan egg. The young man took the jar from the box; it was as hot as fire.\nHe cried out and let it fall. The jar burst upon the floor with a crack\nof thunder; the house shook and rocked, and the dust flew about in\nclouds. Then all was still; and when Aben Hassen the Fool could see\nthrough the cloud of terror that enveloped him he beheld a great, tall,\nhideous being as black as ink, and with eyes that shone like coals of\nfire.\n\nWhen the young man saw that terrible creature his tongue clave to\nthe roof of his mouth, and his knees smote together with fear, for he\nthought that his end had now certainly come.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d he croaked, as soon as he could find his voice.\n\n\u201cI am the King of the Demons of the Earth, and my name is Zadok,\u201d\n answered the being. \u201cI was once thy father\u2019s slave, and now I am thine,\nthou being his son. When thou speakest I must obey, and whatever thou\ncommandest me to do that I must do.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor instance, what can you do for me?\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cI can do whatsoever you ask me; I can make you rich.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can make me rich?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I can make you richer than a king.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen make me rich as soon as you can,\u201d said Aben Hassen the Fool, \u201cand\nthat is all that I shall ask of you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Demon; \u201cspend all that thou canst spend,\nand thou shalt always have more. Has my lord any further commands for\nhis slave?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the young man, \u201cthere is nothing more; you may go now.\u201d\n\nAnd thereupon the Demon vanished like a flash.\n\n\u201cAnd to think,\u201d said the young man, as he came up out of the vault--\u201cand\nto think that all this I should never have found if I had obeyed the\nTalisman.\u201d\n\nSuch riches were never seen in that land as the young man now possessed.\nThere was no end to the treasure that poured in upon him. He lived like\nan emperor. He built a palace more splendid than the palace of the king.\nHe laid out vast gardens of the most exquisite beauty, in which there\nwere fountains as white as snow, trees of rare fruit and flowers that\nfilled all the air with their perfume, summer-houses of alabaster and\nebony.\n\nEvery one who visited him was received like a prince, entertained like a\nking, given a present fit for an emperor, and sent away happy. The fame\nof all these things went out through all the land, and every one talked\nof him and the magnificence that surrounded him.\n\nIt came at last to the ears of the king himself, and one day he said\nto his minister, \u201cLet us go and see with our own eyes if all the things\nreported of this merchant\u2019s son are true.\u201d\n\nSo the king and his minister disguised themselves as foreign merchants,\nand went that evening to the palace where the young man lived. A servant\ndressed in clothes of gold and silver cloth stood at the door, and\ncalled to them to come in and be made welcome. He led them in, and to a\nchamber lit with perfumed lamps of gold. Then six black slaves took them\nin charge and led them to a bath of white marble. They were bathed in\nperfumed water and dried with towels of fine linen. When they came\nforth they were clad in clothes of cloth of silver, stiff with gold and\njewels. Then twelve handsome white slaves led them through a vast and\nsplendid hall to a banqueting-room.\n\nWhen they entered they were deafened with the noise of carousing and\nmerrymaking.\n\nAben Hassen the Fool sat at the head of the table upon a throne of\ngold, with a canopy of gold above his head. When he saw the king and\nthe minister enter, he beckoned to them to come and sit beside him.\nHe showed them special favor because they were strangers, and special\nservants waited upon them.\n\nThe king and his minister had never seen anything like what they then\nsaw. They could hardly believe it was not all magic and enchantment.\nAt the end of the feast each of the guests was given a present of great\nvalue, and was sent away rejoicing. The king received a pearl as big as\na marble; the minister a cup of wrought gold.\n\nThe next morning the king and the prime-minister were talking over what\nthey had seen. \u201cSire,\u201d said the prime-minister, \u201cI have no doubt but\nthat the young man has discovered some vast hidden treasure. Now,\naccording to the laws of this kingdom, the half of any treasure that is\ndiscovered shall belong to the king\u2019s treasury. If I were in your place\nI would send for this young man and compel him to tell me whence comes\nall this vast wealth.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the king; \u201cI had not thought of that before. The\nyoung man shall tell me all about it.\u201d\n\nSo they sent a royal guard and brought the young man to the king\u2019s\npalace. When the young man saw in the king and the prime-minister his\nguests of the night before, whom he had thought to be only foreign\nmerchants, he fell on his face and kissed the ground before the throne.\nBut the king spoke to him kindly, and raised him up and sat him on the\nseat beside him. They talked for a while concerning different things,\nand then the king said at last, \u201cTell me, my friend, whence comes all\nthe inestimable wealth that you must possess to allow you to live as you\ndo?\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI cannot tell you whence it comes. I can\nonly tell you that it is given to me.\u201d\n\nThe king frowned. \u201cYou cannot tell,\u201d said he; \u201cyou must tell. It is for\nthat that I have sent for you, and you must tell me.\u201d\n\nThen the young man began to be frightened. \u201cI beseech you,\u201d said he, \u201cdo\nnot ask me whence it comes. I cannot tell you.\u201d\n\nThen the king\u2019s brows grew as black as thunder. \u201cWhat!\u201d cried he, \u201cdo\nyou dare to bandy words with me? I know that you have discovered some\ntreasure. Tell me upon the instant where it is; for the half of it, by\nthe laws of the land, belongs to me, and I will have it.\u201d\n\nAt the king\u2019s words Aben Hassen the Fool fell on his knees. \u201cSire,\u201d\n said he, \u201cI will tell you all the truth. There is a demon named Zadok--a\nmonster as black as a coal. He is my slave, and it is he that brings me\nall the treasure that I enjoy.\u201d The king thought nothing else than that\nAben Hassen the Fool was trying to deceive him. He laughed; he was\nvery angry. \u201cWhat,\u201d cried he, \u201cdo you amuse me by such an absurd and\nunbelievable tale? Now I am more than ever sure that you have discovered\na treasure and that you wish to keep the knowledge of it from me,\nknowing, as you do, that the one-half of it by law belongs to me. Take\nhim away!\u201d cried he to his attendants. \u201cGive him fifty lashes, and throw\nhim into prison. He shall stay there and have fifty lashes every day\nuntil he tells me where his wealth is hidden.\u201d\n\nIt was done as the king said, and by-and-by Aben Hassen the Fool lay in\nthe prison, smarting and sore with the whipping he had had.\n\nThen he began again to think of the Talisman of Solomon.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said he to the Talisman, \u201cWhat shall I do now to help myself\nin this trouble?\u201d\n\n\u201cBear thy punishment, thou fool,\u201d said the Talisman. \u201cKnow that the king\nwill by-and-by pardon thee and will let thee go. In the meantime bear\nthy punishment; perhaps it will cure thee of thy folly. Only do not call\nupon Zadok, the King of the Demons, in this thy trouble.\u201d\n\nThe young man smote his hand upon his head. \u201cWhat a fool I am,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cnot to have thought to call upon Zadok before this!\u201d Then he called\naloud, \u201cZadok, Zadok! If thou art indeed my slave, come hither at my\nbidding.\u201d\n\nIn an instant there sounded a rumble as of thunder. The floor swayed and\nrocked beneath the young man\u2019s feet. The dust flew in clouds, and there\nstood Zadok as black as ink, and with eyes that shone like coals of\nfire.\n\n\u201cI have come,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cand first let me cure thy smarts, O master.\u201d\n\nHe removed the cloths from the young man\u2019s back, and rubbed the places\nthat smarted with a cooling unguent. Instantly the pain and smarting\nceased, and the merchant\u2019s son had perfect ease.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cwhat is thy bidding?\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said Aben Hassen the Fool, \u201cwhence comes all the wealth that\nyou have brought me? The king has commanded me to tell him and I could\nnot, and so he has had me beaten with fifty lashes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring the treasure,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cfrom the treasure-house of the\nancient kings of Egypt. That treasure I at one time discovered to your\nfather, and he, not desiring it himself, hid it in the earth so that no\none might find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where is this treasure-house, O Zadok?\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cIt is in the city of the queen of the Black Isles,\u201d said the King of\nthe Demons; \u201cthere thy father lived in a palace of such magnificence\nas thou hast never dreamed of. It was I that brought him thence to this\nplace with one vessel of gold money and one vessel of silver money.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was you who brought him here, did you say, Zadok? Then, tell me,\ncan you take me from here to the city of the queen of the Black Isles,\nwhence you brought him?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cwith ease.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI command you to take me thither instantly,\nand to show me the treasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cI obey,\u201d said Zadok.\n\nHe stamped his foot upon the ground. In an instant the walls of the\nprison split asunder, and the sky was above them. The Demon leaped from\nthe earth, carrying the young man by the girdle, and flew through the\nair so swiftly that the stars appeared to slide away behind them. In a\nmoment he set the young man again upon the ground, and Aben Hassen the\nFool found himself at the end of what appeared to be a vast and splendid\ngarden.\n\n\u201cWe are now,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cabove the treasure-house of which I spoke. It\nwas here that I saw thy father seal it so that no one but the master of\nZadok may enter. Thou mayst go in any time it may please thee, for it is\nthine.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would enter into it now,\u201d said Aben Hassen the Fool.\n\n\u201cThou shalt enter,\u201d said Zadok. He stooped, and with his finger-point he\ndrew a circle upon the ground where they stood; then he stamped with his\nheel upon the circle. Instantly the earth opened, and there appeared a\nflight of marble steps leading downward into the earth. Zadok led the\nway down the steps and the young man followed. At the bottom of the\nsteps there was a door of adamant. Upon the door were these words in\nletters as black as ink, in the handwriting of the old man who had gone:\n\n\u201cOh, fool! Fool! Beware what thou doest. Within here shalt thou find\ndeath!\u201d\n\nThere was a key of brass in the door. The King of the Demons turned the\nkey and opened the door. The young man entered after him.\n\nAben Hassen the Fool found himself in a vast vaulted room, lit by the\nlight of a single carbuncle set in the centre of the dome above. In the\nmiddle of the marble floor was a great basin twenty paces broad, and\nfilled to the brim with money such as he had found in the brazen vessel\nin the garden.\n\nThe young man could not believe what he saw with his own eyes. \u201cOh,\nmarvel of marvels!\u201d he cried; \u201clittle wonder you could give me boundless\nwealth from such a storehouse as this.\u201d\n\nZadok laughed. \u201cThis,\u201d said he, \u201cis nothing; come with me.\u201d\n\nHe led him from this room to another--like it vaulted, and like it lit\nby a carbuncle set in the dome of the roof above. In the middle of the\nfloor was a basin such as Aben Hassen the Fool had seen in the other\nroom beyond; only this was filled with gold as that had been filled with\nsilver, and the gold was like that he had found in the garden. When\nthe young man saw this vast and amazing wealth he stood speechless and\nbreathless with wonder. The Demon Zadok laughed. \u201cThis,\u201d said he, \u201cis\ngreat, but it is little. Come and I will show thee a marvel indeed.\u201d\n\nHe took the young man by the hand and led him into a third room--vaulted\nas the other two had been, lit as they had been by a carbuncle in the\nroof above. But when the young man\u2019s eyes saw what was in this third\nroom, he was like a man turned drunk with wonder. He had to lean against\nthe wall behind him, for the sight made him dizzy.\n\nIn the middle of the room was such as basin as he had seen in the two\nother rooms, only it was filled with jewels--diamonds and rubies and\nemeralds and sapphires and precious stones of all kinds--that sparkled\nand blazed and flamed like a million stars. Around the wall, and facing\nthe basin from all sides, stood six golden statues. Three of them were\nstatues of the kings and three of them were statues of the queens who\nhad gathered together all this vast and measureless wealth of ancient\nEgypt.\n\nThere was space for a seventh statue, but where it should have stood was\na great arched door of adamant. The door was tightly shut, and there was\nneither lock nor key to it. Upon the door were written these words in\nletters of flame:\n\n\u201cBehold! Beyond this door is that alone which shall satisfy all thy\ndesires.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, Zadok,\u201d said the young man, after he had filled his soul with\nall the other wonders that surrounded him--\u201ctell me what is there that\nlies beyond that door?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I am forbidden to tell thee, O master!\u201d said the King of the\nDemons of the Earth.\n\n\u201cThen open the door for me,\u201d said the young man; \u201cfor I cannot open it\nfor myself, as there is neither lock nor key to it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat also I am forbidden to do,\u201d said Zadok.\n\n\u201cI wish that I knew what was there,\u201d said the young man.\n\nThe Demon laughed. \u201cSome time,\u201d said he, \u201cthou mayest find for thyself.\nCome, let us leave here and go to the palace which thy father built\nyears ago, and which he left behind him when he quitted this place for\nthe place in which thou knewest him.\u201d\n\nHe led the way and the young man followed; they passed through the\nvaulted rooms and out through the door of adamant, and Zadok locked it\nbehind them and gave the key to the young man.\n\n\u201cAll this is thine now,\u201d he said; \u201cI give it to thee as I gave it to thy\nfather. I have shown thee how to enter, and thou mayst go in whenever it\npleases thee to do so.\u201d\n\nThey ascended the steps, and so reached the garden above. Then Zadok\nstruck his heel upon the ground, and the earth closed as it had opened.\nHe led the young man from the spot until they had come to a wide avenue\nthat led to the palace beyond. \u201cHere I leave thee,\u201d said the Demon, \u201cBut\nif ever thou hast need of me, call and I will come.\u201d\n\nThereupon he vanished like a flash, leaving the young man standing like\none in a dream.\n\nHe saw before him a garden of such splendor and magnificence as he had\nnever dreamed of even in his wildest fancy. There were seven fountains\nas clear as crystal that shot high into the air and fell back into\nbasins of alabaster. There was a broad avenue as white as snow, and\nthousands of lights lit up everything as light as day. Upon either side\nof the avenue stood a row of black slaves, clad in garments of white\nsilk, and with jewelled turbans upon their heads. Each held a flaming\ntorch of sandal-wood. Behind the slaves stood a double row of armed men,\nand behind them a great crowd of other slaves and attendants, dressed\neach as magnificently as a prince, blazing and flaming with innumerable\njewels and ornaments of gold.\n\nBut of all these things the young man thought nothing and saw nothing;\nfor at the end of the marble avenue there arose a palace, the like of\nwhich was not in the four quarters of the earth--a palace of marble and\ngold and carmine and ultramarine--rising into the purple starry sky,\nand shining in the moonlight like a vision of Paradise. The palace was\nilluminated from top to bottom and from end to end; the windows shone\nlike crystal, and from it came sounds of music and rejoicing.\n\nWhen the crowd that stood waiting saw the young man appear, they\nshouted: \u201cWelcome! Welcome! To the master who has come again! To Aben\nHassen the Fool!\u201d\n\nThe young man walked up the avenue of marble to the palace, surrounded\nby the armed attendants in their dresses of jewels and gold, and\npreceded by dancing-girls as beautiful as houris, who danced and sung\nbefore him. He was dizzy with joy. \u201cAll--all this,\u201d he exulted, \u201cbelongs\nto me. And to think that if I had listened to the Talisman of Solomon I\nwould have had none of it.\u201d\n\nThat was the way he came back to the treasure of the ancient kings of\nEgypt, and to the palace of enchantment that his father had quitted.\n\nFor seven months he lived a life of joy and delight, surrounded by\ncrowds of courtiers as though they were a king, and going from pleasure\nto pleasure without end. Nor had he any fear of an end coming to it, for\nhe knew that his treasure was inexhaustible. He made friends with the\nprinces and nobles of the land. From far and wide people came to visit\nhim, and the renown of his magnificence filled all the world. When\nmen would praise any one they would say, \u201cHe is as rich,\u201d or as\n\u201cmagnificent,\u201d or as \u201cgenerous, as Aben Hassen the Fool.\u201d\n\nSo for seven months he lived a life of joy and delight; then one morning\nhe awakened and found everything changed to grief and mourning. Where\nthe day before had been laughter, to-day was crying. Where the day\nbefore had been mirth, to-day was lamentation. All the city was shrouded\nin gloom, and everywhere was weeping and crying.\n\nSeven black slaves stood on guard near Aben Hassen the Fool as he lay\nupon his couch. \u201cWhat means all this sorrow?\u201d said he to one of the\nslaves.\n\nInstantly all the slaves began howling and beating their heads, and he\nto whom the young man had spoken fell down with his face in the dust,\nand lay there twisting and writhing like a worm.\n\n\u201cHe has asked the question!\u201d howled the slaves--\u201che has asked the\nquestion!\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you mad?\u201d cried the young man. \u201cWhat is the matter with you?\u201d\n\nAt the doorway of the room stood a beautiful female slave, bearing in\nher hands a jewelled basin of gold, filled with rose-water, and a fine\nlinen napkin for the young man to wash and dry his hands upon. \u201cTell\nme,\u201d said the young man, \u201cwhat means all this sorrow and lamentation?\u201d\n\nInstantly the beautiful slave dropped the golden basin upon the stone\nfloor, and began shrieking and tearing her clothes. \u201cHe has asked the\nquestion!\u201d she screamed--\u201che has asked the question!\u201d\n\nThe young man began to grow frightened; he arose from his couch,\nand with uneven steps went out into the anteroom. There he found his\nchamberlain waiting for him with a crowd of attendants and courtiers.\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said Aben Hassen the Fool, \u201cwhy are you all so sorrowful?\u201d\n\nInstantly they who stood waiting began crying and tearing their clothes\nand beating their hands. As for the chamberlain--he was a reverend old\nman--his eyes sparkled with anger, and his fingers twitched as though\nhe would have struck if he had dared. \u201cWhat,\u201d he cried, \u201cart thou not\ncontented with all thou hast and with all that we do for thee without\nasking the forbidden question?\u201d\n\nThereupon he tore his cap from his head and flung it upon the ground,\nand began beating himself violently upon the head with great outcrying.\n\nAben Hassen the Fool, not knowing what to think or what was to happen,\nran back into the bedroom again. \u201cI think everybody in this place has\ngone mad,\u201d said he. \u201cNevertheless, if I do not find out what it all\nmeans, I shall go mad myself.\u201d\n\nThen he bethought himself, for the first time since he came to that\nland, of the Talisman of Solomon.\n\n\u201cTell me, O Talisman,\u201d said he, \u201cwhy all these people weep and wail so\ncontinuously?\u201d\n\n\u201cRest content,\u201d said the Talisman of Solomon, \u201cwith knowing that which\nconcerns thine own self, and seek not to find an answer that will be\nto thine own undoing. Be thou also further advised: do not question the\nDemon Zadok.\u201d\n\n\u201cFool that I am,\u201d said the young man, stamping his foot; \u201chere am I\nwasting all this time when, if I had but thought of Zadok at first, he\nwould have told me all. Then he called aloud, Zadok! Zadok! Zadok!\u201d\n\nInstantly the ground shook beneath his feet, the dust rose in clouds,\nand there stood Zadok as black as ink, and with eyes that shone like\nfire.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d said the young man; \u201cI command thee to tell me, O Zadok! Why\nare the people all gone mad this morning, and why do they weep and\nwail, and why do they go crazy when I do but ask them why they are so\nafflicted?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell thee,\u201d said Zadok. \u201cSeven-and-thirty years ago there was a\nqueen over this land--the most beautiful that ever was seen. Thy father,\nwho was the wisest and most cunning magician in the world, turned her\ninto stone, and with her all the attendants in her palace. No one since\nthat time has been permitted to enter the palace--it is forbidden for\nany one even to ask a question concerning it; but every year, on the\nday on which the queen was turned to stone, the whole land mourns with\nweeping and wailing. And now thou knowest all!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you tell me,\u201d said the young man, \u201cpasses wonder. But tell me\nfurther, O Zadok, is it possible for me to see this queen whom my father\nturned to stone?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing is easier,\u201d said Zadok.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI command you to take me to where she is,\nso that I may see her with mine own eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear and obey,\u201d said the Demon.\n\nHe seized the young man by the girdle, and in an instant flew away with\nhim to a hanging-garden that lay before the queen\u2019s palace.\n\n\u201cThou art the first man,\u201d said Zadok, \u201cwho has seen what thou art about\nto see for seven-and-thirty years. Come, I will show thee a queen, the\nmost beautiful that the eyes of man ever looked upon.\u201d\n\nHe led the way, and the young man followed, filled with wonder and\nastonishment. Not a sound was to be heard, not a thing moved, but\nsilence hung like a veil between the earth and the sky.\n\nFollowing the Demon, the young man ascended a flight of steps, and so\nentered the vestibule of the palace. There stood guards in armor of\nbrass and silver and gold. But they were without life--they were all of\nstone as white as alabaster. Thence they passed through room after room\nand apartment after apartment crowded with courtiers and nobles and\nlords in their robes of office, magnificent beyond fancying, but each\nsilent and motionless--each a stone as white as alabaster. At last\nthey entered an apartment in the very centre of the palace. There sat\nseven-and-forty female attendants around a couch of purple and gold.\nEach of the seven-and-forty was beautiful beyond what the young man\ncould have believed possible, and each was clad in a garment of silk\nas white as snow, embroidered with threads of silver and studded with\nglistening diamonds. But each sat silent and motionless--each was a\nstone as white as alabaster.\n\nUpon the couch in the centre of the apartment reclined a queen with a\ncrown of gold upon her head. She lay there motionless, still. She was\ncold and dead--of stone as white as marble. The young man approached and\nlooked into her face, and when he looked his breath became faint and his\nheart grew soft within him like wax in a flame of fire.\n\nHe sighed; he melted; the tears burst from his eyes and ran down his\ncheeks. \u201cZadok!\u201d he cried--\u201cZadok! Zadok! What have you done to show\nme this wonder of beauty and love! Alas! That I have seen her; for the\nworld is nothing to me now. O Zadok! That she were flesh and blood,\ninstead of cold stone! Tell me, Zadok, I command you to tell me, was\nshe once really alive as I am alive, and did my father truly turn her to\nstone as she lies here?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe was really alive as thou art alive, and he did truly transform her\nto this stone,\u201d said Zadok.\n\n\u201cAnd tell me,\u201d said the young man, \u201ccan she never become alive again?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe can become alive, and it lies with you to make her alive,\u201d said the\nDemon. \u201cListen, O master. Thy father possessed a wand, half of silver\nand half of gold. Whatsoever he touched with silver became converted\nto stone, such as thou seest all around thee here; but whatsoever, O\nmaster, he touched with the gold, it became alive, even if it were a\ndead stone.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, Zadok,\u201d cried the young man; \u201cI command you to tell me, where\nis that wand of silver and gold?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have it with me,\u201d said Zadok.\n\n\u201cThen give it to me; I command you to give it to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear and obey,\u201d said Zadok. He drew from his girdle a wand, half of\ngold and half of silver, as he spoke, and gave it to the young man.\n\n\u201cThou mayst go now, Zadok,\u201d said the young man, trembling with\neagerness.\n\nZadok laughed and vanished. The young man stood for a while looking down\nat the beautiful figure of alabaster. Then he touched the lips with the\ngolden tip of the wand. In an instant there came a marvellous change.\nHe saw the stone melt, and begin to grow flexible and soft. He saw it\nbecome warm, and the cheeks and lips grow red with life. Meantime a\nmurmur had begun to rise all through the palace. It grew louder and\nlouder--it became a shout. The figure of the queen that had been stone\nopened its eyes.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d it said.\n\nAben Hassen the Fool fell upon his knees. \u201cI am he who was sent to bring\nyou to life.\u201d he said. \u201cMy father turned you to cold stone, and I--I\nhave brought you back to warm life again.\u201d\n\nThe queen smiled--her teeth sparkled like pearls. \u201cIf you have brought\nme to life, then I am yours,\u201d she said, and she kissed him upon the\nlips.\n\nHe grew suddenly dizzy; the world swam before his eyes.\n\nFor seven days nothing was heard in the town but rejoicing and joy. The\nyoung man lived in a golden cloud of delight. \u201cAnd to think,\u201d said he,\n\u201cif I had listened to that accursed Talisman of Solomon, called The\nWise,\u2019 all this happiness, this ecstasy that is now mine, would have\nbeen lost to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, beloved,\u201d said the queen, upon the morning of the seventh\nday--\u201cthy father once possessed all the hidden treasure of the ancient\nkings of Egypt--tell me, is it now thine as it was once his?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the young man, \u201cit is now all mine as it was once all his.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd do you really love me as you say?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the young man, \u201cand ten thousand times more than I say.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, as you love me, I beg one boon on you. It is that you show me\nthis treasure of which I have heard so much, and which we are to enjoy\ntogether.\u201d\n\nThe young man was drunk with happiness. \u201cThou shalt see it all,\u201d said\nhe.\n\nThen, for the first time, the Talisman spoke without being questioned.\n\u201cFool!\u201d it cried; \u201cwilt thou not be advised?\u201d\n\n\u201cBe silent,\u201d said the young man. \u201cSix times, vile thing, you would have\nbetrayed me. Six times you would have deprived me of joys that should\nhave been mine, and each was greater than that which went before. Shall\nI now listen the seventh time? Now,\u201d said he to the queen, \u201cI will show\nyou our treasure.\u201d He called aloud, \u201cZadok, Zadok, Zadok!\u201d\n\nInstantly the ground shook beneath their feet, the dust rose in clouds,\nand Zadok appeared, as black as ink, and with eyes that shone like coals\nof fire.\n\n\u201cI command you,\u201d said the young man, \u201cto carry the queen and myself to\nthe garden where my treasure lies hidden.\u201d\n\nZadok laughed aloud. \u201cI hear thee and obey thee, master,\u201d said he.\n\nHe seized the queen and the young man by the girdle, and in an instant\ntransported them to the garden and to the treasure-house.\n\n\u201cThou art where thou commandest to be,\u201d said the Demon.\n\nThe young man immediately drew a circle upon the ground with his\nfinger-tip. He struck his heel upon the circle. The ground opened,\ndisclosing the steps leading downward. The young man descended the steps\nwith the queen behind him, and behind them both came the Demon Zadok.\n\nThe young man opened the door of adamant and entered the first of the\nvaulted rooms.\n\nWhen the queen saw the huge basin full of silver treasure, her cheeks\nand her forehead flushed as red as fire.\n\nThey went into the next room, and when the queen saw the basin of gold\nher face turned as white as ashes.\n\nThey went into the third room, and when the queen saw the basin of\njewels and the six golden statues her face turned as blue as lead, and\nher eyes shone green like a snake\u2019s.\n\n\u201cAre you content?\u201d asked the young man.\n\nThe queen looked about her. \u201cNo!\u201d cried she, hoarsely, pointing to the\nclosed door that had never been opened, and whereon were engraved these\nwords:\n\n\u201cBehold! Beyond this door is that alone which shall satisfy all thy\ndesires.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d cried she. \u201cWhat is it that lies behind yon door?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cThen open the door, and let me see what lies within.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot open the door,\u201d said he. \u201cHow can I open the door, seeing that\nthere is no lock nor key to it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf thou dost not open the door,\u201d said the queen, \u201call is over between\nthee and me. So do as I bid thee, or leave me forever.\u201d\n\nThey had both forgotten that the Demon Zadok was there. Then the young\nman bethought himself of the Talisman of Solomon. \u201cTell me, O Talisman,\u201d\n said he, \u201chow shall I open yonder door?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, wretched one!\u201d cried the Talisman, \u201coh, wretched one! Fly while\nthere is yet time--fly, for thy doom is near! Do not push the door open,\nfor it is not locked!\u201d\n\nThe young man struck his head with his clinched fist. \u201cWhat a fool am\nI!\u201d he cried. \u201cWill I never learn wisdom. Here have I been coming to\nthis place seven months, and have never yet thought to try whether\nyonder door was locked or not!\u201d\n\n\u201cOpen the door!\u201d cried the queen.\n\nThey went forward together. The young man pushed the door with his hand.\nIt opened swiftly and silently, and they entered.\n\nWithin was a narrow room as red as blood. A flaming lamp hung from the\nceiling above. The young man stood as though turned to stone, for there\nstood a gigantic Black Demon with a napkin wrapped around his loins and\na scimitar in his right hand, the blade of which gleamed like lightning\nin the flame of the lamp. Before him lay a basket filled with sawdust.\n\nWhen the queen saw what she saw she screamed in a loud voice, \u201cThou hast\nfound it! Thou hast found it! Thou hast found what alone can satisfy all\nthy desires! Strike, O slave!\u201d\n\nThe young man heard the Demon Zadok give a yell of laughter. He saw a\nwhirl and a flash, and then he knew nothing.\n\nThe Black had struck--the blade had fallen, and the head of Aben Hassen\nthe Fool rolled into the basket of sawdust that stood waiting for it.\n\n\u201cAye, aye,\u201d said St. George, \u201cand so it should end. For what was your\nAben Hassen the Fool but a heathen Paniem? Thus should the heads of all\nthe like be chopped off from their shoulders. Is there not some one here\nto tell us a fair story about a saint?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor the matter of that,\u201d said the Lad who fiddled when the Jew was in\nthe bramble-bush--\u201cfor the matter of that I know a very good story that\nbegins about a saint and a hazel-nut.\n\n\u201cSay you so?\u201d said St. George. \u201cWell, let us have it. But stay, friend,\nthou hast no ale in thy pot. Wilt thou not let me pay for having it\nfilled?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the Lad who fiddled when the Jew was in the bramble-bush,\n\u201cmay be as you please, Sir Knight; and, to tell the truth, I will be\nmightily glad for a drop to moisten my throat withal.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said Fortunatus, \u201cyou have not told us what the story is to be\nabout.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the Lad who fiddled for the Jew in the bramble-bush,\n\u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nIll-Luck and the Fiddler\n\nOnce upon a time St. Nicholas came down into the world to take a peep\nat the old place and see how things looked in the spring-time. On he\nstepped along the road to the town where he used to live, for he had\na notion to find out whether things were going on nowadays as they\none time did. By-and-by he came to a cross-road, and who should he\nsee sitting there but Ill-Luck himself. Ill-Luck\u2019s face was as gray as\nashes, and his hair as white as snow--for he is as old as Grandfather\nAdam--and two great wings grew out of his shoulders--for he flies fast\nand comes quickly to those whom he visits, does Ill-Luck.\n\nNow, St. Nicholas had a pocketful of hazel-nuts, which he kept cracking\nand eating as he trudged along the road, and just then he came upon one\nwith a worm-hole in it. When he saw Ill-Luck it came into his head to do\na good turn to poor sorrowful man.\n\n\u201cGood-morning, Ill-Luck,\u201d says he.\n\n\u201cGood-morning, St. Nicholas,\u201d says Ill-Luck.\n\n\u201cYou look as hale and strong as ever,\u201d says St. Nicholas.\n\n\u201cAh, yes,\u201d says Ill-Luck, \u201cI find plenty to do in this world of woe.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey tell me,\u201d says St. Nicholas, \u201cthat you can go wherever you choose,\neven if it be through a key-hole; now, is that so?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d says Ill-Luck, \u201cit is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, look now, friend,\u201d says St. Nicholas, \u201ccould you go into this\nhazel-nut if you chose to?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d says Ill-Luck, \u201cI could indeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like to see you,\u201d says St. Nicholas; \u201cfor then I should be of\na mind to believe what people say of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d says Ill-Luck, \u201cI have not much time to be pottering and playing\nupon Jack\u2019s fiddle; but to oblige an old friend\u201d--thereupon he made\nhimself small and smaller, and--phst! he was in the nut before you could\nwink.\n\nThen what do you think St. Nicholas did? In his hand he held a little\nplug of wood, and no sooner had Ill-Luck entered the nut than he stuck\nthe plug in the hole, and there was man\u2019s enemy as tight as fly in a\nbottle.\n\n\u201cSo!\u201d says St. Nicholas, \u201cthat\u2019s a piece of work well done.\u201d Then he\ntossed the hazel-nut under the roots of an oak-tree near by, and went\nhis way.\n\nAnd that is how this story begins.\n\nWell, the hazel-nut lay and lay and lay, and all the time that it lay\nthere nobody met with ill-luck; but, one day, who should come travelling\nthat way but a rogue of a Fiddler, with his fiddle under his arm. The\nday was warm, and he was tired; so down he sat under the shade of the\noak-tree to rest his legs. By-and-by he heard a little shrill voice\npiping and crying, \u201cLet me out! let me out! let me out!\u201d\n\nThe Fiddler looked up and down, but he could see nobody. \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n says he.\n\n\u201cI am Ill-Luck! Let me out! let me out!\u201d\n\n\u201cLet you out?\u201d says the Fiddler. \u201cNot I; if you are bottled up here it\nis the better for all of us;\u201d and, so saying, he tucked his fiddle under\nhis arm and off he marched.\n\nBut before he had gone six steps he stopped. He was one of your peering,\nprying sort, and liked more than a little to know all that was to be\nknown about this or that or the other thing that he chanced to see or\nhear. \u201cI wonder where Ill-Luck can be, to be in such a tight place as\nhe seems to be caught in,\u201d says he to himself; and back he came again.\n\u201cWhere are you, Ill-Luck?\u201d says he.\n\n\u201cHere I am,\u201d says Ill-Luck--\u201chere in this hazel-nut, under the roots of\nthe oak-tree.\u201d\n\nThereupon the Fiddler laid aside his fiddle and bow, and fell to\npoking and prying under the roots until he found the nut. Then he began\ntwisting and turning it in his fingers, looking first on one side and\nthen on the other, and all the while Ill-Luck kept crying, \u201cLet me out!\nlet me out!\u201d\n\nIt was not long before the Fiddler found the little wooden plug, and\nthen nothing would do but he must take a peep inside the nut to see if\nIll-Luck was really there. So he picked and pulled at the wooden plug,\nuntil at last out it came; and--phst! pop! out came Ill-Luck along with\nit.\n\nPlague take the Fiddler! say I.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d says Ill-Luck. \u201cIt has been many a long day that I have been\nin that hazel-nut, and you are the man that has let me out; for once\nin a way I will do a good turn to a poor human body.\u201d Therewith, and\nwithout giving the Fiddler time to speak a word, Ill-Luck caught him up\nby the belt, and--whiz! away he flew like a bullet, over hill and over\nvalley; over moor and over mountain, so fast that not enough wind was\nleft in the Fiddler\u2019s stomach to say \u201cBo!\u201d\n\nBy-and-by he came to a garden, and there he let the Fiddler drop on\nthe soft grass below. Then away he flew to attend to other matters of\ngreater need.\n\nWhen the Fiddler had gathered his wits together, and himself to\nhis feet, he saw that he lay in a beautiful garden of flowers and\nfruit-trees and marble walks and what not, and that at the end of\nit stood a great, splendid house, all built of white marble, with a\nfountain in front, and peacocks strutting about on the lawn.\n\nWell, the Fiddler smoothed down his hair and brushed his clothes a bit,\nand off he went to see what was to be seen at the grand house at the end\nof the garden.\n\nHe entered the door, and nobody said no to him. Then he passed through\none room after another, and each was finer than the one he left behind.\nMany servants stood around; but they only bowed, and never asked whence\nhe came. At last he came to a room where a little old man sat at a\ntable. The table was spread with a feast that smelled so good that it\nbrought tears to the Fiddler\u2019s eyes and water to his mouth, and all\nthe plates were of pure gold. The little old man sat alone, but another\nplace was spread, as though he were expecting some one. As the Fiddler\ncame in the little old man nodded and smiled. \u201cWelcome!\u201d he cried; \u201cand\nhave you come at last?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Fiddler, \u201cI have. It was Ill-Luck that brought me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the little old man, \u201cdo not say that. Sit down to the table\nand eat; and when I have told you all, you will say it was not Ill-Luck,\nbut Good-Luck, that brought you.\u201d\n\nThe Fiddler had his own mind about that; but, all the same, down he sat\nat the table, and fell to with knife and fork at the good things, as\nthough he had not had a bite to eat for a week of Sundays.\n\n\u201cI am the richest man in the world,\u201d says the little old man, after a\nwhile.\n\n\u201cI am glad to hear it,\u201d says the Fiddler.\n\n\u201cYou may well be,\u201d said the old man, \u201cfor I am all alone in the world,\nand without wife or child. And this morning I said to myself that the\nfirst body that came to my house I would take for a son--or a daughter,\nas the case might be. You are the first, and so you shall live with me\nas long as I live, and after I am gone everything that I have shall be\nyours.\u201d\n\nThe Fiddler did nothing but stare with open eyes and mouth, as though he\nwould never shut either again.\n\nWell, the Fiddler lived with the old man for maybe three or four days as\nsnug and happy a life as ever a mouse passed in a green cheese. As for\nthe gold and silver and jewels--why, they were as plentiful in that\nhouse as dust in a mill! Everything the Fiddler wanted came to his hand.\nHe lived high, and slept soft and warm, and never knew what it was to\nwant either more or less, or great or small. In all of those three or\nfour days he did nothing but enjoy himself with might and main.\n\nBut by-and-by he began to wonder where all the good things came from.\nThen, before long, he fell to pestering the old man with questions about\nthe matter.\n\nAt first the old man put him off with short answers, but the Fiddler was\na master-hand at finding out anything he wanted to know. He dinned and\ndrummed and worried until flesh and blood could stand it no longer. So\nat last the old man said that he would show him the treasure-house where\nall his wealth came from, and at that the Fiddler was tickled beyond\nmeasure.\n\nThe old man took a key from behind the door and led him out into the\ngarden. There in a corner by the wall was a great trap-door of iron. The\nold man fitted the key to the lock and turned it. He lifted the door,\nand then went down a steep flight of stone steps, and the Fiddler\nfollowed close at his heels. Down below it was as light as day, for in\nthe centre of the room hung a great lamp that shone with a bright light\nand lit up all the place as bright as day. In the floor were set three\ngreat basins of marble: one was nearly full of silver, one of gold, and\none of gems of all sorts.\n\n\u201cAll this is mine,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand after I am gone it shall be\nyours. It was left to me as I will leave it to you, and in the meantime\nyou may come and go as you choose and fill your pockets whenever you\nwish to. But there is one thing you must not do: you must never open\nthat door yonder at the back of the room. Should you do so, Ill-Luck\nwill be sure to overtake you.\u201d\n\nOh no! The Fiddler would never think of doing such a thing as opening\nthe door. The silver and gold and jewels were enough for him. But since\nthe old man had given him leave, he would just help himself to a few of\nthe fine things. So he stuffed his pockets full, and then he followed\nthe old man up the steps and out into the sunlight again.\n\nIt took him maybe an hour to count all the money and jewels he had\nbrought up with him. After he had done that, he began to wonder what was\ninside of the little door at the back of the room. First he wondered;\nthen he began to grow curious; then he began to itch and tingle and burn\nas though fifty thousand I-want-to-know nettles were sticking into him\nfrom top to toe. At last he could stand it no longer. \u201cI\u2019ll just go down\nyonder,\u201d says he, \u201cand peep through the key-hole; perhaps I can see what\nis there without opening the door.\u201d\n\nSo down he took the key, and off he marched to the garden. He opened the\ntrap-door, and went down the steep steps to the room below. There was\nthe door at the end of the room, but when he came to look there was no\nkey-hole to it. \u201cPshaw!\u201d said he, \u201chere is a pretty state of affairs.\nTut! tut! tut! Well, since I have come so far, it would be a pity to\nturn back without seeing more.\u201d So he opened the door and peeped in.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the Fiddler, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing there, after all,\u201d and he\nopened the door wide.\n\nBefore him was a great long passageway, and at the far end of it he\ncould see a spark of light as though the sun were shining there. He\nlistened, and after a while he heard a sound like the waves beating on\nthe shore. \u201cWell,\u201d says he, \u201cthis is the most curious thing I have seen\nfor a long time. Since I have come so far, I may as well see the end of\nit.\u201d So he entered the passageway, and closed the door behind him. He\nwent on and on, and the spark of light kept growing larger and larger,\nand by-and-by--pop! out he came at the other end of the passage.\n\nSure enough, there he stood on the sea-shore, with the waves beating and\ndashing on the rocks. He stood looking and wondering to find himself in\nsuch a place, when all of a sudden something came with a whiz and a rush\nand caught him by the belt, and away he flew like a bullet.\n\nBy-and-by he managed to screw his head around and look up, and there it\nwas Ill-Luck that had him. \u201cI thought so,\u201d said the Fiddler; and then he\ngave over kicking.\n\nWell; on and on they flew, over hill and valley, over moor and mountain,\nuntil they came to another garden, and there Ill-Luck let the Fiddler\ndrop.\n\nSwash! Down he fell into the top of an apple-tree, and there he hung in\nthe branches.\n\nIt was the garden of a royal castle, and all had been weeping and woe\n(though they were beginning now to pick up their smiles again), and this\nwas the reason why:\n\nThe king of that country had died, and no one was left behind him but\nthe queen. But she was a prize, for not only was the kingdom hers, but\nshe was as young as a spring apple and as pretty as a picture; so that\nthere was no end of those who would have liked to have had her, each man\nfor his own. Even that day there were three princes at the castle, each\none wanting the queen to marry him; and the wrangling and bickering and\nsquabbling that was going on was enough to deafen a body. The poor young\nqueen was tired to death with it all, and so she had come out into\nthe garden for a bit of rest; and there she sat under the shade of an\napple-tree, fanning herself and crying, when--\n\nSwash! Down fell the Fiddler into the apple-tree and down fell a dozen\napples, popping and tumbling about the queen\u2019s ears.\n\nThe queen looked up and screamed, and the Fiddler climbed down.\n\n\u201cWhere did you come from?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cOh, Ill-Luck brought me,\u201d said the Fiddler.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the queen, \u201cdo not say so. You fell from heaven, for I saw\nit with my eyes and heard it with my ears. I see how it is now. You were\nsent hither from heaven to be my husband, and my husband you shall be.\nYou shall be king of this country, half-and-half with me as queen, and\nshall sit on a throne beside me.\u201d\n\nYou can guess whether or not that was music to the Fiddler\u2019s ears.\n\nSo the princes were sent packing, and the Fiddler was married to the\nqueen, and reigned in that country.\n\nWell, three or four days passed, and all was as sweet and happy as a\nspring day. But at the end of that time the Fiddler began to wonder what\nwas to be seen in the castle. The queen was very fond of him, and was\nglad enough to show him all the fine things that were to be seen; so\nhand in hand they went everywhere, from garret to cellar.\n\nBut you should have seen how splendid it all was! The Fiddler felt more\ncertain than ever that it was better to be a king than to be the richest\nman in the world, and he was as glad as glad could be that Ill-Luck had\nbrought him from the rich little old man over yonder to this.\n\nSo he saw everything in the castle but one thing. \u201cWhat is behind that\ndoor?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cAh! that,\u201d said the queen, \u201cyou must not ask or wish to know. Should\nyou open that door Ill-Luck will be sure to overtake you.\u201d\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the Fiddler, \u201cI don\u2019t care to know, anyhow,\u201d and off they\nwent, hand in hand.\n\nYes, that was a very fine thing to say; but before an hour had gone\nby the Fiddler\u2019s head began to hum and buzz like a beehive. \u201cI don\u2019t\nbelieve,\u201d said he, \u201cthere would be a grain of harm in my peeping inside\nthat door; all the same, I will not do it. I will just go down and peep\nthrough the key-hole.\u201d So off he went to do as he said; but there was\nno key-hole to that door, either. \u201cWhy, look!\u201d says he, \u201cit is just like\nthe door at the rich man\u2019s house over yonder; I wonder if it is the same\ninside as outside,\u201d and he opened the door and peeped in. Yes; there was\nthe long passage and the spark of light at the far end, as though the\nsun were shining. He cocked his head to one side and listened. \u201cYes,\u201d\n said he, \u201cI think I hear the water rushing, but I am not sure; I will\njust go a little further in and listen,\u201d and so he entered and closed\nthe door behind him. Well, he went on and on until--pop! there he was\nout at the farther end, and before he knew what he was about he had\nstepped out upon the sea-shore, just as he had done before.\n\nWhiz! whirr! Away flew the Fiddler like a bullet, and there was Ill-Luck\ncarrying him by the belt again. Away they sped, over hill and valley,\nover moor and mountain, until the Fiddler\u2019s head grew so dizzy that\nhe had to shut his eyes. Suddenly Ill-Luck let him drop, and down he\nfell--thump! bump!--on the hard ground. Then he opened his eyes and sat\nup, and, lo and behold! there he was, under the oak-tree whence he had\nstarted in the first place. There lay his fiddle, just as he had left\nit. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the strings--trum, twang!\nThen he got to his feet and brushed the dirt and grass from his knees.\nHe tucked his fiddle under his arm, and off he stepped upon the way he\nhad been going at first.\n\n\u201cJust to think!\u201d said he, \u201cI would either have been the richest man\nin the world, or else I would have been a king, if it had not been for\nIll-Luck.\u201d\n\nAnd that is the way we all of us talk.\n\n\nDr. Faustus had sat all the while neither drinking ale nor smoking\ntobacco, but with his hands folded, and in silence. \u201cI know not why it\nis,\u201d said he, \u201cbut that story of yours, my friend, brings to my mind\na story of a man whom I once knew--a great magician in his time, and\na necromancer and a chemist and an alchemist and mathematician and a\nrhetorician, an astronomer, an astrologer, and a philosopher as well.\u201d\n\n\u201cTis a long list of excellency,\u201d said old Bidpai.\n\n\u201cTis not as long as was his head,\u201d said Dr. Faustus.\n\n\u201cIt would be good for us all to hear a story of such a man,\u201d said old\nBidpai.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Dr. Faustus, \u201cthe story is not altogether of the man\nhimself, but rather of a pupil who came to learn wisdom of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the name of your story is what?\u201d said Fortunatus.\n\n\u201cIt hath no name,\u201d said Dr. Faustus.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said St. George, \u201ceverything must have a name.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt hath no name,\u201d said Dr. Faustus. \u201cBut I shall give it a name, and it\nshall be--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nEmpty Bottles\n\nIn the old, old days when men were wiser than they are in these times,\nthere lived a great philosopher and magician, by name Nicholas Flamel.\nNot only did he know all the actual sciences, but the black arts as\nwell, and magic, and what not. He conjured demons so that when a body\npassed the house of a moonlight night a body might see imps, great and\nsmall, little and big, sitting on the chimney stacks and the ridge-pole,\nclattering their heels on the tiles and chatting together.\n\nHe could change iron and lead into silver and gold; he discovered the\nelixir of life, and might have been living even to this day had he\nthought it worth while to do so.\n\nThere was a student at the university whose name was Gebhart, who was so\nwell acquainted with algebra and geometry that he could tell at a single\nglance how many drops of water there were in a bottle of wine. As\nfor Latin and Greek--he could patter them off like his A B C\u2019s.\nNevertheless, he was not satisfied with the things he knew, but was for\nlearning the things that no schools could teach him. So one day he came\nknocking at Nicholas Flamel\u2019s door.\n\n\u201cCome in,\u201d said the wise man, and there Gebhart found him sitting in the\nmidst of his books and bottles and diagrams and dust and chemicals and\ncobwebs, making strange figures upon the table with jackstraws and a\npiece of chalk--for your true wise man can squeeze more learning out of\njackstraws and a piece of chalk than we common folk can get out of all\nthe books in the world.\n\nNo one else was in the room but the wise man\u2019s servant, whose name was\nBabette.\n\n\u201cWhat is it you want?\u201d said the wise man, looking at Gebhart over the\nrim of his spectacles.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said Gebhart, \u201cI have studied day after day at the university,\nand from early in the morning until late at night, so that my head has\nhummed and my eyes were sore, yet I have not learned those things that\nI wish most of all to know--the arts that no one but you can teach. Will\nyou take me as your pupil?\u201d\n\nThe wise man shook his head.\n\n\u201cMany would like to be as wise as that,\u201d said he, \u201cand few there be who\ncan become so. Now tell me. Suppose all the riches of the world were\noffered to you, would you rather be wise?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuppose you might have all the rank and power of a king or of an\nemperor, would you rather be wise?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuppose I undertook to teach you, would you give up everything of joy\nand of pleasure to follow me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps you are hungry,\u201d said the master.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the student, \u201cI am.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Babette, you may bring some bread and cheese.\u201d\n\nIt seemed to Gebhart that he had learned all that Nicholas Flamel had to\nteach him.\n\nIt was in the gray of the dawning, and the master took the pupil by the\nhand and led him up the rickety stairs to the roof of the house, where\nnothing was to be seen but gray sky, high roofs, and chimney stacks from\nwhich the smoke rose straight into the still air.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the master, \u201cI have taught you nearly all of the science\nthat I know, and the time has come to show you the wonderful thing that\nhas been waiting for us from the beginning when time was. You have given\nup wealth and the world and pleasure and joy and love for the sake of\nwisdom. Now, then, comes the last test--whether you can remain faithful\nto me to the end; if you fail in it, all is lost that you have gained.\u201d\n\nAfter he said that he stripped his cloak away from his shoulders and\nlaid bare the skin. Then he took a bottle of red liquor and began\nbathing his shoulder-blades with it; and as Gebhart, squatting upon\nthe ridge-pole, looked, he saw two little lumps bud out upon the smooth\nskin, and then grow and grow and grow until they became two great wings\nas white as snow.\n\n\u201cNow then,\u201d said the master, \u201ctake me by the belt and grip fast, for\nthere is a long, long journey before us, and if you should lose your\nhead and let go your hold you will fall and be dashed to pieces.\u201d\n\nThen he spread the two great wings, and away he flew as fast as the\nwind, with Gebhart hanging to his belt.\n\nOver hills, over dales, over mountains, over moors he flew, with the\nbrown earth lying so far below that horses and cows looked like pismires\nand men like fleas.\n\nThen, by-and-by, it was over the ocean they were crossing, with the\ngreat ships that pitched and tossed below looking like chips in a puddle\nin rainy weather.\n\nAt last they came to a strange land, far, far away, and there the master\nlit upon a sea-shore where the sand was as white as silver. As soon as\nhis feet touched the hard ground the great wings were gone like a puff\nof smoke, and the wise man walked like any other body.\n\nAt the edge of the sandy beach was a great, high, naked cliff; and the\nonly way of reaching the top was by a flight of stone steps, as slippery\nas glass, cut in the solid rock.\n\nThe wise man led the way, and the student followed close at his heels,\nevery now and then slipping and stumbling so that, had it not been for\nthe help that the master gave him, he would have fallen more than once\nand have been dashed to pieces upon the rocks below.\n\nAt last they reached the top, and there found themselves in a desert,\nwithout stick of wood or blade of grass, but only gray stones and skulls\nand bones bleaching in the sun.\n\nIn the middle of the plain was a castle such as the eyes of man never\nsaw before, for it was built all of crystal from roof to cellar.\nAround it was a high wall of steel, and in the wall were seven gates of\npolished brass.\n\nThe wise man led the way straight to the middle gate of the seven, where\nthere hung a horn of pure silver, which he set to his lips. He blew\na blast so loud and shrill that it made Gebhart\u2019s ears tingle. In an\ninstant there sounded a great rumble and grumble like the noise of\nloud thunder, and the gates of brass swung slowly back, as though of\nthemselves.\n\nBut when Gebhart saw what he saw within the gates his heart crumbled\naway for fear, and his knees knocked together; for there, in the very\nmiddle of the way, stood a monstrous, hideous dragon, that blew out\nflames and clouds of smoke from his gaping mouth like a chimney a-fire.\n\nBut the wise master was as cool as smooth water; he thrust his hand\ninto the bosom of his jacket and drew forth a little black box, which he\nflung straight into the gaping mouth.\n\nSnap!--the dragon swallowed the box.\n\nThe next moment it gave a great, loud, terrible cry, and, clapping and\nrattling its wings, leaped into the air and flew away, bellowing like a\nbull.\n\nIf Gebhart had been wonder-struck at seeing the outside of the castle,\nhe was ten thousand times more amazed to see the inside thereof. For,\nas the master led the way and he followed, he passed through\nfour-and-twenty rooms, each one more wonderful than the other.\nEverywhere was gold and silver and dazzling jewels that glistened so\nbrightly that one had to shut one\u2019s eyes to their sparkle. Beside all\nthis, there were silks and satins and velvets and laces and crystal and\nebony and sandal-wood that smelled sweeter than musk and rose leaves.\nAll the wealth of the world brought together into one place could\nnot make such riches as Gebhart saw with his two eyes in these\nfour-and-twenty rooms. His heart beat fast within him.\n\nAt last they reached a little door of solid iron, beside which hung a\nsword with a blade that shone like lightning. The master took the sword\nin one hand and laid the other upon the latch of the door. Then he\nturned to Gebhart and spoke for the first time since they had started\nupon their long journey.\n\n\u201cIn this room,\u201d said he, \u201cyou will see a strange thing happen, and in a\nlittle while I shall be as one dead. As soon as that comes to pass, go\nyou straightway through to the room beyond, where you will find upon a\nmarble table a goblet of water and a silver dagger. Touch nothing else,\nand look at nothing else, for if you do all will be lost to both of us.\nBring the water straightway, and sprinkle my face with it, and when that\nis done you and I will be the wisest and greatest men that ever lived,\nfor I will make you equal to myself in all that I know. So now swear to\ndo what I have just bid you, and not turn aside a hair\u2019s breadth in the\ngoing and the coming.\n\n\u201cI swear,\u201d said Gebhart, and crossed his heart.\n\nThen the master opened the door and entered, with Gebhart close at his\nheels.\n\nIn the centre of the room was a great red cock, with eyes that shone\nlike sparks of fire. So soon as he saw the master he flew at him,\nscreaming fearfully, and spitting out darts of fire that blazed and\nsparkled like lightning.\n\nIt was a dreadful battle between the master and the cock. Up and down\nthey fought, and here and there. Sometimes the student could see the\nwise man whirling and striking with his sword; and then again he would\nbe hidden in a sheet of flame. But after a while he made a lucky stroke,\nand off flew the cock\u2019s head. Then, lo and behold! instead of a cock it\nwas a great, hairy, black demon that lay dead on the floor.\n\nBut, though the master had conquered, he looked like one sorely sick. He\nwas just able to stagger to a couch that stood by the wall, and there he\nfell and lay, without breath or motion, like one dead, and as white as\nwax.\n\nAs soon as Gebhart had gathered his wits together he remembered what the\nmaster had said about the other room.\n\nThe door of it was also of iron. He opened it and passed within, and\nthere saw two great tables or blocks of polished marble. Upon one was\nthe dagger and a goblet of gold brimming with water. Upon the other lay\nthe figure of a woman, and as Gebhart looked at her he thought her more\nbeautiful than any thought or dream could picture. But her eyes were\nclosed, and she lay like a lifeless figure of wax.\n\nAfter Gebhart had gazed at her a long, long time, he took up the goblet\nand the dagger from the table and turned towards the door.\n\nThen, before he left that place, he thought that he would have just one\nmore look at the beautiful figure. So he did, and gazed and gazed until\nhis heart melted away within him like a lump of butter; and, hardly\nknowing what he did, he stooped and kissed the lips.\n\nInstantly he did so a great humming sound filled the whole castle, so\nsweet and musical that it made him tremble to listen. Then suddenly the\nfigure opened its eyes and looked straight at him.\n\n\u201cAt last!\u201d she said; \u201chave you come at last?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Gebhart, \u201cI have come.\u201d\n\nThen the beautiful woman arose and stepped down from the table to the\nfloor; and if Gebhart thought her beautiful before, he thought her a\nthousand times more beautiful now that her eyes looked into his.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said she. \u201cI have been asleep for hundreds upon hundreds of\nyears, for so it was fated to be until he should come who was to bring\nme back to life again. You are he, and now you shall live with me\nforever. In this castle is the wealth gathered by the king of the genii,\nand it is greater than all the riches of the world. It and the castle\nlikewise shall be yours. I can transport everything into any part of the\nworld you choose, and can by my arts make you prince or king or emperor.\nCome.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop,\u201d said Gebhart. \u201cI must first do as my master bade me.\u201d\n\nHe led the way into the other room, the lady following him, and so they\nboth stood together by the couch where the wise man lay. When the lady\nsaw his face she cried out in a loud voice: \u201cIt is the great master!\nWhat are you going to do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to sprinkle his face with this water,\u201d said Gebhart.\n\n\u201cStop!\u201d said she. \u201cListen to what I have to say. In your hand you hold\nthe water of life and the dagger of death. The master is not dead, but\nsleeping; if you sprinkle that water upon him he will awaken, young,\nhandsome and more powerful than the greatest magician that ever lived.\nI myself, this castle, and everything that is in it will be his, and,\ninstead of your becoming a prince or a king or an emperor, he will be so\nin your place. That, I say, will happen if he wakens. Now the dagger\nof death is the only thing in the world that has power to kill him. You\nhave it in your hand. You have but to give him one stroke with it\nwhile he sleeps, and he will never waken again, and then all will be\nyours--your very own.\u201d\n\nGebhart neither spoke nor moved, but stood looking down upon his master.\nThen he set down the goblet very softly on the floor, and, shutting his\neyes that he might not see the blow, raised the dagger to strike.\n\n\u201cThat is all your promises amount to,\u201d said Nicholas Flamel the wise\nman. \u201cAfter all, Babette, you need not bring the bread and cheese, for\nhe shall be no pupil of mine.\u201d\n\nThen Gebhart opened his eyes.\n\nThere sat the wise man in the midst of his books and bottles and\ndiagrams and dust and chemicals and cobwebs, making strange figures upon\nthe table with jackstraws and a piece of chalk.\n\nAnd Babette, who had just opened the cupboard door for the loaf of\nbread and the cheese, shut it again with a bang, and went back to her\nspinning.\n\nSo Gebhart had to go back again to his Greek and Latin and algebra and\ngeometry; for, after all, one cannot pour a gallon of beer into a quart\npot, or the wisdom of a Nicholas Flamel into such an one as Gebhart.\n\nAs for the name of this story, why, if some promises are not bottles\nfull of nothing but wind, there is little need to have a name for\nanything.\n\n\n\u201cSince we are in the way of talking of fools,\u201d said the Fisherman who\ndrew the Genie out of the sea--\u201csince we are in the way of talking of\nfools, I can tell you a story of the fool of all fools, and how, one\nafter the other, he wasted as good gifts as a man\u2019s ears ever heard tell\nof.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was his name?\u201d said the Lad who fiddled for the Jew in the\nbramble-bush.\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the Fisherman, \u201cI do not know.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is this story about?\u201d asked St. George.\n\n\u201cTis,\u201d said the Fisherman, \u201cabout a hole in the ground.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd is that all?\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the Fisherman, blowing a whiff from his pipe; \u201cthere were\nsome things in the hole--a bowl of treasure, an earthen-ware jar, and a\npair of candlesticks.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what do you call your story,\u201d said St. George.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the Fisherman, \u201cfor lack of a better name I will call it--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nGood Gifts and a Fool\u2019s Folly.\n\nGive a fool heaven and earth, and all the stars, and he will make ducks\nand drakes of them.\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man, who, by thrifty living and long\nsaving, had laid by a fortune great enough to buy ease and comfort and\npleasure for a lifetime.\n\nBy-and-by he died, and the money came to his son, who was of a different\nsort from the father; for, what that one had gained by the labor of a\nwhole year, the other spent in riotous living in one week.\n\nSo it came about in a little while that the young man found himself\nwithout so much as a single penny to bless himself withal. Then his\nfair-weather friends left him, and the creditors came and seized upon\nhis house and his household goods, and turned him out into the cold\nwide world to get along as best he might with the other fools who lived\nthere.\n\nNow the young spendthrift was a strong, stout fellow, and, seeing\nnothing better to do, he sold his fine clothes and bought him a porter\u2019s\nbasket, and went and sat in the corner of the market-place to hire\nhimself out to carry this or that for folk who were better off in the\nworld, and less foolish than he.\n\nThere he sat, all day long, from morning until evening, but nobody came\nto hire him. But at last, as dusk was settling, there came along an old\nman with beard as white as snow hanging down below his waist. He stopped\nin front of the foolish spendthrift, and stood looking at him for a\nwhile; then, at last, seeming to be satisfied, he beckoned with his\nfinger to the young man. \u201cCome,\u201d said he, \u201cI have a task for you to do,\nand if you are wise, and keep a still tongue in your head, I will pay\nyou as never a porter was paid before.\u201d\n\nYou may depend upon it the young man needed no second bidding to such a\nmatter. Up he rose, and took his basket, and followed the old man, who\nled the way up one street and down another, until at last they came to a\nrickety, ramshackle house in a part of the town the young man had never\nbeen before. Here the old man stopped and knocked at the door, which\nwas instantly opened, as though of itself, and then he entered with\nthe young spendthrift at his heels. The two passed through a dark\npassage-way, and another door, and then, lo and behold! all was changed;\nfor they had come suddenly into such a place as the young man would not\nhave believed could be in such a house, had he not seen it with his own\neyes. Thousands of waxen tapers lit the place as bright as day--a great\noval room, floored with mosaic of a thousand bright colors and strange\nfigures, and hung with tapestries of silks and satins and gold and\nsilver. The ceiling was painted to represent the sky, through which flew\nbeautiful birds and winged figures so life-like that no one could tell\nthat they were only painted, and not real. At the farther side of the\nroom were two richly cushioned couches, and thither the old man led the\nway with the young spendthrift following, wonder-struck, and there the\ntwo sat themselves down. Then the old man smote his hands together, and,\nin answer, ten young men and ten beautiful girls entered bearing a feast\nof rare fruits and wines which they spread before them, and the young\nman, who had been fasting since morning, fell to and ate as he had not\neaten for many a day.\n\nThe old man, who himself ate but little, waited patiently for the other\nto end. \u201cNow,\u201d said he, as soon as the young man could eat no more, \u201cyou\nhave feasted and you have drunk; it is time for us to work.\u201d\n\nThereupon he rose from the couch and led the way, the young man\nfollowing, through an arch door-way into a garden, in the centre of\nwhich was an open space paved with white marble, and in the centre of\nthat again a carpet, ragged and worn, spread out upon the smooth stones.\nWithout saying a word, the old man seated himself upon one end of this\ncarpet, and motioned to the spendthrift to seat himself with his basket\nat the other end; then--\n\n\u201cAre you ready?\u201d said the old man.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the young man, \u201cI am.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, by the horn of Jacob,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI command thee, O\nCarpet! to bear us over hill and valley, over lake and river, to that\nspot whither I wish to go.\u201d Hardly had the words left his mouth when\naway flew the carpet, swifter than the swiftest wind, carrying the old\nman and the young spendthrift, until at last it brought them to a rocky\ndesert without leaf or blade of grass to be seen far or near. Then it\ndescended to where there was a circle of sand as smooth as a floor.\n\nThe old man rolled up the carpet, and then drew from a pouch that hung\nat his side a box, and from the box some sticks of sandal and spice\nwoods, with which he built a little fire. Next he drew from the same\npouch a brazen jar, from which he poured a gray powder upon the blaze.\nInstantly there leaped up a great flame of white light and a cloud of\nsmoke, which rose high in the air, and there spread out until it hid\neverything from sight. Then the old man began to mutter spells, and in\nanswer the earth shook and quaked, and a rumbling as of thunder filled\nthe air. At last he gave a loud cry, and instantly the earth split open,\nand there the young spendthrift saw a trap-door of iron, in which was an\niron ring to lift it by.\n\n\u201cLook!\u201d said the old man. \u201cYonder is the task for which I have brought\nyou; lift for me that trap-door of iron, for it is too heavy for me to\nraise, and I will pay you well.\u201d\n\nAnd it was no small task, either, for, stout and strong as the young man\nwas, it was all he could do to lift up the iron plate. But at last up\nit swung, and down below he saw a flight of stone steps leading into the\nearth.\n\nThe old man drew from his bosom a copper lamp, which he lit at the fire\nof the sandal and spice wood sticks, which had now nearly died away.\nThen, leading the way, with the young man following close at his heels,\nhe descended the stairway that led down below. At the bottom the two\nentered a great vaulted room, carved out of the solid stone, upon the\nwalls of which were painted strange pictures in bright colors of kings\nand queens, genii and dragons. Excepting for these painted figures, the\nvaulted room was perfectly bare, only that in the centre of the floor\nthere stood three stone tables. Upon the first table stood an iron\ncandlestick with three branches; upon the second stood an earthen jar,\nempty of everything but dust; upon the third stood a brass bowl, a yard\nwide and a yard deep, and filled to the brim with shining, gleaming,\ndazzling jewels of all sorts.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the old man to the spendthrift, \u201cI will do to you as I\npromised: I will pay you as never man was paid before for such a task.\nYonder upon those three stone tables are three great treasures: choose\nwhichever one you will, and it is yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall not be long in choosing,\u201d cried the young spendthrift. \u201cI shall\nchoose the brass bowl of jewels.\u201d\n\nThe old man laughed. \u201cSo be it,\u201d said he. \u201cFill your basket from the\nbowl with all you can carry, and that will be enough, provided you live\nwisely, to make you rich for as long as you live.\u201d\n\nThe young man needed no second bidding, but began filling his basket\nwith both hands, until he had in it as much as he could carry.\n\nThen the old man, taking the iron candlestick and the earthen jar, led\nthe way up the stairway again. There the young man lowered the iron\ntrap-door to its place, and so soon as he had done so the other stamped\nhis heel upon the ground, and the earth closed of itself as smooth and\nlevel as it had been before.\n\nThe two sat themselves upon the carpet, the one upon the one end, and\nthe other upon the other. \u201cBy the horn of Jacob,\u201d said the old man,\n\u201cI command thee, O Carpet! to fly over hill and valley, over lake and\nriver, until thou hast brought us back whence we came.\u201d\n\nAway flew the carpet, and in a little time they were back in the garden\nfrom which they had started upon their journey; and there they\nparted company. \u201cGo thy way, young man,\u201d said the old graybeard, \u201cand\nhenceforth try to live more wisely than thou hast done heretofore.\nI know well who thou art, and how thou hast lived. Shun thy evil\ncompanions, live soberly, and thou hast enough to make thee rich for as\nlong as thou livest.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear,\u201d cried the young man, joyfully. \u201cI have learned a bitter\nlesson, and henceforth I will live wisely and well.\u201d\n\nSo, filled with good resolves, the young man went the next day to his\ncreditors and paid his debts; he bought back the house which his father\nhad left him, and there began to lead a new life as he had promised.\n\nBut a gray goose does not become white, nor a foolish man a wise one.\n\nAt first he led a life sober enough; but by little and little he began\nto take up with his old-time friends again, and by-and-by the money went\nflying as merrily as ever, only this time he was twenty times richer\nthan he had been before, and he spent his money twenty times as fast.\nEvery day there was feasting and drinking going on in his house, and\nroaring and rioting and dancing and singing. The wealth of a king could\nnot keep up such a life forever, so by the end of a year and a half the\nlast of the treasure was gone, and the young spendthrift was just as\npoor as ever. Then once again his friends left him as they had done\nbefore, and all that he could do was to rap his head and curse his\nfolly.\n\nAt last, one morning, he plucked up courage to go to the old man who had\nhelped him once before, to see whether he would not help him again. Rap!\ntap! tap! he knocked at the door, and who should open it but the old man\nhimself. \u201cWell,\u201d said the graybeard, \u201cwhat do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want some help,\u201d said the spendthrift; and then he told him all, and\nthe old man listened and stroked his beard.\n\n\u201cBy rights,\u201d said he, when the young man had ended, \u201cI should leave you\nalone in your folly; for it is plain to see that nothing can cure you of\nit. Nevertheless, as you helped me once, and as I have more than I shall\nneed, I will share what I have with you. Come in and shut the door.\u201d\n\nHe led the way, the spendthrift following, to a little room all of bare\nstone, and in which were only three things--the magic carpet, the iron\ncandlestick, and the earthen jar. This last the old man gave to the\nfoolish spendthrift. \u201cMy friend,\u201d said he, \u201cwhen you chose the money and\njewels that day in the cavern, you chose the less for the greater. Here\nis a treasure that an emperor might well envy you. Whatever you wish for\nyou will find by dipping your hand into the jar. Now go your way, and\nlet what was happened cure you of your folly.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall,\u201d cried the young man; \u201cnever again will I be so foolish as I\nhave been!\u201d And thereupon he went his way with another pocketful of good\nresolves.\n\nThe first thing he did when he reached home was to try the virtue of his\njar. \u201cI should like,\u201d said he, \u201cto have a handful of just such treasure\nas I brought from the cavern over yonder.\u201d He dipped his hand into\nthe jar, and when he brought it out again it was brimful of shining,\ngleaming, sparkling jewels. You can guess how he felt when he saw them.\n\nWell, this time a whole year went by, during which the young man lived\nas soberly as a judge. But at the end of the twelvemonth he was so sick\nof wisdom that he loathed it as one loathes bitter drink. Then by little\nand little he began to take up with his old ways again, and to call his\nold cronies around, until at the end of another twelvemonth things were\na hundred times worse and wilder than ever; for now what he had he had\nwithout end.\n\nOne day, when he and a great party of roisterers were shouting and\nmaking merry, he brought out his earthen-ware pot to show them the\nwonders of it; and to prove its virtue he gave to each guest whatever he\nwanted. \u201cWhat will you have?\u201d--\u201cA handful of gold.\u201d--\u201cPut your hand in\nand get it!\u201d--\u201cWhat will you have?\u201d--\u201cA fistful of pearls.\u201d--\u201cPut\nyour fist in and get them!\u201d--\u201cWhat will you have?\u201d--\u201cA necklace of\ndiamonds.\u201d--\u201cDip into the jar and get it.\u201d And so he went from one\nto another, and each and every one got what he asked for, and such a\nshouting and hubbub those walls had never heard before.\n\nThen the young man, holding the jar in his hands, began to dance and to\nsing: \u201cO wonderful jar! O beautiful jar! O beloved jar!\u201d and so on, his\nfriends clapping their hands, and laughing and cheering him. At last,\nin the height of his folly, he balanced the earthen jar on his head, and\nbegan dancing around and around with it to show his dexterity.\n\nSmash! crash! The precious jar lay in fifty pieces of the stone floor,\nand the young man stood staring at the result of his folly with bulging\neyes, while his friends roared and laughed and shouted louder than ever\nover his mishap. And again his treasure and his gay life were gone.\n\nBut what had been hard for him to do before was easier now. At the end\nof a week he was back at the old man\u2019s house, rapping on the door.\nThis time the old man asked him never a word, but frowned as black as\nthunder.\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat has happened to you. If I were wise I should\nlet you alone in your folly; but once more I will have pity on you and\nwill help you, only this time it shall be the last.\u201d Once more he led\nthe way to the stone room, where were the iron candlestick and the\nmagic carpet, and with him he took a good stout cudgel. He stood the\ncandlestick in the middle of the room, and taking three candles from his\npouch, thrust one into each branch. Then he struck a light, and lit the\nfirst candle. Instantly there appeared a little old man, clad in a long\nwhite robe, who began dancing and spinning around and around like a top.\nHe lit the second candle, and a second old man appeared, and round and\nround he went, spinning like his brother. He lit the third candle, and\na third old man appeared. Around and around and around they spun and\nwhirled, until the head spun and whirled to look at them. Then the old\ngraybeard gripped the cudgel in his hand. \u201cAre you ready?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cWe are ready, and waiting,\u201d answered the three. Thereupon, without\nanother word, the graybeard fetched each of the dancers a blow upon the\nhead with might and main--One! two! three! crack! crash! jingle!\n\nLo and behold! Instead of the three dancing men, there lay three great\nheaps of gold upon the floor, and the spendthrift stood staring like an\nowl. \u201cThere,\u201d said the old man, \u201ctake what you want, and then go your\nway, and trouble me no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the spendthrift, \u201cof all the wonders that ever I saw,\nthis is the most wonderful! But how am I to carry my gold away with me,\nseeing I did not fetch my basket?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have a basket,\u201d said the old man, \u201cif only you will trouble\nme no more. Just wait here a moment until I bring it to you.\u201d\n\nThe spendthrift was left all alone in the room; not a soul was there\nbut himself. He looked up, and he looked down, and scratched his head.\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he cried aloud, \u201cshould I be content to take a part when I can\nhave the whole?\u201d\n\nTo do was as easy as to say. He snatched up the iron candlestick, caught\nup the staff that the old man had left leaning against the wall, and\nseated himself upon the magic carpet. \u201cBy the horn of Jacob,\u201d he cried,\n\u201cI command thee, O Carpet! to carry me over hill and valley, over lake\nand river, to a place where the old man can never find me.\u201d\n\nHardly had the words left his mouth than away flew the carpet through\nthe air, carrying him along with it; away and away, higher than the\nclouds and swifter than the wind. Then at last it descended to the earth\nagain, and when the young spendthrift looked about him, he found himself\nin just such a desert place as he and the old man had come to when\nthey had found the treasure. But he gave no thought to that, and hardly\nlooked around him to see where he was. All that he thought of was to\ntry his hand at the three dancers that belonged to the candlestick.\nHe struck a light, and lit the three candles, and instantly the three\nlittle old men appeared for him just as they had for the old graybeard.\nAnd around and around they spun and whirled, until the sand and dust\nspun and whirled along with them. Then the young man grasped his cudgel\ntightly.\n\nNow, he had not noticed that when the old man struck the three dancers\nhe had held the cudgel in his left hand, for he was not wise enough\nto know that great differences come from little matters. He griped the\ncudgel in his right hand, and struck the dancers with might and main,\njust as the old man had done. Crack! crack! crack! one; two; three.\n\nDid they change into piles of gold? Not a bit of it! Each of the dancers\ndrew from under his robe a cudgel as stout and stouter than the one the\nyoung man himself held, and, without a word, fell upon him and began to\nbeat and drub him until the dust flew. In vain he hopped and howled and\nbegged for mercy, in vain he tried to defend himself; the three never\nstopped until he fell to the ground, and laid there panting and sighing\nand groaning; and then they left and flew back with the iron candlestick\nand the magic carpet to the old man again. At last, after a great while,\nthe young spendthrift sat up, rubbing the sore places; but when he\nlooked around not a sign was to be seen of anything but the stony\ndesert, without a house or a man in sight.\n\nPerhaps, after a long time, he found his way home again, and perhaps\nthe drubbing he had had taught him wisdom; the first is a likely enough\nthing to happen, but as for the second, it would need three strong men\nto tell it to me a great many times before I would believe it.\n\nYou may smile at this story if you like, but, all the same, as certainly\nas there is meat in an egg-shell, so is there truth in this nonsense.\nFor, \u201cGive a fool heaven and earth,\u201d say I, \u201cand all the stars, and he\nwill make ducks and drakes of them.\u201d\n\n\nFortunatus lifted his canican to his lips and took a long, hearty\ndraught of ale. \u201cMethinks,\u201d said he, \u201cthat all your stories have a\ntwang of the same sort about them. You all of you, except my friend the\nSoldier here, play the same tune upon a different fiddle. Nobody comes\nto any good.\u201d\n\nSt. George drew a long whiff of his pipe, and then puffed out a cloud of\nsmoke as big as his head. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d said he to Fortunatus, \u201cyou know of\na story which turns out differently. If you do, let us have it, for it\nis your turn now.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Fortunatus, \u201cI will tell you a story that turns out as\nit should, where the lad marries a beautiful princess and becomes a king\ninto the bargain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is your story about?\u201d said the Lad who fiddled for Jew in the\nbramble-bush.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said Fortunatus, \u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Good of a Few Words\n\nThere was one Beppo the Wise and another Beppo the Foolish.\n\nThe wise one was the father of the foolish one.\n\nBeppo the Wise was called Beppo the Wise because he had laid up a great\ntreasure after a long life of hard work.\n\nBeppo the Foolish was called Beppo the Foolish because he spent in five\nyears after his father was gone from this world of sorrow all that the\nold man had laid together in his long life of toil. But during that time\nBeppo lived as a prince, and the life was never seen in that town before\nor since--feasting and drinking and junketing and merrymaking. He had\nfriends by the dozen and by the scores, and the fame of his doings went\nthroughout all the land.\n\nWhile his money lasted he was called Beppo the Generous. It was only\nafter it was all gone that they called him Beppo the Foolish.\n\nSo by-and-by the money was spent, and there was an end of it.\n\nYes; there was an end of it; and where were all of Beppo\u2019s fair-weather\nfriends? Gone like the wild-geese in frosty weather.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you remember how I gave you a bagful of gold?\u201d says Beppo the\nFoolish. \u201cWon\u2019t you remember me now in my time of need?\u201d\n\nBut the fair-weather friend only laughed in his face.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you remember how I gave you a fine gold chain with a diamond\npendant?\u201d says Beppo to another. \u201cAnd won\u2019t you lend me a little money\nto help me over to-day?\u201d\n\nBut the summer-goose friend only grinned.\n\n\u201cBut what shall I do to keep body and soul together?\u201d says Beppo to a\nthird.\n\nThe man was a wit. \u201cGo to a shoemaker,\u201d said he, \u201cand let him stitch the\nsoul fast;\u201d and that was all the good Beppo had of him.\n\nThen poor Beppo saw that there was not place for him in that town, and\nso off he went to seek his fortune else whither, for he saw that there\nwas nothing to be gained in that place.\n\nSo he journeyed on for a week and a day, and then towards evening he\ncame to the king\u2019s town.\n\nThere it stood on the hill beside the river--the grandest city in the\nkingdom. There were orchards and plantations of trees along the banks\nof the stream, and gardens and summer-houses and pavilions. There were\nwhite houses and red roofs and blue skies. Up above on the hill were\nolive orchards and fields, and then blue sky again.\n\nBeppo went into the town, gazing about him with admiration. Houses,\npalaces, gardens. He had never seen the like. Stores and shops full\nof cloths of velvet and silk and satin; goldsmiths, silversmiths,\njewellers--as though all the riches of the world had been emptied into\nthe city. Crowds of people--lords, noblemen, courtiers, rich merchants,\nand tradesmen.\n\nBeppo stared about at the fine sights and everybody stared at Beppo, for\nhis shoes were dusty, his clothes were travel-stained, and a razor had\nnot touched his face for a week.\n\nThe king of that country was walking in the garden under the shade of\nthe trees, and the sunlight slanted down upon him, and sparkled upon the\njewels around his neck and on his fingers. Two dogs walked alongside\nof him, and a whole crowd of lords and nobles and courtiers came behind\nhim; first of all the prime-minister with his long staff.\n\nBut for all this fine show this king was not really the king. When the\nold king died he left a daughter, and she should have been queen if she\nhad had her own rights. But this king, who was her uncle, had stepped in\nbefore her, and so the poor princess was pushed aside and was nobody at\nall but a princess, the king\u2019s niece.\n\nShe stood on the terrace with her old nurse, while the king walked in\nthe garden below.\n\nIt had been seven years now since the old king had died, and in that\ntime she had grown up into a beautiful young woman, as wise as she was\nbeautiful, and as good as she was wise. Few people ever saw her, but\neverybody talked about her in whispers and praised her beauty and\ngoodness, saying that, if the right were done, she would have her own\nand be queen.\n\nSometimes the king heard of this (for a king hears everything), and he\ngrew to hate the princess as a man hates bitter drink.\n\nThe princess looked down from the terrace, and there she saw Beppo\nwalking along the street, and his shoes were dusty and his clothes were\ntravel-stained, and a razor had not touched his face for a week.\n\n\u201cLook at yonder poor man,\u201d she said to her nurse; \u201cyet if I were his\nwife he would be greater really than my uncle, the king.\u201d\n\nThe king, walking below in the garden, heard what she said.\n\n\u201cSay you so!\u201d he called out. \u201cThen we shall try if what you say is\ntrue;\u201d and he turned away, shaking with anger.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said the princess, \u201cnow, indeed, have I ruined myself for good\nand all.\u201d\n\nBeppo was walking along the street looking about him hither and thither,\nand thinking how fine it all was. He had no more thought that the king\nand the princess were talking about him than the man in the moon.\n\nSuddenly some one clapped him upon the shoulder.\n\nBeppo turned around.\n\nThere stood a great tall man dressed all in black.\n\n\u201cYou must come with me,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want with me?\u201d said Beppo.\n\n\u201cThat you shall see for yourself,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Beppo; \u201cI\u2019d as lief go along with you as anywhere\nelse.\u201d\n\nSo he turned and followed the man whither he led.\n\nThey went along first one street and then another, and by-and-by they\ncame to the river, and there was a long wall with a gate in it. The tall\nman in black knocked upon the gate, and some one opened it from within.\nThe man in black entered, and Beppo followed at his heels, wondering\nwhere he was going.\n\nHe was in a garden. There were fruit trees and flowering shrubs and long\nmarble walks, and away in the distance a great grand palace of white\nmarble that shone red as fire in the light of the setting sun, but there\nwas not a soul to be seen anywhere.\n\nThe tall man in black led the way up the long marble walk, past the\nfountains and fruit trees and beds of roses, until he had come to the\npalace.\n\nBeppo wondered whether he were dreaming.\n\nThe tall man in black led the way into the palace, but still there was\nnot a soul to be seen.\n\nBeppo gazed about him in wonder. There were floors of colored marble,\nand ceilings of blue and gold, and columns of carved marble, and\nhangings of silk and velvet and silver.\n\nSuddenly the tall man opened a little door that led into a dark passage,\nand Beppo followed him. They went along the passage, and then the man\nopened another door.\n\nThen Beppo found himself in a great vaulted room. There at one end of\nthe room were three souls. A man sat on the throne, and he was the\nking, for he had a crown on his head and a long robe over his shoulders.\nBeside him stood a priest, and in front of him stood a beautiful young\nwoman as white as wax and as still as death.\n\nBeppo wondered whether he were awake.\n\n\u201cCome hither,\u201d said the king, in a harsh voice, and Beppo came forward\nand kneeled before him. \u201cTake this young woman by the hand,\u201d said the\nking.\n\nBeppo did as he was bidden.\n\nHer hand was as cold as ice.\n\nThen, before Beppo knew what was happening, he found that he was being\nmarried.\n\nIt was the princess.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the king to her when the priest had ended, and he frowned\nuntil his brows were as black as thunder--\u201cnow you are married; tell me,\nis your husband greater than I?\u201d\n\nBut the princess said never a word, only the tears ran one after another\ndown her white face. The king sat staring at her and frowning.\n\nSuddenly some one tapped Beppo upon the shoulder. It was the tall man in\nblack.\n\nBeppo knew that he was to follow him again. This time the princess\nwas to go along. The tall man in black led the way, and Beppo and the\nprincess followed along the secret passage and up and down the stairs\nuntil at last they came out into the garden again.\n\nAnd now the evening was beginning to fall.\n\nThe man led the way down the garden to the river, and still Beppo and\nthe princess followed him.\n\nBy-and-by they came to the river-side and to a flight of steps, and\nthere was a little frail boat without sail or oars.\n\nThe tall man in black beckoned towards the boat, and Beppo knew that he\nand princess were to enter it.\n\nAs soon as Beppo had helped the princess into the boat the tall man\nthrust it out into the stream with his foot, and the boat drifted away\nfrom the shore and out into the river, and then around and around. Then\nit floated off down the stream.\n\nIt floated on and on, and the sun set and the moon rose.\n\nBeppo looked at the princess, and he thought he had never seen any one\nso beautiful in all his life. It was all like a dream, and he hoped he\nmight never waken. But the princess sat there weeping and weeping, and\nsaid nothing.\n\nThe night fell darker and darker, but still Beppo sat looking at the\nprincess. Her face was as white as silver in the moonlight. The smell\nof the flower-gardens came across the river. The boat floated on and on\nuntil by-and-by it drifted to the shore again and among the river reeds,\nand there it stopped, and Beppo carried the princess ashore.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said the princess. \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Beppo, \u201cI do not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the princess,\u201d said she, \u201cthe king\u2019s niece; and by rights I should\nbe queen of this land.\u201d\n\nBeppo could not believe his ears.\n\n\u201cIt is true that I am married to you,\u201d said she, \u201cbut never shall you be\nmy husband until you are king.\u201d\n\n\u201cKing!\u201d said Beppo; \u201chow can I be king?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall be king,\u201d said the princess.\n\n\u201cBut the king is everything,\u201d said Beppo, \u201cand I am nothing at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cGreat things come from small beginnings,\u201d said the princess; \u201ca big\ntree from a little seed.\u201d\n\nSome little distance away from the river was the twinkle of a light, and\nthither Beppo led the princess. When the two came to it, they found\nit was a little hut, for there were fish-nets hanging outside in the\nmoonlight.\n\nBeppo knocked.\n\nAn old woman opened the door. She stared and stared, as well she might,\nto see the fine lady in silks and satins with a gold ring upon her\nfinger, and nobody with her but one who looked like a poor beggar-man.\n\n\u201cWho are you and what do you want?\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cWho we are,\u201d said the princess, \u201cdoes not matter, except that we are\nhonest folk in trouble. What we want is shelter for the night and food\nto eat, and that we will pay for.\u201d\n\n\u201cShelter I can give you,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cbut little else but a\ncrust of bread and a cup of water. One time there was enough and plenty\nin the house; but now, since my husband has gone and I am left all\nalone, it is little I have to eat and drink. But such as I have to give\nyou are welcome to.\u201d\n\nThen Beppo and the princess went into the house.\n\nThe next morning the princess called Beppo to her. \u201cHere,\u201d said she, \u201cis\na ring and a letter. Go you into the town and inquire for Sebastian the\nGoldsmith. He will know what to do.\u201d\n\nBeppo took the ring and the letter and started off to town, and it\nwas not hard for him to find the man he sought, for every one knew of\nSebastian the Goldsmith. He was an old man, with a great white beard and\na forehead like the dome of a temple. He looked at Beppo from head to\nfoot with eyes as bright as those of a snake; then he took the ring\nand the letter. As soon as he saw the ring he raised it to his lips and\nkissed it; then he kissed the letter also; then he opened it and read\nit.\n\nHe turned to Beppo and bowed very low. \u201cMy lord,\u201d said he, \u201cI will do as\nI am commanded. Will you be pleased to follow me?\u201d\n\nHe led the way into an inner room. There were soft rugs upon the floor,\nand around the walls were tapestries. There were couches and silken\ncushions. Beppo wondered what it all meant.\n\nSebastian the Goldsmith clapped his hands together. A door opened, and\nthere came three black slaves into the room. The Goldsmith spoke to them\nin a strange language, and the chief of the three black slaves bowed in\nreply. Then he and the others led Beppo into another room where there\nwas a marble bath of tepid water. They bathed him and rubbed him with\nsoft linen towels; then they shaved the beard from his cheeks and chin\nand trimmed his hair; then they clothed him in fine linen and a plain\nsuit of gray and Beppo looked like a new man.\n\nThen when all this was done the chief of the blacks conducted Beppo back\nto Sebastian the Goldsmith. There was a fine feast spread, with fruit\nand wine. Beppo sat down to it, and Sebastian the Goldsmith stood and\nserved him with a napkin over his arm.\n\nThen Beppo was to return to the princess again.\n\nA milk-white horse was waiting for him at the Goldsmith\u2019s door, a\nservant holding the bridle, and Beppo mounted and rode away.\n\nWhen he returned to the fisherman\u2019s hut the princess was waiting for\nhim. She had prepared a tray spread with a napkin, a cup of milk, and\nsome sweet cakes.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said she; \u201cto-day the king hunts in the forest over yonder. Go\nyou thither with this. The king will be hot and thirsty, and weary with\nthe chase. Offer him this refreshment. He will eat and drink, and in\ngratitude he will offer you something in return. Take nothing of him,\nbut ask him this: that he allow you once every three days to come to the\npalace, and that he whisper these words in your ear so that no one else\nmay hear them--\u2018A word, a word, only a few words; spoken ill, they are\nill; spoken well, they are more precious than gold and jewels.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I do that?\u201d said Beppo.\n\n\u201cYou will see,\u201d said the princess.\n\nBeppo did not understand it at all, but the princess is a princess and\nmust be obeyed, and so he rode away on his horse at her bidding.\n\nIt was as the princess had said: the king was hunting in the forest,\nand when Beppo came there he could hear the shouts of the men and the\nwinding of horns and the baying of dogs. He waited there for maybe an\nhour or more, and sometimes the sounds were nearer and sometimes the\nsounds were farther away. Presently they came nearer and nearer, and\nthen all of a sudden the king came riding out of the forest, the hounds\nhunting hither and thither, and the lords and nobles and courtiers\nfollowing him.\n\nThe king\u2019s face was flushed and heated with the chase, and his forehead\nwas bedewed with sweat. Beppo came forward and offered the tray. The\nking wiped his face with the napkin, and then drank the milk and ate\nthree of the cakes.\n\n\u201cWho was it ordered you to bring this to me?\u201d said he to Beppo.\n\n\u201cNo one,\u201d said Beppo; \u201cI brought it myself.\u201d\n\nThe king looked at Beppo and was grateful to him.\n\n\u201cThou hast given me pleasure and comfort,\u201d said he; \u201cask what thou wilt\nin return and if it is in reason thou shalt have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will have only this,\u201d said Beppo: \u201cthat your majesty will allow me\nonce every three days to come to the palace, and that then you will take\nme aside and will whisper these words into my ear so that no one else\nmay hear them--A word, a word, only a few words; spoken ill, they are\nill; spoken well, they are more precious than gold and jewels.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe king burst out laughing. \u201cWhy,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat is this foolish thing\nyou ask of me? If you had asked for a hundred pieces of gold you should\nhave had them. Think better, friend, and ask something of more worth\nthan this foolish thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease your majesty,\u201d said Beppo, \u201cI ask nothing else.\u201d\n\nThe king laughed again. \u201cThen you shall have what you ask,\u201d said he, and\nhe rode away.\n\nThe next morning the princess said to Beppo: \u201cThis day you shall go and\nclaim the king\u2019s promise of him. Take this ring and this letter again to\nSebastian the Goldsmith. He will fit you with clothes in which to appear\nbefore the king. Then go to the king\u2019s palace that he may whisper those\nwords he has to say into your ear.\u201d\n\nOnce more Beppo went to Sebastian the Goldsmith, and the Goldsmith\nkissed the princess\u2019s ring and letter, and read what she had written.\n\nAgain the black slaves took Beppo to the bath, only this time they clad\nhim in a fine suit of velvet and hung a gold chain around his neck.\nAfter that Sebastian the Goldsmith again served a feast to Beppo, and\nwaited upon him while he ate and drank.\n\nIn front of the house a noble horse, as black as jet, was waiting to\ncarry Beppo to the palace, and two servants dressed in velvet livery\nwere waiting to attend him.\n\nSo Beppo rode away, and many people stopped to look at him.\n\nHe came to the palace, and the king was giving audience. Beppo went into\nthe great audience-chamber. It was full of people--lords and nobles and\nrich merchants and lawyers.\n\nBeppo did not know how to come to the king, so he stood there and waited\nand waited. The people looked at him and whispered to one another: \u201cWho\nis that young man?\u201d \u201cWhence comes he?\u201d Then one said: \u201cIs not he\nthe young man who served the king with cakes and milk in the forest\nyesterday?\u201d\n\nBeppo stood there gazing at the king. By-and-by the king suddenly looked\nup and caught sight of him. He gazed at Beppo for a moment or two and\nthen he knew him. Then he smiled and beckoned to him.\n\n\u201cAye, my foolish benefactor,\u201d said he, aloud, \u201cis it thou, and art\nthou come so soon to redeem thy promise? Very well; come hither, I have\nsomething to say to thee.\u201d\n\nBeppo came forward, and everybody stared. He came close to the king, and\nthe king laid his hand upon his shoulder. Then he leaned over to Beppo\nand whispered in his ear: \u201cA word, a word, only a few words; if they be\nspoken ill, they are ill; if they be spoken well, they are more precious\nthan gold and jewels.\u201d Then he laughed. \u201cIs that what you would have me\nsay?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes, majesty,\u201d said Beppo, and he bowed low and withdrew.\n\nBut, lo and behold, what a change!\n\nSuddenly he was transformed in the eyes of the whole world. The crowd\ndrew back to allow him to pass, and everybody bowed low as he went\nalong.\n\n\u201cDid you not see the king whisper to him,\u201d said one. \u201cWhat could it be\nthat the king said?\u201d said another. \u201cThis must be a new favorite,\u201d said a\nthird.\n\nHe had come into the palace Beppo the Foolish; he went forth Beppo the\nGreat Man, and all because of a few words the king had whispered in his\near.\n\nThree days passed, and then Beppo went again to the Goldsmith\u2019s with the\nring and a letter from the princess. This time Sebastian the Goldsmith\nfitted him with a suit of splendid plum-colored silk and gave him a\ndappled horse, and again Beppo and his two attendants rode away to the\npalace. And this time every one knew him, and as he went up the steps\ninto the palace all present bowed to him. The king saw him as soon as he\nappeared, and when he caught sight of him he burst out laughing.\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d said he, \u201cI was looking for thee today, and wondering how soon\nthou wouldst come. Come hither till I whisper something in thine ear.\u201d\n\nThen all the lords and nobles and courtiers and ministers drew back, and\nBeppo went up to the king.\n\nThe king laughed and laughed. He laid his arm over Beppo\u2019s shoulder,\nand again he whispered in his ear: \u201cA word, a word, only a few words; if\nthey be spoken ill, they are ill; if they be spoken well, they are more\nprecious than gold and jewels.\u201d\n\nThen he released Beppo, and Beppo withdrew.\n\nSo it continued for three months. Every three days Beppo went to the\npalace, and the king whispered the words in his ear. Beppo said nothing\nto any one, and always went away as soon as the king had whispered to\nhim.\n\nThen at last the princess said to him: \u201cNow the time is ripe for doing.\nListen! To-day when you go to the palace fix your eyes, when the\nking speaks to you, upon the prime-minister, and shake your head. The\nprime-minister will ask you what the king said. Say nothing to him but\nthis: Alas, my poor friend!\u2019\u201d\n\nIt was all just as the princess had said.\n\nThe king was walking in the garden, with his courtiers and ministers\nabout him. Beppo came to him, and the king, as he always did, laid his\nhand upon Beppo\u2019s shoulder and whispered in his ear: \u201cA word, a word,\nonly a few words; if they be spoken ill, they are ill; if they be spoken\nwell, they are more precious than gold and jewels.\u201d\n\nWhile the king was saying these words to Beppo, Beppo was looking\nfixedly at the prime-minister. While he did so he shook his head three\ntimes. Then he bowed low and walked away.\n\nHe had not gone twenty paces before some one tapped him upon the arm;\nit was the prime-minister. Beppo gazed fixedly at him. \u201cAlas, my poor\nfriend!\u201d said he.\n\nThe prime-minister turned pale. \u201cIt was, then, as I thought,\u201d said he.\n\u201cThe king spoke about me. Will you not tell me what he said?\u201d\n\nBeppo shook his head. \u201cAlas, my poor friend!\u201d said he, and then he\nwalked on.\n\nThe prime-minister still followed him.\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d said he, \u201cI have been aware that his majesty has not been the\nsame to me for more than a week past. If it was about the princess, pray\ntell his majesty that I meant nothing ill when I spoke of her to him.\u201d\n\nBeppo shook his head. \u201cAlas, my poor friend!\u201d he said.\n\nThe prime-minister\u2019s lips trembled. \u201cMy lord,\u201d said he, \u201cI have always\nhad the kindest regard for you, and if there is anything in my power\nthat I can do for you I hope you will command me. I know how much you\nare in his majesty\u2019s confidence. Will you not speak a few words to set\nthe matter straight?\u201d\n\nBeppo again shook his head. \u201cAlas, my poor friend!\u201d said he, and then he\ngot upon his horse and rode away.\n\nThree days passed.\n\n\u201cThis morning,\u201d said the princess, \u201cwhen you go to the king, look at\nthe prime-minister when the king speaks to you, and smile. The\nprime-minister will again speak to you, and this time say, It is well,\nand I wish you joy.\u2019 Take what he gives you, for it will be of use.\u201d\n\nAgain all happened just as the princess said.\n\nBeppo came to the palace, and again the king whispered in his ear. As\nhe did so Beppo looked at the prime-minister and smiled, and then he\nwithdrew.\n\nThe prime-minister followed him. He trembled. \u201cIt is well,\u201d said Beppo,\n\u201cand I wish you joy.\u201d\n\nThe prime-minister grasped his hand and wrung it. \u201cMy lord,\u201d said he,\n\u201chow can I express my gratitude! The palace of my son that stands by the\nriver--I would that you would use it for your own, if I may be so bold\nas to offer it to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Beppo, \u201cuse it as my own.\u201d\n\nThe prime-minister wrung his hand again, and then Beppo rode away.\n\nThe next time that Beppo spoke to the king, at the princess\u2019s bidding,\nhe looked at the lord-treasurer, and said, as he had said to the\nprime-minister, \u201cAlas, my poor friend!\u201d\n\nWhen he rode away he left the lord-treasurer as white as ashes to the\nvery lips.\n\nThree days passed, and then, while the king talked to Beppo, Beppo\nlooked at the lord-treasurer and smiled.\n\nThe lord-treasurer followed him to the door of the palace.\n\n\u201cIt is well, and I wish you joy,\u201d said Beppo.\n\nThe treasurer offered him a fortune.\n\nThe next time it was the same with the captain of the guards. First\nBeppo pitied him, and then he wished him joy.\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d said the captain of the guards, \u201cmy services are yours at any\ntime.\u201d\n\nThen the same thing happened to the governor of the city, then to this\nlord, and then to that lord.\n\nBeppo grew rich and powerful beyond measure.\n\nThen one day the princess said: \u201cNow we will go into the town, and to\nthe palace of the prime-minister\u2019s son, which the prime-minister gave\nyou, for the time is ripe for the end.\u201d\n\nIn a few days all the court knew that Beppo was living like a prince in\nthe prime-minister\u2019s palace. The king began to wonder what it all meant,\nand how all such good-fortune had come to Beppo. He had grown very tired\nof always speaking to Beppo the same words.\n\nBut Beppo was now great among the great; all the world paid court to\nhim, and bowed down to him, almost as they did before the king.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the princess, \u201cthe time has come to strike. Bid all the\ncouncillors, and all the lords, and all the nobles to meet here three\ndays hence, for it is now or never that you shall win all and become\nking.\u201d\n\nBeppo did as she bade. He asked all of the great people of the kingdom\nto come to him, and they came. When they were all gathered together at\nBeppo\u2019s house, they found two thrones set as though for a king and a\nqueen, but there was no sign of Beppo, and everybody wondered what it\nall meant.\n\nSuddenly the door opened and Beppo came into the room, leading by the\nhand a lady covered with a veil from head to foot.\n\nEverybody stopped speaking and stood staring while Beppo led the veiled\nlady up to one of the thrones. He seated himself upon the other.\n\nThe lady stood up and dropped her veil, and then every one knew her.\n\nIt was the princess. \u201cDo you not know me?\u201d said she; \u201cI am the queen,\nand this is my husband. He is your king.\u201d\n\nAll stood silent for a moment, and then a great shout went up. \u201cLong\nlive the queen! Long live the king!\u201d\n\nThe princess turned to the captain of the guards. \u201cYou have offered your\nservices to my husband,\u201d said she; \u201chis commands and my commands are\nthat you march to the palace and cast out him who hath no right there.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the captain of the guards.\n\nAll the troops were up in arms, and the town was full of tumult and\nconfusion. About midnight they brought the false king before King Beppo\nand the queen. The false king stood there trembling like a leaf. The\nqueen stood gazing at him steadily. \u201cBehold, this is the husband that\nthou gavest me,\u201d said she. \u201cIt is as I said; he is greater than thou.\nFor, lo, he is king! What art thou?\u201d\n\nThe false king was banished out of the country, and the poor fisherman\u2019s\nwife, who had entertained the princess for all this time, came to live\nat the palace, where all was joy and happiness.\n\n\n\u201cFriend,\u201d said St. George, \u201cI like your story. Ne\u2019th\u2019less, tis like a\nstrolling peddler, in that it carries a great deal of ills to begin\nwith, to get rid of them all before it gets to the end of its journey.\nHowever, tis as you say--it ends with everybody merry and feasting, and\nso I like it. But now methinks our little friend yonder is big with a\nstory of his own;\u201d and he pointed, as he spoke, with the stem of his\npipe to a little man whom I knew was the brave Tailor who had killed\nseven flies at a blow, for he still had around his waist the belt with\nthe legend that he himself had worked upon it.\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d piped the Tailor in a keen, high voice, \u201ctis true I have a story\ninside of me. Tis about another tailor who had a great, big, black, ugly\ndemon to wait upon him and to sew his clothes for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the name of that story, my friend,\u201d said the Soldier who had\ncheated the Devil, \u201cis what?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt hath no name,\u201d piped the little Tailor, \u201cbut I will give it one, and\nit shall be--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nWoman\u2019s Wit.\n\nWhen man\u2019s strength fails, woman\u2019s wit prevails.\n\nIn the days when the great and wise King Solomon lived and ruled, evil\nspirits and demons were as plentiful in the world as wasps in summer.\n\nSo King Solomon, who was so wise and knew so many potent spells that he\nhad power over evil such as no man has had before or since, set himself\nto work to put those enemies of mankind out of the way. Some he conjured\ninto bottles, and sank into the depths of the sea; some he buried in\nthe earth; some he destroyed altogether, as one burns hair in a\ncandle-flame.\n\nNow, one pleasant day when King Solomon was walking in his garden with\nhis hands behind his back, and his thoughts busy as bees with this or\nthat, he came face to face with a Demon, who was a prince of his kind.\n\u201cHo, little man!\u201d cried the evil spirit, in a loud voice, \u201cart not thou\nthe wise King Solomon who conjures my brethren into brass chests and\nglass bottles? Come, try a fall at wrestling with me, and whoever\nconquers shall be master over the other for all time. What do you say to\nsuch an offer as that?\u201d\n\n\u201cI say aye!\u201d said King Solomon, and, without another word, he stripped\noff his royal robes and stood bare breasted, man to man with the other.\n\nThe world never saw the like of that wrestling match betwixt the king\nand the Demon, for they struggled and strove together from the seventh\nhour in the morning to the sunset in the evening, and during that time\nthe sky was clouded over as black as night, and the lightning forked\nand shot, and the thunder roared and bellowed, and the earth shook and\nquaked.\n\nBut at last the king gave the enemy an under twist, and flung him down\non the earth so hard that the apples fell from the trees; and then,\npanting and straining, he held the evil one down, knee on neck.\nThereupon the sky presently cleared again, and all was as pleasant as a\nspring day.\n\nKing Solomon bound the Demon with spells, and made him serve him for\nseven years. First, he had him build a splendid palace, the like of\nwhich was not to be seen within the bounds of the seven rivers; then he\nmade him set around the palace a garden, such as I for one wish I may\nsee some time or other. Then, when the Demon had done all that the king\nwished, the king conjured him into a bottle, corked it tightly, and set\nthe royal seal on the stopper. Then he took the bottle a thousand miles\naway into the wilderness, and, when no man was looking, buried it in the\nground, and this is the way the story begins.\n\nWell, the years came and the years went, and the world grew older and\nolder, and kept changing (as all things do but two), so that by-and-by\nthe wilderness where King Solomon had hid the bottle became a great\ntown, with people coming and going, and all as busy as bees about their\nown business and other folks\u2019 affairs.\n\nAmong these towns-people was a little Tailor, who made clothes for many\na worse man to wear, and who lived all alone in a little house with no\none to darn his stockings for him, and no one to meddle with his coming\nand going, for he was a bachelor.\n\nThe little Tailor was a thrifty soul, and by hook and crook had laid by\nenough money to fill a small pot, and then he had to bethink himself of\nsome safe place to hide it. So one night he took a spade and a lamp and\nwent out in the garden to bury his money. He drove his spade into the\nground--and click! He struck something hard that rang under his foot\nwith a sound as of iron. \u201cHello!\u201d said he, \u201cwhat have we here?\u201d and if\nhe had known as much as you and I do, he would have filled in the earth,\nand tramped it down, and have left that plate of broth for somebody else\nto burn his mouth with.\n\nAs it was, he scraped away the soil, and then he found a box of adamant,\nwith a ring in the lid to lift it by. The Tailor clutched the ring and\nbent his back, and up came the box with the damp earth sticking to it.\nHe cleaned the mould away, and there he saw, written in red letters,\nthese words:\n\n\u201cOpen not.\u201d\n\nYou may be sure that after he had read these words he was not long in\nbreaking open the lid of the box with his spade.\n\nInside the first box he found a second, and upon it the same words:\n\n\u201cOpen not.\u201d\n\nWithin the second box was another, and within that still another, until\nthere were seven in all, and on each was written the same words:\n\n\u201cOpen not.\u201d\n\nInside the seventh box was a roll of linen, and inside that a bottle\nfilled with nothing but blue smoke; and I wish that bottle had burned\nthe Tailor\u2019s fingers when he touched it.\n\n\u201cAnd is this all?\u201d said the little Tailor, turning the bottle upside\ndown and shaking it, and peeping at it by the light of the lamp. \u201cWell,\nsince I have gone so far I might as well open it, as I have already\nopened the seven boxes.\u201d Thereupon he broke the seal that stoppered it.\n\nPop! out flew the cork, and--puff! out came the smoke; not all at once,\nbut in a long thread that rose up as high as the stars, and then spread\nuntil it hid their light.\n\nThe Tailor stared and goggled and gaped to see so much smoke come out of\nsuch a little bottle, and, as he goggled and stared, the smoke began to\ngather together again, thicker and thicker, and darker and darker, until\nit was as black as ink. Then out from it there stepped one with eyes\nthat shone like sparks of fire, and who had a countenance so terrible\nthat the Tailor\u2019s skin quivered and shrivelled, and his tongue clove to\nthe roof of his mouth at the sight of it.\n\n\u201cWho are thou?\u201d said the terrible being, in a voice that made the very\nmarrow of the poor Tailor\u2019s bones turn soft from terror.\n\n\u201cIf you please, sir,\u201d said he, \u201cI am only a little tailor.\u201d\n\nThe evil being lifted up both hands and eyes. \u201cHow wonderful,\u201d he cried,\n\u201cthat one little tailor can undo in a moment that which took the wise\nSolomon a whole day to accomplish, and in the doing of which he wellnigh\nbroke the sinews of his heart!\u201d Then, turning to the Tailor, who stood\ntrembling like a rabbit, \u201cHark thee!\u201d said he. \u201cFor two thousand years\nI lay there in that bottle, and no one came nigh to aid me. Thou hast\nliberated me, and thou shalt not go unrewarded. Every morning at the\nseventh hour I will come to thee, and I will perform for thee whatever\ntask thou mayst command me. But there is one condition attached to\nthe agreement, and woe be to thee if that condition is broken. If any\nmorning I should come to thee, and thou hast no task for me to do, I\nshall wring thy neck as thou mightest wring the neck of a sparrow.\u201d\n Thereupon he was gone in an instant, leaving the little Tailor half dead\nwith terror.\n\nNow it happened that the prime-minister of that country had left an\norder with the Tailor for a suit of clothes, so the next morning, when\nthe Demon came, the little man set him to work on the bench, with his\nlegs tucked up like a journey-man tailor. \u201cI want,\u201d said he, \u201csuch and\nsuch a suit of clothes.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have them,\u201d said the Demon; and thereupon he began snipping\nin the air, and cutting most wonderful patterns of silks and satins out\nof nothing at all, and the little Tailor sat and gaped and stared. Then\nthe Demon began to drive the needle like a spark of fire--the like was\nnever seen in all the seven kingdoms, for the clothes seemed to make\nthemselves.\n\nAt last, at the end of a little while, the Demon stood up and brushed\nhis hands. \u201cThey are done,\u201d said he, and thereupon he instantly\nvanished. But the Tailor cared little for that, for upon the bench there\nlay such a suit of clothes of silk and satin stuff, sewed with threads\nof gold and silver and set with jewels, as the eyes of man never saw\nbefore; and the Tailor packed them up and marched off with them himself\nto the prime-minister.\n\nThe prime-minister wore the clothes to court that very day, and before\nevening they were the talk of the town. All the world ran to the Tailor\nand ordered clothes of him, and his fortune was made. Every day the\nDemon created new suits of clothes out of nothing at all, so that the\nTailor grew as rich as a Jew, and held his head up in the world.\n\nAs time went along he laid heavier and heavier tasks upon the Demon\u2019s\nback, and demanded of him more and more; but all the while the Demon\nkept his own counsel, and said never a word.\n\nOne morning, as the Tailor sat in his shop window taking the world\neasy--for he had little or nothing to do now--he heard a great hubbub in\nthe street below, and when he looked down he saw that it was the king\u2019s\ndaughter passing by. It was the first time that the Tailor had seen her,\nand when he saw her his heart stood still within him, and then began\nfluttering like a little bird, for one so beautiful was not to be met\nwith in the four corners of the world. Then she was gone.\n\nAll that day the little Tailor could do nothing but sit and think of the\nprincess, and the next morning when the Demon came he was thinking of\nher still.\n\n\u201cWhat hast thou for me to do to-day?\u201d said the Demon, as he always said\nof a morning.\n\nThe little Tailor was waiting for the question.\n\n\u201cI would like you,\u201d said he, \u201cto send to the king\u2019s palace, and to ask\nhim to let me have his daughter for my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou shalt have thy desire,\u201d said the Demon. Thereupon he smote his\nhands together like a clap of thunder, and instantly the walls of the\nroom clove asunder, and there came out four-and-twenty handsome youths,\nclad in cloth of gold and silver. After these four-and-twenty there came\nanother one who was the chief of them all, and before whom, splendid as\nthey were, the four-and-twenty paled like stars in daylight. \u201cGo to the\nking\u2019s palace,\u201d said the Demon to that one, \u201cand deliver this message:\nThe Tailor of Tailors, the Master of Masters, and One Greater than a\nKing asks for his daughter to wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the other, and bowed his forehead to the\nearth.\n\nNever was there such a hubbub in the town as when those five-and-twenty,\nin their clothes of silver and gold, rode through the streets to the\nking\u2019s palace. As they came near, the gates of the palace flew open\nbefore them, and the king himself came out to meet them. The leader\nof the five-and-twenty leaped from his horse, and, kissing the ground\nbefore the king, delivered his message: \u201cThe Tailor of Tailors, the\nMaster of Masters, and One Greater than a King asks for thy daughter to\nwife.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard what the messenger said, he thought and pondered\na long time. At last he said, \u201cIf he who sent you is the Master of\nMasters, and greater than a king, let him send me an asking gift such as\nno king could send.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be as you desire,\u201d said the messenger, and thereupon the\nfive-and-twenty rode away as they had come, followed by crowds of\npeople.\n\nThe next morning when the Demon came the tailor was ready and waiting\nfor him. \u201cWhat hast thou for me to do to-day?\u201d said the Evil One.\n\n\u201cI want,\u201d said the tailor, \u201ca gift to send to the king such as no other\nking could send him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou shalt have thy desire,\u201d said the Demon. Thereupon he smote his\nhands together, and summoned, not five-and-twenty young men, but fifty\nyouths, all clad in clothes more splendid than the others.\n\nAll of the fifty sat upon coal-black horses, with saddles of silver and\nhousings of silk and velvet embroidered with gold. In the midst of all\nthe five-and-seventy there rode a youth in cloth of silver embroidered\nin pearls. In his hand he bore something wrapped in a white napkin, and\nthat was the present for the king such as no other king could give. So\nsaid the Demon: \u201cTake it to the royal palace, and tell his majesty that\nit is from the Tailor of Tailors, the Master of Masters, and One Greater\nthan a King.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the young man, and then they all rode away.\n\nWhen they came to the palace the gates flew open before them, and\nthe king came out to meet them. The young man who bore the present\ndismounted and prostrated himself in the dust, and, when the king bade\nhim arise, he unwrapped the napkin, and gave to the king a goblet\nmade of one single ruby, and filled to the brim with pieces of gold.\nMoreover, the cup was of such a kind that whenever it was emptied of its\nmoney it instantly became full again. \u201cThe Tailor of Tailors, the Master\nof Masters, and One Greater than a King sends your majesty this goblet,\nand bids me, his ambassador, to ask for your daughter,\u201d said the young\nman.\n\nWhen the king saw what had been sent him he was filled with amazement.\n\u201cSurely,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cthere can be no end to the power of one\nwho can give such a gift as this.\u201d Then to the messenger, \u201cTell your\nmaster that he shall have my daughter for his wife if he will build\nover yonder a palace such as no man ever saw or no king ever lived in\nbefore.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the young man, and then they all went away, as\nthe others had done the day before.\n\nThe next morning when the Demon appeared the Tailor was ready for him.\n\u201cBuild me,\u201d said he, \u201csuch and such a palace in such and such a place.\u201d\n\nAnd the Demon said, \u201cIt shall be done.\u201d He smote his hands together, and\ninstantly there came a cloud of mist that covered and hid the spot where\nthe palace was to be built. Out from the cloud there came such a banging\nand hammering and clapping and clattering as the people of that town\nnever heard before. Then when evening had come the cloud arose, and\nthere, where the king had pointed out, stood a splendid palace as white\nas snow, with roofs and domes of gold and silver. As the king stood\nlooking and wondering at this sight, there came five hundred young men\nriding, and one in the midst of all who wore a golden crown on his head,\nand upon his body a long robe stiff with diamonds and pearls. \u201cWe come,\u201d\n said he, \u201cfrom the Tailor of Tailors, and Master of Masters, and One\nGreater than a King, to ask you to let him have your daughter for his\nwife.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell him to come!\u201d cried the king, in admiration, \u201cfor the princess is\nhis.\u201d\n\nThe next morning when the Demon came he found the Tailor dancing and\nshouting for joy. \u201cThe princess is mine!\u201d he cried, \u201cso make me ready\nfor her.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Demon, and thereupon he began to make the\nTailor ready for his wedding. He brought him to a marble bath of water,\nin which he washed away all that was coarse and ugly, and from which the\nlittle man came forth as beautiful as the sun. Then the Demon clad\nhim in the finest linen, and covered him with clothes such as even the\nemperor of India never wore. Then he smote his hands together, and the\nwall of the tailor-shop opened as it had done twice before, and there\ncame forth forty slaves clad in crimson, and bearing bowls full of money\nin their hands. After them came two leading a horse as white as snow,\nwith a saddle of gold studded with diamonds and rubies and emeralds\nand sapphires. After came a body-guard of twenty warriors clad in gold\narmor. Then the Tailor mounted his horse and rode away to the king\u2019s\npalace, and as he rode the slaves scattered the money amongst the crowd,\nwho scrambled for it and cheered the Tailor to the skies.\n\nThat night the princess and the Tailor were married, and all the town\nwas lit with bonfires and fireworks. The two rode away in the midst of\na great crowd of nobles and courtiers to the palace which the Demon had\nbuilt for the Tailor; and, as the princess gazed upon him, she thought\nthat she had never beheld so noble and handsome a man as her husband. So\nshe and the Tailor were the happiest couple in the world.\n\nBut the next morning the Demon appeared as he had appeared ever since\nthe Tailor had let him out of the bottle, only now he grinned till his\nteeth shone and his face turned black. \u201cWhat hast thou for me to do?\u201d\n said he, and at the words the Tailor\u2019s heart began to quake, for he\nremembered what was to happen to him when he could find the Demon no\nmore work to do--that his neck was to be wrung--and now he began to see\nthat he had all that he could ask for in the world. Yes; what was there\nto ask for now?\n\n\u201cI have nothing more for you to do,\u201d said he to the Demon; \u201cyou have\ndone all that man could ask--you may go now.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo!\u201d cried the Demon, \u201cI shall not go until I have done all that I have\nto do. Give me work, or I shall wring your neck.\u201d And his fingers began\nto twitch.\n\nThen the Tailor began to see into what a net he had fallen. He began to\ntremble like one in an ague. He turned his eyes up and down, for he\ndid not know where to look for aid. Suddenly, as he looked out of the\nwindow, a thought struck him. \u201cMaybe,\u201d thought he, \u201cI can give the Demon\nsuch a task that even he cannot do it. Yes, yes!\u201d he cried, \u201cI have\nthought of something for you to do. Make me out yonder in front of my\npalace a lake of water a mile long and a mile wide, and let it be\nlined throughout with white marble, and filled with water as clear as\ncrystal.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Demon. As he spoke he spat in the air,\nand instantly a thick fog arose from the earth and hid everything from\nsight. Then presently from the midst of the fog there came a great\nnoise of chipping and hammering, of digging and delving, of rushing and\ngurgling. All day the noise and the fog continued, and then at sunset\nthe one ceased and the other cleared away. The poor Tailor looked out\nthe window, and when he saw what he saw his teeth chattered in his head,\nfor there was a lake a mile long and a mile broad, lined within with\nwhite marble, and filled with water as clear as crystal, and he knew\nthat the Demon would come the next morning for another task to do.\n\nThat night he slept little or none, and when the seventh hour of the\nmorning came the castle began to rock and tremble, and there stood the\nDemon, and his hair bristled and his eyes shone like sparks of fire.\n\u201cWhat hast thou for me to do?\u201d said he, and the poor Tailor could do\nnothing but look at him with a face as white as dough.\n\n\u201cWhat hast thou for me to do?\u201d said the Demon again, and then at last\nthe Tailor found his wits and his tongue from sheer terror. \u201cLook!\u201d said\nhe, \u201cat the great mountain over yonder; remove it, and make in its place\na level plain with fields and orchards and gardens.\u201d And he thought to\nhimself when he had spoken, \u201cSurely, even the Demon cannot do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Demon, and, so saying, he stamped his heel\nupon the ground. Instantly the earth began to tremble and quake, and\nthere came a great rumbling like the sound of thunder. A cloud of\ndarkness gathered in the sky, until at last all was as black as the\nblackest midnight. Then came a roaring and a cracking and a crashing,\nsuch as man never heard before. All day it continued, until the time\nof the setting of the sun, when suddenly the uproar ceased, and the\ndarkness cleared away; and when the Tailor looked out of the window\nthe mountain was gone, and in its place were fields and orchards and\ngardens.\n\nIt was very beautiful to see, but when the Tailor beheld it his knees\nbegan to smite together, and the sweat ran down his face in streams. All\nthat night he walked up and down and up and down, but he could not think\nof one other task for the Demon to do.\n\nWhen the next morning came the Demon appeared like a whirlwind. His\nface was as black as ink and smoke, and sparks of fire flew from his\nnostrils.\n\n\u201cWhat have you for me to do?\u201d cried he.\n\n\u201cI have nothing for you to do!\u201d piped the poor Tailor.\n\n\u201cNothing?\u201d cried the Demon.\n\n\u201cNothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen prepare to die.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop!\u201d cried the Tailor, falling on his knees, \u201clet me first see my\nwife.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the Demon, and if he had been wiser he would have said\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\nWhen the Tailor came to the princess, he flung himself on his face, and\nbegan to weep and wail. The princess asked him what was the matter, and\nat last, by dint of question, got the story from him, piece by piece.\nWhen she had it all she began laughing. \u201cWhy did you not come to me\nbefore?\u201d said she, \u201cinstead of making all this trouble and uproar for\nnothing at all? I will give the Monster a task to do.\u201d She plucked a\nsingle curling hair from her head. \u201cHere,\u201d said she, \u201clet him take this\nhair and make it straight.\u201d\n\nThe Tailor was full of doubt; nevertheless, as there was nothing better\nto do, he took it to the Demon.\n\n\u201cHast thou found me a task to do?\u201d cried the Demon.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Tailor. \u201cIt is only a little thing. Here is a hair from\nmy wife\u2019s head; take it and make it straight.\u201d\n\nWhen the Demon heard what was the task that the Tailor had set him to do\nhe laughed aloud; but that was because he did not know. He took the\nhair and stroked it between his thumb and finger, and, when he done, it\ncurled more than ever. Then he looked serious, and slapped it between\nhis palms, and that did not better matters, for it curled as much as\never. Then he frowned, and, began beating the hair with his palm upon\nhis knees, and that only made it worse. All that day he labored and\nstrove at his task trying to make that one little hair straight, and,\nwhen the sun set, there was the hair just as crooked as ever. Then, as\nthe great round sun sank red behind the trees, the Demon knew that he\nwas beaten. \u201cI am conquered! I am conquered!\u201d he howled, and flew away,\nbellowing so dreadfully that all the world trembled.\n\nSo ends the story, with only this to say:\n\nWhere man\u2019s strength fails, woman\u2019s wit prevails.\n\nFor, to my mind, the princess--not to speak of her husband the little\nTailor--did more with a single little hair and her mother wit than King\nSolomon with all his wisdom.\n\n\n\u201cWhose turn is it next to tell us a story?\u201d said Sindbad the Sailor.\n\n\u201cTwas my turn,\u201d said St. George; \u201cbut here be two ladies present, and\nneither hath so much as spoken a word of a story for all this time. If\nyou, madam,\u201d said he to Cinderella, \u201cwill tell us a tale, I will gladly\ngive up my turn to you.\u201d\n\nThe Soldier who cheated the Devil took the pipe out of his mouth and\npuffed away a cloud of smoke. \u201cAye,\u201d said he, \u201calways remember the\nladies, say I. That is a soldier\u2019s trade.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then; if it is your pleasure,\u201d said Cinderella. \u201cI will tell\nyou a story, and it shall be of a friend of mine and of how she looked\nafter her husband\u2019s luck. She was,\u201d said Cinderella, \u201ca princess, and\nher father was a king.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is your story about?\u201d said Sindbad the Sailor.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said Cinderella, \u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nA Piece of Good Luck\n\nThere were three students who were learning all that they could. The\nfirst was named Joseph, the second was named John, and the third was\nnamed Jacob Stuck. They studied seven long years under a wise master,\nand in that time they learned all that their master had to teach them\nof the wonderful things he knew. They learned all about geometry,\nthey learned all about algebra, they learned all about astronomy, they\nlearned all about the hidden arts, they learned all about everything,\nexcept how to mend their own hose and where to get cabbage to boil in\nthe pot.\n\nAnd now they were to go out into the world to practice what they knew.\nThe master called the three students to him--the one named Joseph, the\nsecond named John, and the third named Jacob Stuck--and said he to them,\nsaid he: \u201cYou have studied faithfully and have learned all that I have\nbeen able to teach you, and now you shall not go out into the world with\nnothing at all. See; here are three glass balls, and that is one for\neach of you. Their like is not to be found in the four corners of the\nworld. Carry the balls wherever you go, and when one of them drops to\nthe ground, dig, and there you will certainly find a treasure.\u201d\n\nSo the three students went out into the wide world.\n\nWell, they travelled on and on for day after day, each carrying his\nglass ball with him wherever he went. They travelled on and on for I\ncannot tell how long, until one day the ball that Joseph carried slipped\nout of his fingers and fell to the ground. \u201cI\u2019ve found a treasure!\u201d\n cried Joseph, \u201cI\u2019ve found a treasure!\u201d\n\nThe three students fell to work scratching and digging where the ball\nhad fallen, and by-and-by they found something. It was a chest with an\niron ring in the lid. It took all three of them to haul it up out of\nthe ground, and when they did so they found it was full to the brim of\nsilver money.\n\nWere they happy? Well, they were happy! They danced around and around\nthe chest, for they had never seen so much money in all their lives\nbefore. \u201cBrothers,\u201d said Joseph, in exultation, \u201chere is enough for all\nhands, and it shall be share and share alike with us, for haven\u2019t we\nstudied seven long years together?\u201d And so for a while they were as\nhappy as happy could be.\n\nBut by-and-by a flock of second thoughts began to buzz in the heads\nof John and Jacob Stuck. \u201cWhy,\u201d said they, \u201cas for that, to be sure, a\nchest of silver money is a great thing for three students to find who\nhad nothing better than book-learning to help them along; but who knows\nbut that there is something better even than silver money out in the\nwide world?\u201d So, after all, and in spite of the chest of silver money\nthey had found, the two of them were for going on to try their fortunes\na little farther. And as for Joseph, why, after all, when he came to\nthink of it, he was not sorry to have his chest of silver money all to\nhimself.\n\nSo the two travelled on and on for a while, here and there and\neverywhere, until at last it was John\u2019s ball that slipped out of his\nfingers and fell to the ground. They digged where it fell, and this time\nit was a chest of gold money they found.\n\nYes, a chest of gold money! A chest of real gold money! They just stood\nand stared and stared, for if they had not seen it they would not have\nbelieved that such a thing could have been in the world. \u201cWell, Jacob\nStuck,\u201d said John, \u201cit was well to travel a bit farther than poor Joseph\ndid, was it not? What is a chest of silver money to such a treasure as\nthis? Come, brother, here is enough to make us both rich for all the\nrest of our lives. We need look for nothing better than this.\u201d\n\nBut no; by-and-by Jacob Stuck began to cool down again, and now that\nsecond thoughts were coming to him he would not even be satisfied with a\nhalf-share of a chest of gold money. No; maybe there might be something\nbetter than even a chest full of gold money to be found in the world.\nAs for John, why, after all, he was just as well satisfied to keep\nhis treasure for himself. So the two shook hands, and then Jacob Stuck\njogged away alone, leaving John stuffing his pockets and his hat full of\ngold money, and I should have liked to have been there, to have had my\nshare.\n\nWell, Jacob Stuck jogged on and on by himself, until after a while he\ncame to a great, wide desert, where there was not a blade or a stick to\nbe seen far or near. He jogged on and on, and he wished he had not\ncome there. He jogged on and on when all of a sudden the glass ball he\ncarried slipped out of his fingers and fell to the ground.\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d said he to himself, \u201cnow maybe I shall find some great treasure\ncompared to which even silver and gold are as nothing at all.\u201d\n\nHe digged down into the barren earth of the desert; and he digged and he\ndigged, but neither silver nor gold did he find. He digged and digged;\nand by-and-by, at last, he did find something. And what was it? Why,\nnothing but something that looked like a piece of blue glass not a\nbig bigger than my thumb. \u201cIs that all?\u201d said Jacob Stuck. \u201cAnd have I\ntravelled all this weary way and into the blinding desert only for this?\nHave I passed by silver and gold enough to make me rich for all my life,\nonly to find a little piece of blue glass?\u201d\n\nJacob Stuck did not know what he had found. I shall tell you what it\nwas. It was a solid piece of good luck without flaw or blemish, and it\nwas almost the only piece I ever heard tell of. Yes; that was what it\nwas--a solid piece of good luck; and as for Jacob Stuck, why, he was\nnot the first in the world by many and one over who has failed to know\na piece of good luck when they have found it. Yes; it looked just like a\npiece of blue glass no bigger than my thumb, and nothing else.\n\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d said Jacob Stuck. \u201cAnd have I travelled all this weary\nway and into the blinding desert only for this? Have I passed by silver\nand gold enough to make me rich for all my life, only to find a little\npiece of blue glass?\u201d\n\nHe looked at the bit of glass, and he turned it over and over in his\nhand. It was covered with dirt. Jacob Stuck blew his breath upon it, and\nrubbed it with his thumb.\n\nCrack! dong! bang! smash!\n\nUpon my word, had a bolt of lightning burst at Jacob Stuck\u2019s feet he\ncould not have been more struck of a heap. For no sooner had he rubbed\nthe glass with his thumb than with a noise like a clap of thunder there\ninstantly stood before him a great, big man, dressed in clothes as red\nas a flame, and with eyes that shone sparks of fire. It was the Genie of\nGood Luck. It nearly knocked Jacob Stuck off his feet to see him there\nso suddenly.\n\n\u201cWhat will you have?\u201d said the Genie. \u201cI am the slave of good luck.\nWhosoever holds that piece of crystal in his hand him must I obey in\nwhatsoever he may command.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean that you are my servant and that I am your master?\u201d said\nJacob Stuck.\n\n\u201cYes; command and I obey.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cI would like you to help me out of this\ndesert place, if you can do so, for it is a poor spot for any Christian\nsoul to be.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie, and, before Jacob Stuck knew what\nhad happened to him, the Genie had seized him and was flying with him\nthrough the air swifter than the wind. On and on he flew, and the earth\nseemed to slide away beneath. On and on flew the flame-colored Genie\nuntil at last he set Jacob down in a great meadow where there was a\nriver. Beyond the river were the white walls and grand houses of the\nking\u2019s town.\n\n\u201cHast thou any further commands?\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cTell me what you can do for me?\u201d said Jacob Stuck.\n\n\u201cI can do whatsoever thou mayest order me to do,\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cI think first of all I would like to\nhave plenty of money to spend.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie, and, as he spoke, he reached up\ninto the air and picked out a purse from nothing at all. \u201cHere,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cis the purse of fortune; take from it all that thou needest and\nyet it will always be full. As long as thou hast it thou shalt never be\nlacking riches.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very much obliged to you,\u201d said Jacob Stuck. \u201cI\u2019ve learned\ngeometry and algebra and astronomy and the hidden arts, but I never\nheard tell of anything like this before.\u201d\n\nSo Jacob Stuck went into the town with all the money he could spend, and\nsuch a one is welcome anywhere. He lacked nothing that money could buy.\nHe bought himself a fine house; he made all the friends he wanted,\nand more; he lived without a care, and with nothing to do but to enjoy\nhimself. That was what a bit of good luck did for him.\n\nNow the princess, the daughter of the king of that town, was the most\nbeautiful in all the world, but so proud and haughty that her like was\nnot to be found within the bounds of all the seven rivers. So proud\nwas she and so haughty that she would neither look upon a young man\nnor allow any young man to look upon her. She was so particular that\nwhenever she went out to take a ride a herald was sent through the\ntown with a trumpet ordering that every house should be closed and that\neverybody should stay within doors, so that the princess should run no\nrisk of seeing a young man, or that no young man by chance should see\nher.\n\nOne day the herald went through the town blowing his trumpet and calling\nin a great, loud voice: \u201cClose your doors! Close your windows! Her\nhighness, the princess, comes to ride; let no man look upon her on pain\nof death!\u201d\n\nThereupon everybody began closing their doors and windows, and, as it\nwas with the others, so it was with Jacob Stuck\u2019s house; it had, like\nall the rest, to be shut up as tight as a jug.\n\nBut Jacob Stuck was not satisfied with that; not he. He was for seeing\nthe princess, and he was bound he would do so. So he bored a hole\nthrough the door, and when the princess came riding by he peeped out at\nher.\n\nJacob Stuck thought he had never seen anyone so beautiful in all his\nlife. It was like the sunlight shining in his eyes, and he almost\nsneezed. Her cheeks were like milk and rose-leaves, and her hair like\nfine threads of gold. She sat in a golden coach with a golden crown\nupon her head, and Jacob Stuck stood looking and looking until his heart\nmelted within him like wax in the oven. Then the princess was gone, and\nJacob Stuck stood there sighing and sighing.\n\n\u201cOh, dear! Dear!\u201d said he, \u201cwhat shall I do? For, proud as she is, I\nmust see her again or else I will die of it.\u201d\n\nAll that day he sat sighing and thinking about the beautiful princess,\nuntil the evening had come. Then he suddenly thought of his piece of\ngood luck. He pulled his piece of blue glass out of his pocket and\nbreathed upon it and rubbed it with his thumb, and instantly the Genie\nwas there.\n\nThis time Jacob Stuck was not frightened at all.\n\n\u201cWhat are thy commands, O master?\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cO Genie!\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cI have seen the princess to-day, and it\nseems to me that there is nobody like her in all the world. Tell me,\ncould you bring her here so that I might see her again?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Genie, \u201cI could.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen do so,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cand I will have you prepare a grand\nfeast, and have musicians to play beautiful music, for I would have the\nprincess sup with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie. As he spoke he smote his hands\ntogether, and instantly there appeared twenty musicians, dressed in\ncloth of gold and silver. With them they brought hautboys and fiddles,\nbig and little, and flageolets and drums and horns, and this and that to\nmake music with. Again the Genie smote his hands together, and instantly\nthere appeared fifty servants dressed in silks and satins and spangled\nwith jewels, who began to spread a table with fine linen embroidered\nwith gold, and to set plates of gold and silver upon it. The Genie smote\nhis hands together a third time, and in answer there came six servants.\nThey led Jacob Stuck into another room, where there was a bath of musk\nand rose-water. They bathed him in the bath and dressed him in clothes\nlike an emperor, and when he came out again his face shone, and he was\nas handsome as a picture.\n\nThen by-and-by he knew that the princess was coming, for suddenly there\nwas the sound of girls\u2019 voices singing and the twanging of stringed\ninstruments. The door flew open, and in came a crowd of beautiful girls,\nsinging and playing music, and after them the princess herself, more\nbeautiful than ever. But the proud princess was frightened! Yes, she\nwas. And well she might be, for the Genie had flown with her through the\nair from the palace, and that is enough to frighten anybody. Jacob Stuck\ncame to her all glittering and shining with jewels and gold, and took\nher by the hand. He led her up the hall, and as he did so the musicians\nstruck up and began playing the most beautiful music in the world. Then\nJacob Stuck and the princess sat down to supper and began eating and\ndrinking, and Jacob Stuck talked of all the sweetest things he could\nthink of. Thousands of wax candles made the palace bright as day, and as\nthe princess looked about her she thought she had never seen anything so\nfine in all the world. After they had eaten their supper and ended with\na dessert of all kinds of fruits and of sweetmeats, the door opened and\nthere came a beautiful young serving-lad, carrying a silver tray, upon\nwhich was something wrapped in a napkin. He kneeled before Jacob Stuck\nand held the tray, and from the napkin Jacob Stuck took a necklace of\ndiamonds, each stone as big as a pigeon\u2019s egg.\n\n\u201cThis is to remind you of me,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cwhen you have gone\nhome again.\u201d And as he spoke he hung it around the princess\u2019s neck.\n\nJust then the clock struck twelve.\n\nHardly had the last stroke sounded when every light was snuffed out, and\nall was instantly dark and still. Then, before she had time to think,\nthe Genie of Good Luck snatched the princess up once more and flew back\nto the palace more swiftly than the wind. And, before the princess knew\nwhat had happened to her, there she was.\n\nIt was all so strange that the princess might have thought it was a\ndream, only for the necklace of diamonds, the like of which was not to\nbe found in all the world.\n\nThe next morning there was a great buzzing in the palace, you may be\nsure. The princess told all about how she had been carried away during\nthe night, and had supped in such a splendid palace, and with such\na handsome man dressed like an emperor. She showed her necklace of\ndiamonds, and the king and his prime-minister could not look at it or\nwonder at it enough. The prime-minister and the king talked and talked\nthe matter over together, and every now and then the proud princess put\nin a word of her own.\n\n\u201cAnybody,\u201d said the prime-minister, \u201ccan see with half an eye that it is\nall magic, or else it is a wonderful piece of good luck. Now, I\u2019ll tell\nyou what shall be done,\u201d said he: \u201cthe princess shall keep a piece of\nchalk by her; and, if she is carried away again in such a fashion, she\nshall mark a cross with the piece of chalk on the door of the house to\nwhich she is taken. Then we shall find the rogue that is playing such a\ntrick, and that quickly enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the king; \u201cthat is very good advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do it,\u201d said the princess.\n\nAll that day Jacob Stuck sat thinking and thinking about the beautiful\nprincess. He could not eat a bite, and he could hardly wait for the\nnight to come. As soon as it had fallen, he breathed upon his piece of\nglass and rubbed his thumb upon it, and there stood the Genie of Good\nLuck.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like the princess here again,\u201d said he, \u201cas she was last night,\nwith feasting and drinking, such as we had before.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie.\n\nAnd as it had been the night before, so it was now. The Genie brought\nthe princess, and she and Jacob Stuck feasted together until nearly\nmidnight. Then, again, the door opened, and the beautiful servant-lad\ncame with the tray and something upon it covered with a napkin. Jacob\nStuck unfolded the napkin, and this time it was a cup made of a single\nruby, and filled to the brim with gold money. And the wonder of the\ncup was this: that no matter how much money you took out of it, it was\nalways full. \u201cTake this,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cto remind you of me.\u201d Then\nthe clock struck twelve, and instantly all was darkness, and the Genie\ncarried the princess home again.\n\nBut the princess had brought her piece of chalk with her, as the\nprime-minister had advised; and in some way or other she contrived,\neither in coming or going, to mark a cross upon the door of Jacob\nStuck\u2019s house.\n\nBut, clever as she was, the Genie of Good Luck was more clever still. He\nsaw what the princess did; and, as soon as he had carried her home, he\nwent all through the town and marked a cross upon every door, great and\nsmall, little and big, just as the princess had done upon the door of\nJacob Stuck\u2019s house, only upon the prime-minister\u2019s door he put two\ncrosses. The next morning everybody was wondering what all the crosses\non the house-doors meant, and the king and the prime-minister were no\nwiser than they had been before.\n\nBut the princess had brought the ruby cup with her, and she and the king\ncould not look at it and wonder at it enough.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the prime-minister; \u201cI tell you it is nothing else in the\nworld but just a piece of good luck--that is all it is. As for the\nrogue who is playing all these tricks, let the princess keep a pair of\nscissors by her, and, if she is carried away again, let her contrive\nto cut off a lock of his hair from over the young man\u2019s right ear. Then\nto-morrow we will find out who has been trimmed.\u201d\n\nYes, the princess would do that; so, before evening was come, she tied a\npair of scissors to her belt.\n\nWell, Jacob Stuck could hardly wait for the night to come to summon the\nGenie of Good Luck. \u201cI want to sup with the princess again,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie of Good Luck; and, as soon as he\nhad made everything ready, away he flew to fetch the princess again.\n\nWell, they feasted and drank, and the music played, and the candles were\nas bright as day, and beautiful girls sang and danced, and Jacob Stuck\nwas as happy as a king. But the princess kept her scissors by her, and,\nwhen Jacob Stuck was not looking, she contrived to snip off a lock of\nhis hair from over his right ear, and nobody saw what was done but the\nGenie of Good Luck.\n\nAnd it came towards midnight.\n\nOnce more the door opened, and the beautiful serving-lad came into the\nroom, carrying the tray of silver with something upon it wrapped in a\nnapkin. This time Jacob Stuck gave the princess an emerald ring for a\nkeepsake, and the wonder of it was that every morning two other rings\njust like it would drop from it.\n\nThen twelve o\u2019clock sounded, the lights went out, and the Genie took the\nprincess home again.\n\nBut the Genie had seen what the princess had done. As soon as he had\ntaken her safe home, he struck his palms together and summoned all his\ncompanions. \u201cGo,\u201d said he, \u201cthroughout the town and trim a lock of hair\nfrom over the right ear of every man in the whole place;\u201d and so they\ndid, from the king himself to the beggar-man at the gates. As for the\nprime-minister, the Genie himself trimmed two locks of hair from him,\none from over each of his ears, so that the next morning he looked as\nshorn as an old sheep. In the morning all the town was in a hubbub, and\neverybody was wondering how all the men came to have their hair clipped\nas it was. But the princess had brought the lock of Jacob Stuck\u2019s hair\naway with her wrapped up in a piece of paper, and there it was.\n\nAs for the ring Jacob Stuck had given to her, why, the next morning\nthere were three of them, and the king thought he had never heard tell\nof such a wonderful thing.\n\n\u201cI tell you,\u201d said the prime-minister, \u201cthere is nothing in it but a\npiece of good luck, and not a grain of virtue. It\u2019s just a piece of good\nluck--that\u2019s all it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter,\u201d said the king; \u201cI never saw the like of it in all my life\nbefore. And now, what are we going to do?\u201d\n\nThe prime-minister could think of nothing.\n\nThen the princess spoke up. \u201cYour majesty,\u201d she said, \u201cI can find the\nyoung man for you. Just let the herald go through the town and proclaim\nthat I will marry the young man to whom this lock of hair belongs, and\nthen we will find him quickly enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d cried the prime-minister; \u201cwill, then, the princess marry a man\nwho has nothing better than a little bit of good luck to help him along\nin the world?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the princess, \u201cI shall if I can find him.\u201d\n\nSo the herald was sent out around the town proclaiming that the princess\nwould marry the man to whose head belonged the lock of hair that she\nhad.\n\nA lock of hair! Why, every man had lost a lock of hair! Maybe the\nprincess could fit it on again, and then the fortune of him to whom it\nbelonged would be made. All the men in the town crowded up to the king\u2019s\npalace. But all for no use, for never a one of them was fitted with his\nown hair.\n\nAs for Jacob Stuck, he too had heard what the herald had proclaimed.\nYes; he too had heard it, and his heart jumped and hopped within him\nlike a young lamb in the spring-time. He knew whose hair it was the\nprincess had. Away he went by himself, and rubbed up his piece of blue\nglass, and there stood the Genie.\n\n\u201cWhat are thy commands?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cgoing up to the king\u2019s palace to marry the\nprincess, and I would have a proper escort.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie.\n\nHe smote his hands together, and instantly there appeared a score of\nattendants who took Jacob Stuck, and led him into another room, and\nbegan clothing him in a suit so magnificent that it dazzled the eyes to\nlook at it. He smote his hands together again, and out in the court-yard\nthere appeared a troop of horsemen to escort Jacob Stuck to the palace,\nand they were all clad in gold-and-silver armor. He smote his hands\ntogether again, and there appeared twenty-and-one horses--twenty as\nblack as night and one as white as milk, and it twinkled and sparkled\nall over with gold and jewels, and at the head of each horse of the\none-and-twenty horses stood a slave clad in crimson velvet to hold the\nbridle. Again he smote his hands together, and there appeared in the\nante-room twenty handsome young men, each with a marble bowl filled with\ngold money, and when Jacob Stuck came out dressed in his fine clothes\nthere they all were.\n\nJacob Stuck mounted upon the horse as white as milk, the young\nmen mounted each upon one of the black horses, the troopers in the\ngold-and-silver armor wheeled their horses, the trumpets blew, and away\nthey rode--such a sight as was never seen in that town before, when they\nhad come out into the streets. The young men with the basins scattered\nthe gold money to the people, and a great crowd ran scrambling after,\nand shouted and cheered.\n\nSo Jacob Stuck rode up to the king\u2019s palace, and the king himself came\nout to meet him with the princess hanging on his arm.\n\nAs for the princess, she knew him the moment she laid eyes on him. She\ncame down the steps, and set the lock of hair against his head, where\nshe had trimmed it off the night before, and it fitted and matched\nexactly. \u201cThis is the young man,\u201d said she, \u201cand I will marry him, and\nnone other.\u201d\n\nBut the prime-minister whispered and whispered in the king\u2019s ear: \u201cI\ntell you this young man is nobody at all,\u201d said he, \u201cbut just some\nfellow who has had a little bit of good luck.\u201d\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the king, \u201cstuff and nonsense! Just look at all the gold\nand jewels and horses and men. What will you do,\u201d said he to Jacob\nStuck, \u201cif I let you marry the princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cbuild for her the finest palace that ever\nwas seen in all this world.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the king, \u201cyonder are those sand hills over there. You\nshall remove them and build your palace there. When it is finished you\nshall marry the princess.\u201d For if he does that, thought the king to\nhimself, it is something better than mere good luck.\n\n\u201cIt shall,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cbe done by tomorrow morning.\u201d\n\nWell, all that day Jacob Stuck feasted and made merry at the king\u2019s\npalace, and the king wondered when he was going to begin to build his\npalace. But Jacob Stuck said nothing at all; he just feasted and drank\nand made merry. When night had come, however, it was all different. Away\nhe went by himself, and blew his breath upon his piece of blue glass,\nand rubbed it with his thumb. Instantly there stood the Genie before\nhim. \u201cWhat wouldst thou have?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI would like,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cto have the sand hills over yonder\ncarried away, and a palace built there of white marble and gold and\nsilver, such as the world never saw before. And let there be gardens\nplanted there with flowering plants and trees, and let there be\nfountains and marble walks. And let there be servants and attendants\nin the palace of all sorts and kinds--men and women. And let there be\na splendid feast spread for to-morrow morning, for then I am going to\nmarry the princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie, and instantly he was gone.\n\nAll night there was from the sand hills a ceaseless sound as of\nthunder--a sound of banging and clapping and hammering and sawing and\ncalling and shouting. All that night the sounds continued unceasingly,\nbut at daybreak all was still, and when the sun arose there stood the\nmost splendid palace it ever looked down upon; shining as white as\nsnow, and blazing with gold and silver. All around it were gardens and\nfountains and orchards. A great highway had been built between it and\nthe king\u2019s palace, and all along the highway a carpet of cloth of gold\nhad been spread for the princess to walk upon.\n\nDear! Dear! How all the town stared with wonder when they saw such a\nsplendid palace standing where the day before had been nothing but naked\nsand hills! The folk flocked in crowds to see it, and all the country\nabout was alive with people coming and going. As for the king, he could\nnot believe his eyes when he saw it. He stood with the princess and\nlooked and looked. Then came Jacob Stuck. \u201cAnd now,\u201d said he, \u201cam I to\nmarry the princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d cried the king in admiration, \u201cyou are!\u201d\n\nSo Jacob Stuck married the princess, and a splendid wedding it was. That\nwas what a little bit of good luck did for him.\n\nAfter the wedding was over, it was time to go home to the grand new\npalace. Then there came a great troop of horsemen with shining armor and\nwith music, sent by the Genie to escort Jacob Stuck and the princess and\nthe king and the prime-minister to Jacob Stuck\u2019s new palace. They rode\nalong over the carpet of gold, and such a fine sight was never seen\nin that land before. As they drew near to the palace a great crowd of\nservants, clad in silks and satins and jewels, came out to meet them,\nsinging and dancing and playing on harps and lutes. The king and the\nprincess thought that they must be dreaming.\n\n\u201cAll this is yours,\u201d said Jacob Stuck to the princess; and he was that\nfond of her, he would have given her still more if he could have thought\nof anything else.\n\nJacob Stuck and the princess, and the king and the prime-minister, all\nwent into the palace, and there was a splendid feast spread in plates of\npure gold and silver, and they all four sat down together.\n\nBut the prime-minister was as sour about it all as a crab-apple. All the\ntime they were feasting he kept whispering and whispering in the king\u2019s\near. \u201cIt is all stuff and nonsense,\u201d said he, \u201cfor such a man as Jacob\nStuck to do all this by himself. I tell you, it is all a piece of good\nluck, and not a bit of merit in it.\u201d\n\nHe whispered and whispered, until at last the king up and spoke. \u201cTell\nme, Jacob Stuck,\u201d he said, \u201cwhere do you get all these fine things?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt all comes of a piece of good luck,\u201d said Jacob Stuck.\n\n\u201cThat is what I told you,\u201d said the prime-minister.\n\n\u201cA piece of good luck!\u201d said the king. \u201cWhere did you come across such a\npiece of good luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cI found it,\u201d said Jacob Stuck.\n\n\u201cFound it!\u201d said the king; \u201cand have you got it with you now?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I have,\u201d said Jacob Stuck; \u201cI always carry it about with me;\u201d and\nhe thrust his hand into his pocket and brought out his piece of blue\ncrystal.\n\n\u201cThat!\u201d said the king. \u201cWhy, that is nothing but a piece of blue glass!\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said Jacob Stuck, \u201cis just what I thought till I found out\nbetter. It is no common piece of glass, I can tell you. You just breathe\nupon it so, and rub your thumb upon it thus, and instantly a Genie\ndressed in red comes to do all that he is bidden. That is how it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like to see it,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cSo you shall,\u201d said Jacob Stuck; \u201chere it is,\u201d said he; and he reached\nit across the table to the prime-minister to give it to the king.\n\nYes, that was what he did; he gave it to the prime-minister to give it\nto the king. The prime-minister had been listening to all that had been\nsaid, and he knew what he was about. He took what Jacob Stuck gave him,\nand he had never had such a piece of luck come to him before.\n\nAnd did the prime-minister give it to the king, as Jacob Stuck had\nintended? Not a bit of it. No sooner had he got it safe in his hand,\nthan he blew his breath upon it and rubbed it with his thumb.\n\nCrack! dong! boom! crash!\n\nThere stood the Genie, like a flash and as red as fire. The princess\nscreamed out and nearly fainted at the sight, and the poor king sat\ntrembling like a rabbit.\n\n\u201cWhosoever possesses that piece of blue crystal,\u201d said the Genie, in a\nterrible voice, \u201chim must I obey. What are thy commands?\u201d\n\n\u201cTake this king,\u201d cried the prime-minister, \u201cand take Jacob Stuck, and\ncarry them both away into the farthest part of the desert whence the\nfellow came.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie; and instantly he seized the\nking in one hand and Jacob Stuck in the other, and flew away with them\nswifter than the wind. On and on he flew, and the earth seemed to slide\naway beneath them like a cloud. On and on he flew until he had come to\nthe farthest part of the desert. There he sat them both down, and it was\nas pretty a pickle as ever the king or Jacob Stuck had been in, in all\nof their lives. Then the Genie flew back again whence he had come.\n\nThere sat the poor princess crying and crying, and there sat the\nprime-minister trying to comfort her. \u201cWhy do you cry?\u201d said he; \u201cwhy\nare you afraid of me? I will do you no harm. Listen,\u201d said he; \u201cI will\nuse this piece of good luck in a way that Jacob Stuck would never have\nthought of. I will make myself king. I will conquer the world, and make\nmyself emperor over all the earth. Then I will make you my queen.\u201d\n\nBut the poor princess cried and cried.\n\n\u201cHast thou any further commands?\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cNot now,\u201d said the prime-minister; \u201cyou may go now;\u201d and the Genie\nvanished like a puff of smoke.\n\nBut the princess cried and cried.\n\nThe prime-minister sat down beside her. \u201cWhy do you cry?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBecause I am afraid of you,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAnd why are you afraid of me?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBecause of that piece of blue glass. You will rub it again, and then\nthat great red monster will come again to frighten me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will rub it no more,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cOh, but you will,\u201d said she; \u201cI know you will.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBut I can\u2019t trust you,\u201d said she \u201cas long as you hold it in your hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I will lay it aside,\u201d said he, and so he did. Yes, he did; and he\nis not the first man who has thrown aside a piece of good luck for the\nsake of a pretty face. \u201cNow are you afraid of me?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cNo, I am not,\u201d said she; and she reached out her hand as though to give\nit to him. But, instead of doing so, she snatched up the piece of blue\nglass as quick as a flash.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cit is my turn;\u201d and then the prime-minister knew that\nhis end had come.\n\nShe blew her breath upon the piece of blue glass and rubbed her thumb\nupon it. Instantly, as with a clap of thunder, the great red Genie stood\nbefore her, and the poor prime-minister sat shaking and trembling.\n\n\u201cWhosoever hath that piece of blue crystal,\u201d said the Genie, \u201cthat one\nmust I obey. What are your orders, O princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cTake this man,\u201d cried the princess, \u201cand carry him away into the desert\nwhere you took those other two, and bring my father and Jacob Stuck back\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie, and instantly he seized the\nprime-minister, and, in spite of the poor man\u2019s kicks and struggles,\nsnatched him up and flew away with him swifter than the wind. On and on\nhe flew until he had come to the farthest part of the desert, and\nthere sat the king and Jacob Stuck still thinking about things. Down he\ndropped the prime-minister, up he picked the king and Jacob Stuck,\nand away he flew swifter than the wind. On and on he flew until he had\nbrought the two back to the palace again; and there sat the princess\nwaiting for them, with the piece of blue crystal in her hand.\n\n\u201cYou have saved us!\u201d cried the king.\n\n\u201cYou have saved us!\u201d cried Jacob Stuck. \u201cYes, you have saved us, and you\nhave my piece of good luck into the bargain. Give it to me again.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do nothing of the sort,\u201d said the princess. \u201cIf the men folk\nthink no more of a piece of good luck than to hand it round like a bit\nof broken glass, it is better for the women folk to keep it for them.\u201d\n\nAnd there, to my mind, she brewed good common-sense, that needed no\nskimming to make it fit for Jacob Stuck, or for any other man, for the\nmatter of that.\n\nAnd now for the end of this story. Jacob Stuck lived with his princess\nin his fine palace as grand as a king, and when the old king died he\nbecame the king after him.\n\nOne day there came two men travelling along, and they were footsore and\nweary. They stopped at Jacob Stuck\u2019s palace and asked for something to\neat. Jacob Stuck did not know them at first, and then he did. One was\nJoseph and the other was John.\n\nThis is what had happened to them:\n\nJoseph had sat and sat where John and Jacob Stuck had left him on his\nbox of silver money, until a band of thieves had come along and robbed\nhim of it all. John had carried away his pockets and his hat full of\ngold, and had lived like a prince as long as it had lasted. Then he had\ngone back for more, but in the meantime some rogue had come along and\nhad stolen it all. Yes; that was what had happened, and now they were as\npoor as ever.\n\nJacob Stuck welcomed them and brought them in and made much of them.\n\nWell, the truth is truth, and this is it: It is better to have a little\nbit of good luck to help one in what one undertakes than to have a chest\nof silver or a chest of gold.\n\n\n\u201cAnd now for your story, holy knight,\u201d said Fortunatus to St. George\n\u201cfor twas your turn, only for this fair lady who came in before you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, aye,\u201d said the saint; \u201cI suppose it was, in sooth, my turn.\nNe\u2019th\u2019less, it gives me joy to follow so close so fair and lovely a\nlady.\u201d And as he spoke he winked one eye at Cinderella, beckoned towards\nher with his cup of ale, and took a deep draught to her health. \u201cI shall\ntell you,\u201d said he, as soon as he had caught his breath again, \u201ca\nstory about an angel and a poor man who travelled with him, and all the\nwonderful things the poor man saw the angel do.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the Blacksmith who made Death sit in his pear-tree until\nthe wind whistled through his ribs--\u201cthat, methinks, is a better thing\nto tell for a sermon than a story.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhether or no that shall be so,\u201d said St. George, \u201cyou shall presently\nhear for yourselves.\u201d\n\nHe took another deep draught of ale, and then cleared his throat.\n\n\u201cStop a bit, my friend,\u201d said Ali Baba. \u201cWhat is your story about?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said St. George, \u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Fruit of Happiness\n\nOnce upon a time there was a servant who served a wise man, and cooked\nfor him his cabbage and his onions and his pot-herbs and his broth, day\nafter day, time in and time out, for seven years.\n\nIn those years the servant was well enough contented, but no one likes\nto abide in the same place forever, and so one day he took it into his\nhead that he would like to go out into the world to see what kind of a\nfortune a man might make there for himself. \u201cVery well,\u201d says the wise\nman, the servant\u2019s master; \u201cyou have served me faithfully these seven\nyears gone, and now that you ask leave to go you shall go. But it is\nlittle or nothing in the way of money that I can give you, and so you\nwill have to be content with what I can afford. See, here is a little\npebble, and its like is not to be found in the seven kingdoms, for\nwhoever holds it in his mouth can hear while he does so all that the\nbirds and the beasts say to one another. Take it--it is yours, and, if\nyou use it wisely, it may bring you a fortune.\u201d\n\nThe servant would rather have had the money in hand than the magic\npebble, but, as nothing better was to be had, he took the little stone,\nand, bidding his master good-bye, trudged out into the world, to seek\nhis fortune. Well, he jogged on and on, paying his way with the few\npennies he had saved in his seven years of service, but for all of his\ntravelling nothing of good happened to him until, one morning, he came\nto a lonely place where there stood a gallows, and there he sat him down\nto rest, and it is just in such an unlikely place as this that a man\u2019s\nbest chance of fortune comes to him sometimes.\n\nAs the servant sat there, there came two ravens flying, and lit upon the\ncross-beam overhead. There they began talking to one another, and the\nservant popped the pebble into his mouth to hear what they might say.\n\n\u201cYonder is a traveller in the world,\u201d said the first raven.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the second, \u201cand if he only knew how to set about it, his\nfortune is as good as made.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that so?\u201d said the first raven.\n\n\u201cWhy, thus,\u201d said the second. \u201cIf he only knew enough to follow yonder\nroad over the hill, he would come by-and-by to a stone cross where two\nroads meet, and there he would find a man sitting. If he would ask it of\nhim, that man would lead him to the garden where the fruit of happiness\ngrows.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fruit of happiness!\u201d said the first raven, \u201cand of what use would\nthe fruit of happiness be to him?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat use? I tell you, friend, there is no fruit in the world like that,\nfor one has only to hold it in one\u2019s hand and wish, and whatever one\nasks for one shall have.\u201d\n\nYou may guess that when the servant understood the talk of the ravens he\nwas not slow in making use of what he heard. Up he scrambled, and away\nhe went as fast as his legs could carry him. On and on he travelled,\nuntil he came to the cross-roads and the stone cross of which the raven\nspoke, and there, sure enough, sat the traveller. He was clad in a\nweather-stained coat, and he wore dusty boots, and the servant bade him\ngood-morning.\n\nHow should the servant know that it was an angel whom he beheld, and not\na common wayfarer?\n\n\u201cWhither away, comrade,\u201d asked the traveller.\n\n\u201cOut in the world,\u201d said the servant, \u201cto seek my fortune. And what I\nwant to know is this--will you guide me to where I can find the fruit of\nhappiness?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou ask a great thing of me,\u201d said the other; \u201cnevertheless, since you\ndo ask it, it is not for me to refuse, though I may tell you that many\na man has sought for that fruit, and few indeed have found it. But if\nI guide you to the garden where the fruit grows, there is one condition\nyou must fulfil: many strange things will happen upon our journey\nbetween here and there, but concerning all you see you must ask not a\nquestion and say not a word. Do you agree to that?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the servant, \u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said his new comrade; \u201cthen let us be jogging, for I have\nbusiness in the town to-night, and the time is none too long to get\nthere.\u201d\n\nSo all the rest of that day they journeyed onward together, until,\ntowards evening, they came to a town with high towers and steep roofs\nand tall spires. The servant\u2019s companion entered the gate as though\nhe knew the place right well, and led the way up one street and down\nanother, until, by-and-by, they came to a noble house that stood a\nlittle apart by itself, with gardens of flowers and fruit-trees all\naround it. There the travelling companion stopped, and, drawing out a\nlittle pipe from under his jacket, began playing so sweetly upon it that\nhe made one\u2019s heart stand still to listen to the music.\n\nWell, he played and played until, by-and-by, the door opened, and out\ncame a serving-man. \u201cHo, piper!\u201d said he, \u201cwould you like to earn good\nwages for your playing?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the travelling companion, \u201cI would, for that is why I came\nhither.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen follow me,\u201d said the servant, and thereupon the travelling\ncompanion tucked away his pipe and entered, with the other at his heels.\n\nThe house-servant led the way from one room to another, each grander\nthan the one they left behind, until at last he came to a great hall\nwhere dozens of servants were serving a fine feast. But only one man\nsat at table--a young man with a face so sorrowful that it made a body\u2019s\nheart ache to look upon him. \u201cCan you play good music, piper?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the piper, \u201cthat I can, for I know a tune that can cure\nsorrow. But before I blow my pipe I and my friend here must have\nsomething to eat and drink, for one cannot play well with an empty\nstomach.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the young man; \u201csit down with me and eat and drink.\u201d\n\nSo the two did without second bidding, and such food and drink the\nserving-man had never tasted in his life before. And while they were\nfeasting together the young man told them his story, and why it was\nhe was so sad. A year before he had married a young lady, the most\nbeautiful in all that kingdom, and had friends and comrades and all\nthings that a man could desire in the world. But suddenly everything\nwent wrong; his wife and he fell out and quarrelled until there was\nno living together, and she had to go back to her old home. Then his\ncompanions deserted him, and now he lived all alone.\n\n\u201cYours is a hard case,\u201d said the travelling companion, \u201cbut it is not\npast curing.\u201d Thereupon he drew out his pipes and began to play, and\nit was such a tune as no man ever listened to before. He played and he\nplayed, and, after a while, one after another of those who listened to\nhim began to get drowsy. First they winked, then they shut their eyes,\nand then they nodded until all were as dumb as logs, and as sound asleep\nas though they would never waken again. Only the servant and the piper\nstayed awake, for the music did not make them drowsy as it did the rest.\nThen, when all but they two were tight and fast asleep, the travelling\ncompanion arose, tucked away his pipe, and, stepping up to the young\nman, took from off his finger a splendid ruby ring, as red as blood\nand as bright as fire, and popped the same into his pocket. And all the\nwhile the serving-man stood gaping like a fish to see what his comrade\nwas about. \u201cCome,\u201d said the travelling companion, \u201cit is time we were\ngoing,\u201d and off they went, shutting the door behind them.\n\nAs for the serving-man, though he remembered his promise and said\nnothing concerning what he had beheld, his wits buzzed in his head like\na hive of bees, for he thought that of all the ugly tricks he had seen,\nnone was more ugly than this--to bewitch the poor sorrowful young man\ninto a sleep, and then to rob him of his ruby ring after he had fed them\nso well and had treated them so kindly.\n\nBut the next day they jogged on together again until by-and-by they came\nto a great forest. There they wandered up and down till night came upon\nthem and found them still stumbling onward through the darkness, while\nthe poor serving-man\u2019s flesh quaked to hear the wild beasts and the\nwolves growling and howling around them.\n\nBut all the while the angel--his travelling companion--said never a\nword; he seemed to doubt nothing nor fear nothing, but trudged straight\nahead until, by-and-by, they saw a light twinkling far away, and, when\nthey came to it, they found a gloomy stone house, as ugly as eyes ever\nlooked upon. Up stepped the servant\u2019s comrade and knocked upon the\ndoor--rap! tap! tap! By-and-by it was opened a crack, and there stood an\nugly old woman, blear-eyed and crooked and gnarled as a winter twig.\nBut the heart within her was good for all that. \u201cAlas, poor folk!\u201d\n she cried, \u201cwhy do you come here? This is a den where lives a band of\nwicked thieves. Every day they go out to rob and murder poor travellers\nlike yourselves. By-and-by they will come back, and when they find you\nhere they will certainly kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter for that,\u201d said the travelling companion; \u201cwe can go no\nfarther to-night, so you must let us in and hide us as best you may.\u201d\n\nAnd in he went, as he said, with the servant at his heels trembling like\na leaf at what he had heard. The old woman gave them some bread and\nmeat to eat, and then hid them away in the great empty meal-chest in the\ncorner, and there they lay as still as mice.\n\nBy-and-by in came the gang of thieves with a great noise and uproar,\nand down they sat to their supper. The poor servant lay in the chest\nlistening to all they said of the dreadful things they had done that\nday--how they had cruelly robbed and murdered poor people. Every word\nthat they said he heard, and he trembled until his teeth chattered in\nhis head. But all the same the robbers knew nothing of the two being\nthere, and there they lay until near the dawning of the day. Then the\ntravelling companion bade the servant be stirring, and up they got, and\nout of the chest they came, and found all the robbers sound asleep and\nsnoring so that the dust flew.\n\n\u201cStop a bit,\u201d said the angel--the travelling companion--\u201cwe must pay\nthem for our lodging.\u201d\n\nAs he spoke he drew from his pocket the ruby ring which he had stolen\nfrom the sorrowful young man\u2019s finger, and dropped it into the cup from\nwhich the robber captain drank. Then he led the way out of the house,\nand, if the serving-man had wondered the day before at that which the\ncomrade did, he wondered ten times more to see him give so beautiful a\nring to such wicked and bloody thieves.\n\nThe third evening of their journey the two travellers came to a little\nhut, neat enough, but as poor as poverty, and there the comrade knocked\nupon the door and asked for lodging. In the house lived a poor man and\nhis wife; and, though the two were as honest as the palm of your hand,\nand as good and kind as rain in spring-time, they could hardly scrape\nenough of a living to keep body and soul together. Nevertheless, they\nmade the travellers welcome, and set before them the very best that was\nto be had in the house; and, after both had eaten and drunk, they showed\nthem to bed in a corner as clean as snow, and there they slept the night\nthrough.\n\nBut the next morning, before the dawning of the day, the travelling\ncompanion was stirring again. \u201cCome,\u201d said he; \u201crouse yourself, for I\nhave a bit of work to do before I leave this place.\u201d\n\nAnd strange work it was! When they had come outside of the house, he\ngathered together a great heap of straw and sticks of wood, and stuffed\nall under the corner of the house. Then he struck a light and set fire\nto it, and, as the two walked away through the gray dawn, all was a red\nblaze behind them.\n\nStill, the servant remembered his promise to his travelling comrade,\nand said never a word or asked never a question, though all that day he\nwalked on the other side of the road, and would have nothing to say or\nto do with the other. But never a whit did his comrade seem to think\nof or to care for that. On they jogged, and, by the time evening was at\nhand, they had come to a neat cottage with apple and pear trees around\nit, all as pleasant as the eye could desire to see. In this cottage\nlived a widow and her only son, and they also made the travellers\nwelcome, and set before them a good supper and showed them to a clean\nbed.\n\nThis time the travelling comrade did neither good nor ill to those of\nthe house, but in the morning he told the widow whither they were going,\nand asked if she and her son knew the way to the garden where grew the\nfruit of happiness.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cthat we do, for the garden is not a day\u2019s journey from\nhere, and my son himself shall go with you to show you the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is good,\u201d said the servant\u2019s comrade, \u201cand if he will do so I will\npay him well for his trouble.\u201d\n\nSo the young man put on his hat, and took up his stick, and off went the\nthree, up hill and down dale, until by-and-by they came over the top of\nthe last hill, and there below them lay the garden.\n\nAnd what a sight it was, the leaves shining and glistening like so many\njewels in the sunlight! I only wish that I could tell you how beautiful\nthat garden was. And in the middle of it grew a golden tree, and on it\ngolden fruit. The servant, who had travelled so long and so far, could\nsee it plainly from where he stood, and he did not need to be told that\nit was the fruit of happiness. But, after all, all he could do was to\nstand and look, for in front of them was a great raging torrent, without\na bridge for a body to cross over.\n\n\u201cYonder is what you seek,\u201d said the young man, pointing with his finger,\n\u201cand there you can see for yourself the fruit of happiness.\u201d\n\nThe travelling companion said never a word, good or bad, but, suddenly\ncatching the widow\u2019s son by the collar, he lifted him and flung him into\nthe black, rushing water. Splash! went the young man, and then away he\nwent whirling over rocks and water-falls. \u201cThere!\u201d cried the comrade,\n\u201cthat is your reward for your service!\u201d\n\nWhen the servant saw this cruel, wicked deed, he found his tongue at\nlast, and all that he had bottled up for the seven days came frothing\nout of him like hot beer. Such abuse as he showered upon his travelling\ncompanion no man ever listened to before. But to all the servant said\nthe other answered never a word until he had stopped for sheer want of\nbreath. Then--\n\n\u201cPoor fool,\u201d said the travelling companion, \u201cif you had only held your\ntongue a minute longer, you, too, would have had the fruit of happiness\nin your hand. Now it will be many a day before you have a sight of it\nagain.\u201d\n\nThereupon, as he ended speaking, he struck his staff upon the ground.\nInstantly the earth trembled, and the sky darkened overhead until it\ngrew as black as night. Then came a great flash of fire from up in the\nsky, which wrapped the travelling companion about until he was hidden\nfrom sight. Then the flaming fire flew away to heaven again, carrying\nhim along with it. After that the sky cleared once more, and, lo and\nbehold! The garden and the torrent and all were gone, and nothing was\nleft but a naked plain covered over with the bones of those who had\ncome that way before, seeking the fruit which the travelling servant had\nsought.\n\nIt was a long time before the servant found his way back into the world\nagain, and the first house he came to, weak and hungry, was the widow\u2019s.\n\nBut what a change he beheld! It was a poor cottage no longer, but a\nsplendid palace, fit for a queen to dwell in. The widow herself met him\nat the door, and she was dressed in clothes fit for a queen to wear,\nshining with gold and silver and precious stones.\n\nThe servant stood and stared like one bereft of wits. \u201cHow comes all\nthis change?\u201d said he, \u201cand how did you get all these grand things?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said the widow woman, \u201chas just been to the garden, and\nhas brought home from there the fruit of happiness. Many a day did we\nsearch, but never could we find how to enter into the garden, until, the\nother day, an angel came and showed the way to my son, and he was able\nnot only to gather of the fruit for himself, but to bring an apple for\nme also.\u201d\n\nThen the poor travelling servant began to thump his head. He saw well\nenough through the millstone now, and that he, too, might have had one\nof the fruit if he had but held his tongue a little longer.\n\nYes, he saw what a fool he had made of himself, when he learned that it\nwas an angel with whom he had been travelling the five days gone.\n\nBut, then, we are all of us like the servant for the matter of that; I,\ntoo, have travelled with an angel many a day, I dare say, and never knew\nit.\n\nThat night the servant lodged with the widow and her son, and the next\nday he started back home again upon the way he had travelled before.\nBy evening he had reached the place where the house of the poor couple\nstood--the house that he had seen the angel set fire to. There he beheld\nmasons and carpenters hard at work hacking and hewing, and building a\nfine new house. And there he saw the poor man himself standing by giving\nthem orders. \u201cHow is this,\u201d said the travelling servant; \u201cI thought that\nyour house was burned down?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo it was, and that is how I came to be rich now,\u201d said the one-time\npoor man. \u201cI and my wife had lived in our old house for many a long\nday, and never knew that a great treasure of silver and gold was hidden\nbeneath it, until a few days ago there came an angel and burned it down\nover our heads, and in the morning we found the treasure. So now we are\nrich for as long as we may live.\u201d\n\nThe next morning the poor servant jogged along on his homeward way more\nsad and downcast than ever, and by evening he had come to the robbers\u2019\nden in the thick woods, and there the old woman came running to the door\nto meet him. \u201cCome in!\u201d cried she; \u201ccome in and welcome! The robbers are\nall dead and gone now, and I use the treasure that they left behind to\nentertain poor travellers like yourself. The other day there came an\nangel hither, and with him he brought the ring of discord that breeds\nspite and rage and quarrelling. He gave it to the captain of the band,\nand after he had gone the robbers fought for it with one another until\nthey were all killed. So now the world is rid of them, and travellers\ncan come and go as they please.\u201d\n\nBack jogged the travelling servant, and the next day came to the town\nand to the house of the sorrowful young man. There, lo and behold!\nInstead of being dark and silent, as it was before, all was ablaze\nwith light and noisy with the sound of rejoicing and merriment. There\nhappened to be one of the household standing at the door, and he knew\nthe servant as the companion of that one who had stolen the ruby ring.\nUp he came and laid hold of the servant by the collar, calling to his\ncompanions that he had caught one of the thieves. Into the house they\nhauled the poor servant, and into the same room where he had been\nbefore, and there sat the young man at a grand feast, with his wife\nand all his friends around him. But when the young man saw the poor\nserving-man he came to him and took him by the hand, and set him beside\nhimself at the table. \u201cNobody except your comrade could be so welcome\nas you,\u201d said he, \u201cand this is why. An enemy of mine one time gave me a\nruby ring, and though I knew nothing of it, it was the ring of discord\nthat bred strife wherever it came. So, as soon as it was brought\ninto the house, my wife and all my friends fell out with me, and we\nquarrelled so that they all left me. But, though I knew it not at that\ntime, your comrade was an angel, and took the ring away with him, and\nnow I am as happy as I was sorrowful before.\u201d\n\nBy the next night the servant had come back to his home again. Rap! tap!\ntap! He knocked at the door, and the wise man who had been his master\nopened to him. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI want to take service with you again,\u201d said the travelling servant.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the wise man; \u201ccome in and shut the door.\u201d\n\nAnd for all I know the travelling servant is there to this day. For he\nis not the only one in the world who has come in sight of the fruit of\nhappiness, and then jogged all the way back home again to cook cabbage\nand onions and pot-herbs, and to make broth for wiser men than himself\nto sup.\n\nThat is the end of this story.\n\n\n\u201cI like your story, holy sir,\u201d said the Blacksmith who made Death sit in\na pear-tree. \u201cNe\u2019th\u2019less, it hath indeed somewhat the smack of a sermon,\nafter all. Methinks I am like my friend yonder,\u201d and he pointed with\nhis thumb towards Fortunatus; \u201cI like to hear a story about treasures of\nsilver and gold, and about kings and princes--a story that turneth out\nwell in the end, with everybody happy, and the man himself married in\nluck, rather than one that turneth out awry, even if it hath an angel in\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d said St. George, testily, \u201cone cannot please everybody.\nBut as for being a sermon, why, certes, my story was not that--and even\nif it were, it would not have hurt thee, sirrah.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo offence,\u201d said the Blacksmith; \u201cI meant not to speak ill of your\nstory. Come, come, sir, will you not take a pot of ale with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said St. George, somewhat mollified, \u201cfor the matter of that, I\nwould as lief as not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI liked the story well enough,\u201d piped up the little Tailor who had\nkilled seven flies at a blow. \u201cTwas a good enough story of its sort, but\nwhy does nobody tell a tale of good big giants, and of wild boars, and\nof unicorns, such as I killed in my adventures you wot of?\u201d\n\nOld Ali Baba had been sitting with his hands folded and his eyes closed.\nNow he opened them and looked at the Little Tailor. \u201cI know a story,\u201d\n said he, \u201cabout a Genie who was as big as a giant, and six times as\npowerful. And besides that,\u201d he added, \u201cthe story is all about treasures\nof gold, and palaces, and kings, and emperors, and what not, and about\na cave such as that in which I myself found the treasure of the forty\nthieves.\u201d\n\nThe Blacksmith who made Death sit in the pear-tree clattered the bottom\nof his canican against the table. \u201cAye, aye,\u201d said he, \u201cthat is the sort\nof story for me. Come, friend, let us have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop a bit,\u201d said Fortunatus; \u201cwhat is this story mostly about?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said Ali Baba, \u201cabout two men betwixt whom there was--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nNot a Pin to Choose.\n\nOnce upon a time, in a country in the far East, a merchant was\ntravelling towards the city with three horses loaded with rich goods,\nand a purse containing a hundred pieces of gold money. The day was very\nhot, and the road dusty and dry, so that, by-and-by, when he reached a\nspot where a cool, clear spring of water came bubbling out from under\na rock beneath the shade of a wide-spreading wayside tree, he was glad\nenough to stop and refresh himself with a draught of the clear coolness\nand rest awhile. But while he stooped to drink at the fountain the purse\nof gold fell from his girdle into the tall grass, and he, not seeing it,\nlet it lie there, and went his way.\n\nNow it chanced that two fagot-makers--the elder by name Ali, the younger\nAbdallah--who had been in the woods all day chopping fagots, came also\ntravelling the same way, and stopped at the same fountain to drink.\nThere the younger of the two spied the purse lying in the grass, and\npicked it up. But when he opened it and found it full of gold money, he\nwas like one bereft of wits; he flung his arms, he danced, he shouted,\nhe laughed, he acted like a madman; for never had he seen so much wealth\nin all of his life before--a hundred pieces of gold money!\n\nNow the older of the two was by nature a merry wag, and though he had\nnever had the chance to taste of pleasure, he thought that nothing in\nthe world could be better worth spending money for than wine and music\nand dancing. So, when the evening had come, he proposed that they\ntwo should go and squander it all at the Inn. But the younger\nfellow--Abdallah--was by nature just as thrifty as the other was\nspendthrift, and would not consent to waste what he had found.\nNevertheless, he was generous and open-hearted, and grudged his friend\nnothing; so, though he did not care for a wild life himself, he gave Ali\na piece of gold to spend as he chose.\n\nBy morning every copper of what had been given to the elder fagot-maker\nwas gone, and he had never had such a good time in his life before. All\nthat day and for a week the head of Ali was so full of the memory of the\nmerry night that he had enjoyed that he could think of nothing else.\nAt last, one evening, he asked Abdallah for another piece of gold, and\nAbdallah gave it to him, and by the next morning it had vanished in the\nsame way that the other had flown. By-and-by Ali borrowed a third piece\nof money, and then a fourth and then a fifth, so that by the time that\nsix months had passed and gone he had spent thirty of the hundred pieces\nthat had been found, and in all that time Abdallah had used not so much\nas a pistareen.\n\nBut when Ali came for the thirty-and-first loan, Abdallah refused to\nlet him have any more money. It was in vain that the elder begged and\nimplored--the younger abided by what he had said.\n\nThen Ali began to put on a threatening front. \u201cYou will not let me have\nthe money?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cNo, I will not.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you shall!\u201d cried Ali; and, so saying, caught the younger\nfagot-maker by the throat, and began shaking him and shouting, \u201cHelp!\nHelp! I am robbed! I am robbed!\u201d He made such an uproar that half a\nhundred men, women, and children were gathered around them in less than\na minute. \u201cHere is ingratitude for you!\u201d cried Ali. \u201cHere is wickedness\nand thievery! Look at this wretch, all good men, and then turn away\nyour eyes! For twelve years have I lived with this young man as a father\nmight live with a son, and now how does he repay me? He has stolen all\nthat I have in the world--a purse of seventy sequins of gold.\u201d\n\nAll this while poor Abdallah had been so amazed that he could do nothing\nbut stand and stare like one stricken dumb; whereupon all the people,\nthinking him guilty, dragged him off to the judge, reviling him and\nheaping words of abuse upon him.\n\nNow the judge of that town was known far and near as the \u201cWise Judge\u201d;\nbut never had he had such a knotty question as this brought up before\nhim, for by this time Abdallah had found his speech, and swore with a\ngreat outcry that the money belonged to him.\n\nBut at last a gleam of light came to the Wise Judge in his perplexity.\n\u201cCan any one tell me,\u201d said he, \u201cwhich of these fellows has had money of\nlate, and which has had none?\u201d\n\nHis question was one easily enough answered; a score of people were\nthere to testify that the elder of the two had been living well and\nspending money freely for six months and more, and a score were also\nthere to swear that Abdallah had lived all the while in penury. \u201cThen\nthat decides the matter,\u201d said the Wise Judge. \u201cThe money belongs to the\nelder fagot-maker.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut listen, oh my lord judge!\u201d cried Abdallah. \u201cAll that this man has\nspent I have given to him--I, who found the money. Yes, my lord, I have\ngiven it to him, and myself have spent not so much as single mite.\u201d\n\nAll who were present shouted with laughter at Abdallah\u2019s speech, for\nwho would believe that any one would be so generous as to spend all upon\nanother and none upon himself?\n\nSo poor Abdallah was beaten with rods until he confessed where he had\nhidden his money; then the Wise Judge handed fifty sequins to Ali and\nkept twenty himself for his decision, and all went their way praising\nhis justice and judgment.\n\nThat is to say, all but poor Abdallah; he went to his home weeping and\nwailing, and with every one pointing the finger of scorn at him. He was\njust as poor as ever, and his back was sore with the beating that he\nhad suffered. All that night he continued to weep and wail, and when the\nmorning had come he was weeping and wailing still.\n\nNow it chanced that a wise man passed that way, and hearing his\nlamentation, stopped to inquire the cause of his trouble. Abdallah told\nthe other of his sorrow, and the wise man listened, smiling, till he was\ndone, and then he laughed outright. \u201cMy son,\u201d said he, \u201cif every one in\nyour case should shed tears as abundantly as you have done, the world\nwould have been drowned in salt water by this time. As for your friend,\nthink not ill of him; no man loveth another who is always giving.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the young fagot-maker, \u201cI believe not a word of what\nyou say. Had I been in his place I would have been grateful for the\nbenefits, and not have hated the giver.\u201d\n\nBut the wise man only laughed louder than ever. \u201cMaybe you will have the\nchance to prove what you say some day,\u201d said he, and went his way, still\nshaking with his merriment.\n\n\u201cAll this,\u201d said Ali Baba, \u201cis only the beginning of my story; and now\nif the damsel will fill up my pot of ale, I will begin in earnest and\ntell about the cave of the Genie.\u201d\n\nHe watched Little Brown Betty until she had filled his mug, and the\nfroth ran over the top. Then he took a deep draught and began again.\n\nThough Abdallah had affirmed that he did not believe what the wise man\nhad said, nevertheless the words of the other were a comfort, for it\nmakes one feel easier in trouble to be told that others have been in a\nlike case with one\u2019s self.\n\nSo, by-and-by, Abdallah plucked up some spirit, and, saddling his\nass and shouldering his axe, started off to the woods for a bundle of\nfagots.\n\nMisfortunes, they say, never come single, and so it seemed to be with\nthe fagot-maker that day; for that happened that had never happened to\nhim before--he lost his way in the woods. On he went, deeper and deeper\ninto the thickets, driving his ass before him, bewailing himself and\nrapping his head with his knuckles. But all his sorrowing helped him\nnothing, and by the time that night fell he found himself deep in the\nmidst of a great forest full of wild beasts, the very thought of which\ncurdled his blood. He had had nothing to eat all day long, and now\nthe only resting-place left him was the branches of some tree. So,\nunsaddling his ass and leaving it to shift for itself, he climbed to and\nroosted himself in the crotch of a great limb.\n\nIn spite of his hunger he presently fell asleep, for trouble breeds\nweariness as it breeds grief.\n\nAbout the dawning of the day he was awakened by the sound of voices and\nthe glaring of lights. He craned his neck and looked down, and there he\nsaw a sight that filled him with amazement: three old men riding each\nupon a milk-white horse and each bearing a lighted torch in his hand, to\nlight the way through the dark forest.\n\nWhen they had come just below where Abdallah sat, they dismounted and\nfastened their several horses to as many trees. Then he who rode first\nof the three, and who wore a red cap and who seemed to be the chief of\nthem, walked solemnly up to a great rock that stood in the hillside,\nand, breaking a switch from a shrub that grew in a cleft, struck the\nface of the stone, crying in a loud voice, \u201cI command thee to open, in\nthe name of the red Aldebaran!\u201d\n\nInstantly, creaking and groaning, the face of the rock opened like\na door, gaping blackly. Then, one after another, the three old men\nentered, and nothing was left but the dull light of their torches,\nshining on the walls of the passage-way.\n\nWhat happened inside the cavern the fagot-maker could neither see nor\nhear, but minute after minute passed while he sat as in a maze at all\nthat had happened. Then presently he heard a deep thundering voice and\na voice as of one of the old men in answer. Then there came a sound\nswelling louder and louder, as though a great crowd of people were\ngathering together, and with the voices came the noise of the neighing\nof horses and the trampling of hoofs. Then at last there came pouring\nfrom out the rock a great crowd of horses laden with bales and bundles\nof rich stuffs and chests and caskets of gold and silver and jewels,\nand each horse was led by a slave clad in a dress of cloth-of-gold,\nsparkling and glistening with precious gems. When all these had come\nout from the cavern, other horses followed, upon each of which sat\na beautiful damsel, more lovely than the fancy of man could picture.\nBeside the damsels marched a guard, each man clad in silver armor, and\neach bearing a drawn sword that flashed in the brightening day more\nkeenly than the lightning. So they all came pouring forth from the\ncavern until it seemed as though the whole woods below were filled with\nthe wealth and the beauty of King Solomon\u2019s day--and then, last of all,\ncame the three old men.\n\n\u201cIn the name of the red Aldebaran,\u201d said he who had bidden the rock to\nopen, \u201cI command thee to become closed.\u201d Again, creaking and groaning,\nthe rock shut as it had opened--like a door--and the three old men,\nmounting their horses, led the way from the woods, the others following.\nThe noise and confusion of the many voices shouting and calling, the\ntrample and stamp of horses, grew fainter and fainter, until at last\nall was once more hushed and still, and only the fagot-maker was left\nbehind, still staring like one dumb and bereft of wits.\n\nBut so soon as he was quite sure that all were really gone, he clambered\ndown as quickly as might be. He waited for a while to make doubly sure\nthat no one was left behind, and then he walked straight up to the rock,\njust as he had seen the old man do. He plucked a switch from the bush,\njust as he had seen the old man pluck one, and struck the stone, just\nas the old man had struck it. \u201cI command thee to open,\u201d said he, \u201cin the\nname of the red Aldebaran!\u201d\n\nInstantly, as it had done in answer to the old man\u2019s command, there came\na creaking and a groaning, and the rock slowly opened like a door, and\nthere was the passageway yawning before him. For a moment or two the\nfagot-maker hesitated to enter; but all was as still as death, and\nfinally he plucked up courage and went within.\n\nBy this time the day was brightening and the sun rising, and by the gray\nlight the fagot-maker could see about him pretty clearly. Not a sign was\nto be seen of horses or of treasure or of people--nothing but a square\nblock of marble, and upon it a black casket, and upon that again a gold\nring, in which was set a blood-red stone. Beyond these things there was\nnothing; the walls were bare, the roof was bare, the floor was bare--all\nwas bare and naked stone.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the wood-chopper, \u201cas the old men have taken everything\nelse, I might as well take these things. The ring is certainly worth\nsomething, and maybe I shall be able to sell the casket for a trifle\ninto the bargain.\u201d So he slipped the ring upon his finger, and, taking\nup the casket, left the place. \u201cI command thee to be closed,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cin the name of the red Aldebaran!\u201d And thereupon the door closed,\ncreaking and groaning.\n\nAfter a little while he found his ass, saddled it and bridled it, and\nloaded it with the bundle of fagots that he had chopped the day before,\nand then set off again to try to find his way out of the thick woods.\nBut still his luck was against him, and the farther he wandered the\ndeeper he found himself in the thickets. In the meantime he was like to\ndie of hunger, for he had not a bite to eat for more than a whole day.\n\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cthere may be something in the casket to\nstay my stomach;\u201d and, so saying, he sat him down, unlocked the casket,\nand raised the lid.\n\nSuch a yell as the poor wretch uttered ears never heard before. Over\nhe rolled upon his back and there lay staring with wide eyes, and away\nscampered the jackass, kicking up his heels and braying so that the\nleaves of the trees trembled and shook. For no sooner had he lifted the\nlid than out leaped a great hideous Genie, as black as a coal, with one\nfiery-red eye in the middle of his forehead that glared and rolled most\nhorribly, and with his hands and feet set with claws, sharp and hooked\nlike the talons of a hawk. Poor Abdallah the fagot-maker lay upon his\nback staring at the monster with a face as white as wax.\n\n\u201cWhat are thy commands?\u201d said the Genie in a terrible voice, that\nrumbled like the sound of thunder.\n\n\u201cI--I do not know,\u201d said Abdallah, trembling and shaking as with an\nague. \u201cI--I have forgotten.\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk what thou wilt,\u201d said the Genie, \u201cfor I must ever obey whomsoever\nhast the ring that thou wearest upon thy finger. Hath my lord nothing to\ncommand wherein I may serve him?\u201d\n\nAbdallah shook his head. \u201cNo,\u201d said he, \u201cthere is\nnothing--unless--unless you will bring me something to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie. \u201cWhat will my lord be pleased to\nhave?\u201d\n\n\u201cJust a little bread and cheese,\u201d said Abdallah.\n\nThe Genie waved his hand, and in an instant a fine damask napkin lay\nspread upon the ground, and upon it a loaf of bread as white as snow and\na piece of cheese such as the king would have been glad to taste. But\nAbdallah could do nothing but sit staring at the Genie, for the sight of\nthe monster quite took away his appetite.\n\n\u201cWhat more can I do to serve thee?\u201d asked the Genie.\n\n\u201cI think,\u201d said Abdallah, \u201cthat I could eat more comfortably if you were\naway.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie. \u201cWhither shall I go? Shall I enter\nthe casket again?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d said the fagot-maker; \u201chow did you come to be there?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a great Genie,\u201d answered the monster, \u201cand was conjured thither\nby the great King Solomon, whose seal it is that thou wearest upon thy\nfinger. For a certain fault that I committed I was confined in the box\nand hidden in the cavern where thou didst find me to-day. There I lay\nfor thousands of years until one day three old magicians discovered\nthe secret of where I lay hidden. It was they who only this morning\ncompelled me to give them that vast treasure which thou sawest them take\naway from the cavern not long since.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why did they not take you and the box and the ring away also?\u201d\n asked Abdallah.\n\n\u201cBecause,\u201d answered the Genie, \u201cthey are three brothers, and neither two\ncare to trust the other one with such power as the ring has to give, so\nthey made a solemn compact among themselves that I should remain in the\ncavern, and that no one of the three should visit it without the other\ntwo in his company. Now, my lord, if it is thy will that I shall enter\nthe casket again I must even obey thy command in that as in all things;\nbut, if it please thee, I would fain rejoin my own kind again--they from\nwhom I have been parted for so long. Shouldst thou permit me to do so\nI will still be thy slave, for thou hast only to press the red stone in\nthe ring and repeat these words: By the red Aldebaran, I command thee\nto come,\u2019 and I will be with thee instantly. But if I have my freedom\nI shall serve thee from gratitude and love, and not from compulsion and\nwith fear.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it!\u201d said Abdallah. \u201cI have no choice in the matter, and thou\nmayest go whither it pleases thee.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had the words left his lips than the Genie gave a great cry\nof rejoicing, so piercing that it made Abdallah\u2019s flesh creep, and then,\nfetching the black casket a kick that sent it flying over the tree tops,\nvanished instantly.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d quote Abdallah, when he had caught his breath from his\namazement, \u201cthese are the most wonderful things that have happened to\nme in all of my life.\u201d And thereupon he fell to at the bread and cheese,\nand ate as only a hungry man can eat. When he had finished the last\ncrumb he wiped his mouth with the napkin, and, stretching his arms, felt\nwithin him that he was like a new man.\n\nNevertheless, he was still lost in the woods, and now not even with his\nass for comradeship.\n\nHe had wandered for quite a little while before he bethought himself of\nthe Genie. \u201cWhat a fool am I,\u201d said he, \u201cnot to have asked him to help\nme while he was here.\u201d He pressed his finger upon the ring, and cried in\na loud voice, \u201cBy the red Aldebaran, I command thee to come!\u201d\n\nInstantly the Genie stood before him--big, black, ugly, and grim. \u201cWhat\nare my lord\u2019s commands?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI command thee,\u201d said Abdallah the fagot-maker, who was not half\nso frightened at the sight of the monster this time as he had been\nbefore--\u201cI command thee to help me out of this woods.\u201d\n\nHardly were the words out of his mouth when the Genie snatched Abdallah\nup, and, flying swifter than the lightning, set him down in the middle\nof the highway on the outskirts of the forest before he had fairly\ncaught his breath.\n\nWhen he did gather his wits and looked about him, he knew very well\nwhere he was, and that he was upon the road that led to the city. At the\nsight his heart grew light within him, and off he stepped briskly for\nhome again.\n\nBut the sun shone hot and the way was warm and dusty, and before\nAbdallah had gone very far the sweat was running down his face in\nstreams. After a while he met a rich husband-man riding easily along on\nan ambling nag, and when Abdallah saw him he rapped his head with his\nknuckles. \u201cWhy did I not think to ask the Genie for a horse?\u201d said he.\n\u201cI might just as well have ridden as to have walked, and that upon\na horse a hundred times more beautiful than the one that that fellow\nrides.\u201d\n\nHe stepped into the thicket beside the way, where he might be out of\nsight, and there pressed the stone in his ring, and at his bidding the\nGenie stood before him.\n\n\u201cWhat are my lord\u2019s commands?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI would like to have a noble horse to ride upon,\u201d said Abdallah--\u201ca\nhorse such as a king might use.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hear is to obey,\u201d said the Genie; and, stretching out his hand,\nthere stood before Abdallah a magnificent Arab horse, with a saddle and\nbridle studded with precious stones, and with housings of gold. \u201cCan I\ndo aught to serve my lord further?\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cNot just now,\u201d said Abdallah; \u201cif I have further use for you I will\ncall you.\u201d\n\nThe Genie bowed his head and was gone like a flash, and Abdallah mounted\nhis horse and rode off upon his way. But he had not gone far before\nhe drew rein suddenly. \u201cHow foolish must I look,\u201d said he, \u201cto be thus\nriding along the high-road upon this noble steed, and I myself clad in\nfagot-maker\u2019s rags.\u201d Thereupon he turned his horse into the thicket, and\nagain summoned the Genie. \u201cI should like,\u201d said he, \u201cto have a suit of\nclothes fit for a king to wear.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord shall have that which he desires,\u201d said the Genie. He stretched\nout his hand, and in an instant there lay across his arm raiment such\nas the eyes of man never saw before--stiff with pearls, and blazing with\ndiamonds and rubies and emeralds and sapphires. The Genie himself aided\nAbdallah to dress, and when he looked down he felt, for the time, quite\nsatisfied.\n\nHe rode a little farther. Then suddenly he bethought himself, \u201cWhat a\nsilly spectacle shall I cut in the town with no money in my purse and\nwith such fine clothes upon my back.\u201d Once more the Genie was summoned.\n\u201cI should like,\u201d said the fagot-maker, \u201cto have a box full of money.\u201d\n\nThe Genie stretched out his hand, and in it was a casket of\nmother-of-pearl inlaid with gold and full of money. \u201cHas my lord any\nfurther commands for his servant?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered Abdallah. \u201cStop--I have, too,\u201d he added. \u201cYes; I would\nlike to have a young man to carry my money for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is here,\u201d said the Genie. And there stood a beautiful youth clad in\nclothes of silver tissue, and holding a milk-white horse by the bridle.\n\n\u201cStay, Genie,\u201d said Abdallah. \u201cWhilst thou art here thou mayest as\nwell give me enough at once to last me a long time to come. Let me have\neleven more caskets of money like this one, and eleven more slaves to\ncarry the same.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are here,\u201d said the Genie; and as he spoke there stood eleven more\nyouths before Abdallah, as like the first as so many pictures of the\nsame person, and each youth bore in his hands a box like the one that\nthe monster had given Abdallah. \u201cWill my lord have anything further?\u201d\n asked the Genie.\n\n\u201cLet me think,\u201d said Abdallah. \u201cYes; I know the town well, and that\nshould one so rich as I ride into it without guards he would be certain\nto be robbed before he had travelled a hundred paces. Let me have an\nescort of a hundred armed men.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said the Genie, and, waving his hand, the road where\nthey stood was instantly filled with armed men, with swords and helmets\ngleaming and flashing in the sun, and all seated upon magnificently\ncaparisoned horses. \u201cCan I serve my lord further?\u201d asked the Genie.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Abdallah the fagot-maker, in admiration, \u201cI have nothing more\nto wish for in this world. Thou mayest go, Genie, and it will be long\nere I will have to call thee again,\u201d and thereupon the Genie was gone\nlike a flash.\n\nThe captain of Abdallah\u2019s troop--a bearded warrior clad in a superb suit\nof armor--rode up to the fagot-maker, and, leaping from his horse and\nbowing before him so that his forehead touched the dust, said, \u201cWhither\nshall we ride, my lord?\u201d\n\nAbdallah smote his forehead with vexation. \u201cIf I live a thousand years,\u201d\n said he, \u201cI will never learn wisdom.\u201d Thereupon, dismounting again, he\npressed the ring and summoned the Genie. \u201cI was mistaken,\u201d said he, \u201cas\nto not wanting thee so soon. I would have thee build me in the city a\nmagnificent palace, such as man never looked upon before, and let it be\nfull from top to bottom with rich stuffs and treasures of all sorts. And\nlet it have gardens and fountains and terraces fitting for such a place,\nand let it be meetly served with slaves, both men and women, the most\nbeautiful that are to be found in all the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there aught else that thou wouldst have?\u201d asked the Genie.\n\nThe fagot-maker meditated a long time. \u201cI can bethink myself of nothing\nmore just now,\u201d said he.\n\nThe Genie turned to the captain of the troop and said some words to him\nin a strange tongue, and then in a moment was gone. The captain gave the\norder to march, and away they all rode with Abdallah in the midst. \u201cWho\nwould have thought,\u201d said he, looking around him, with the heart within\nhim swelling with pride as though it would burst--\u201cwho would have\nthought that only this morning I was a poor fagot-maker, lost in the\nwoods and half starved to death? Surely there is nothing left for me to\nwish for in this world!\u201d\n\nAbdallah was talking of something he knew nothing of.\n\nNever before was such a sight seen in that country, as Abdallah and\nhis troop rode through the gates and into the streets of the city.\nBut dazzling and beautiful as were those who rode attendant upon him,\nAbdallah the fagot-maker surpassed them all as the moon dims the lustre\nof the stars. The people crowded around shouting with wonder, and\nAbdallah, in the fulness of his delight, gave orders to the slaves who\nbore the caskets of money to open them and to throw the gold to the\npeople. So, with those in the streets scrambling and fighting for the\nmoney and shouting and cheering, and others gazing down at the spectacle\nfrom the windows and house-tops, the fagot-maker and his troop rode\nslowly along through the town.\n\nNow it chanced that their way led along past the royal palace, and the\nprincess, hearing all the shouting and the hubbub, looked over the edge\nof the balcony and down into the street. At the same moment Abdallah\nchanced to look up, and their eyes met. Thereupon the fagot-maker\u2019s\nheart crumbled away within him, for she was the most beautiful princess\nin all the world. Her eyes were as black as night, her hair like threads\nof fine silk, her neck like alabaster, and her lips and her cheeks as\nsoft and as red as rose-leaves. When she saw that Abdallah was looking\nat her she dropped the curtain of the balcony and was gone, and the\nfagot-maker rode away, sighing like a furnace.\n\nSo, by-and-by, he came to his palace, which was built all of marble\nas white as snow, and which was surrounded with gardens, shaded by\nflowering trees, and cooled by the plashing of fountains. From the\ngateway to the door of the palace a carpet of cloth-of-gold had been\nspread for him to walk upon, and crowds of slaves stood waiting to\nreceive him. But for all these glories Abdallah cared nothing; he hardly\nlooked about him, but, going straight to his room, pressed his ring and\nsummoned the Genie.\n\n\u201cWhat is it that my lord would have?\u201d asked the monster.\n\n\u201cOh, Genie!\u201d said poor Abdallah, \u201cI would have the princess for my wife,\nfor without her I am like to die.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord\u2019s commands,\u201d said the Genie, \u201cshall be executed if I have to\ntear down the city to do so. But perhaps this behest is not so hard to\nfulfil. First of all, my lord will have to have an ambassador to send to\nthe king.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Abdallah with a sigh; \u201clet me have an ambassador or\nwhatever may be necessary. Only make haste, Genie, in thy doings.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall lose no time,\u201d said the Genie; and in a moment was gone.\n\nThe king was sitting in council with all of the greatest lords of the\nland gathered about him, for the Emperor of India had declared war\nagainst him, and he and they were in debate, discussing how the country\nwas to be saved. Just then Abdallah\u2019s ambassador arrived, and when he\nand his train entered the council-chamber all stood up to receive him,\nfor the least of those attendant upon him was more magnificently attired\nthan the king himself, and was bedecked with such jewels as the royal\ntreasury could not match.\n\nKneeling before the king, the ambassador touched the ground with his\nforehead. Then, still kneeling, he unrolled a scroll, written in letters\nof gold, and from it read the message asking for the princess to wife\nfor the Lord Abdallah.\n\nWhen he had ended, the king sat for a while stroking his beard and\nmeditating. But before he spoke the oldest lord of the council arose and\nsaid: \u201cO sire! If this Lord Abdallah who asks for the princess for his\nwife can send such a magnificent company in the train of his ambassador,\nmay it not be that he may be able also to help you in your war against\nthe Emperor of India?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue!\u201d said the king. Then turning to the ambassador: \u201cTell your\nmaster,\u201d said he, \u201cthat if he will furnish me with an army of one\nhundred thousand men, to aid me in the war against the Emperor of India,\nhe shall have my daughter for his wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d said the ambassador, \u201cI will answer now for my master, and the\nanswer shall be this: That he will help you with an army, not of one\nhundred thousand, but of two hundred thousand men. And if to-morrow you\nwill be pleased to ride forth to the plain that lieth to the south of\nthe city, my Lord Abdallah will meet you there with his army.\u201d Then,\nonce more bowing, he withdrew from the council-chamber, leaving all them\nthat were there amazed at what had happened.\n\nSo the next day the king and all his court rode out to the place\nappointed. As they drew near they saw that the whole face of the plain\nwas covered with a mighty host, drawn up in troops and squadrons. As the\nking rode towards this vast army, Abdallah met him, surrounded by his\ngenerals. He dismounted and would have kneeled, but the king would not\npermit him, but, raising him, kissed him upon the cheek, calling him\nson. Then the king and Abdallah rode down before the ranks and the whole\narmy waved their swords, and the flashing of the sunlight on the blades\nwas like lightning, and they shouted, and the noise was like the pealing\nof thunder.\n\nBefore Abdallah marched off to the wars he and the princess were\nmarried, and for a whole fortnight nothing was heard but the sound of\nrejoicing. The city was illuminated from end to end, and all of the\nfountains ran with wine instead of water. And of all those who rejoiced,\nnone was so happy as the princess, for never had she seen one whom\nshe thought so grand and noble and handsome as her husband. After the\nfortnight had passed and gone, the army marched away to the wars with\nAbdallah at its head.\n\nVictory after victory followed, for in every engagement the Emperor of\nIndia\u2019s troops were driven from the field. In two months\u2019 time the war\nwas over and Abdallah marched back again--the greatest general in the\nworld. But it was no longer as Abdallah that he was known, but as the\nEmperor of India, for the former emperor had been killed in the war, and\nAbdallah had set the crown upon his own head.\n\nThe little taste that he had had of conquest had given him an appetite\nfor more, so that with the armies the Genie provided him he conquered\nall the neighboring countries and brought them under his rule. So he\nbecame the greatest emperor in all the world; kings and princes kneeled\nbefore him, and he, Abdallah, the fagot-maker, looking about him, could\nsay: \u201cNo one in all the world is so great as I!\u201d\n\nCould he desire anything more?\n\nYes; he did! He desired to be rid of the Genie!\n\nWhen he thought of how all that he was in power and might--he, the\nEmperor of the World--how all his riches and all his glory had come\nas gifts from a hideous black monster with only one eye, his heart was\nfilled with bitterness. \u201cI cannot forget,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cthat\nas he has given me all these things, he may take them all away again.\nSuppose that I should lose my ring and that some one else should find\nit; who knows but that they might become as great as I, and strip me\nof everything, as I have stripped others. Yes; I wish he was out of the\nway!\u201d\n\nOnce, when such thoughts as these were passing through his mind, he was\npaying a visit to his father-in-law, the king. He was walking up and\ndown the terrace of the garden meditating on these matters, when,\nleaning over a wall and looking down into the street, he saw a\nfagot-maker--just such a fagot-maker as he himself had one time\nbeen--driving an ass--just such an ass as he had one time driven. The\nfagot-maker carried something under his arm, and what should it be but\nthe very casket in which the Genie had once been imprisoned, and\nwhich he--the one-time fagot-maker--had seen the Genie kick over the\ntree-tops.\n\nThe sight of the casket put a sudden thought into his mind. He shouted\nto his attendants, and bade them haste and bring the fagot-maker to\nhim. Off they ran, and in a little while came dragging the poor wretch,\ntrembling and as white as death; for he thought nothing less than that\nhis end had certainly come. As soon as those who had seized him had\nloosened their hold, he flung himself prostrate at the feet of the\nEmperor Abdallah, and there lay like one dead.\n\n\u201cWhere didst thou get yonder casket?\u201d asked the emperor.\n\n\u201cOh, my lord!\u201d croaked the poor fagot-maker, \u201cI found it out yonder in\nthe woods.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to me,\u201d said the emperor, \u201cand my treasurer shall count thee\nout a thousand pieces of gold in exchange.\u201d\n\nSo soon as he had the casket safe in his hands he hurried away to his\nprivy chamber, and there pressed the red stone in his ring. \u201cIn the\nname of the red Aldebaran, I command thee to appear!\u201d said he, and in a\nmoment the Genie stood before him.\n\n\u201cWhat are my lord\u2019s commands?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI would have thee enter this casket again,\u201d said the Emperor Abdallah.\n\n\u201cEnter the casket!\u201d cried the Genie, aghast.\n\n\u201cEnter the casket.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn what have I done anything to offend my lord?\u201d said the Genie.\n\n\u201cIn nothing,\u201d said the emperor; \u201conly I would have thee enter the casket\nagain as thou wert when I first found thee.\u201d\n\nIt was in vain that the Genie begged and implored for mercy, it was in\nvain that he reminded Abdallah of all that he had done to benefit him;\nthe great emperor stood as hard as a rock--into the casket the Genie\nmust and should go. So at last into the casket the monster went,\nbellowing most lamentably.\n\nThe Emperor Abdallah shut the lid of the casket, and locked it and\nsealed it with his seal. Then, hiding it under his cloak, he bore it out\ninto the garden and to a deep well, and, first making sure that nobody\nwas by to see, dropped casket and Genie and all into the water.\n\nNow had that wise man been by--the wise man who had laughed so when\nthe poor young fagot-maker wept and wailed at the ingratitude of\nhis friend--the wise man who had laughed still louder when the young\nfagot-maker vowed that in another case he would not have been so\nungrateful to one who had benefited him--how that wise man would have\nroared when he heard the casket plump into the waters of the well! For,\nupon my word of honor, betwixt Ali the fagot-maker and Abdallah the\nEmperor of the World there was not a pin to choose, except in degree.\n\n\nOld Ali Baba\u2019s pipe had nearly gone out, and he fell a puffing at it\nuntil the spark grew to life again, and until great clouds of smoke\nrolled out around his head and up through the rafters above.\n\n\u201cI liked thy story, friend,\u201d said old Bidpai--\u201cI liked it mightily much.\nI liked more especially the way in which thy emperor got rid of his\ndemon, or Genie.\u201d\n\nFortunatus took a long pull at his mug of ale. \u201cI know not,\u201d said he,\n\u201cabout the demon, but there was one part that I liked much, and that\nwas about the treasures of silver and gold and the palace that the Genie\nbuilt and all the fine things that the poor fagot-maker enjoyed.\u201d Then\nhe who had once carried the magic purse in his pocket fell a clattering\nwith the bottom of his quart cup upon the table. \u201cHey! My pretty lass,\u201d\n cried he, \u201ccome hither and fetch me another stoup of ale.\u201d\n\nLittle Brown Betty came at his call, stumbling and tumbling into the\nroom, just as she had stumbled and tumbled in the Mother Goose book,\nonly this time she did not crack her crown, but gathered herself up\nlaughing.\n\n\u201cYou may fill my canican while you are about it,\u201d said St. George, \u201cfor,\nby my faith, tis dry work telling a story.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd mine, too,\u201d piped the little Tailor who killed seven flies at a\nblow.\n\n\u201cAnd whose turn is it now to tell a story?\u201d said Doctor Faustus.\n\n\u201cTis his,\u201d said the Lad who fiddled for the Jew, and he pointed to Hans\nwho traded and traded until he had traded his lump of gold for an empty\nchurn.\n\nHans grinned sheepishly. \u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cI never did have luck at\nanything, and why, then, d\u2019ye think I should have luck at telling a\nstory?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, never mind that,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201ctell thy story, friend, as best\nthou mayst.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Hans, \u201cif ye will have it, I will tell it to you; but,\nafter all, it is not better than my own story, and the poor man in the\nend gets no more than I did in my bargains.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is your story about, my friend?\u201d said Cinderella.\n\n\u201cTis,\u201d said Hans, \u201cabout how--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMuch shall have more and little shall have less.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who did the best he could to rule\nwisely and well, and to deal justly by those under him whom he had to\ntake care of; and as he could not trust hearsay, he used every now and\nthen to slip away out of his palace and go among his people to hear what\nthey had to say for themselves about him and the way he ruled the land.\n\nWell, one such day as this, when he was taking a walk, he strolled out\npast the walls of the town and into the green fields until he came at\nlast to a fine big house that stood by the banks of a river, wherein\nlived a man and his wife who were very well to do in the world. There\nthe king stopped for a bite of bread and a drink of fresh milk.\n\n\u201cI would like to ask you a question,\u201d said the king to the rich man;\n\u201cand the question is this: Why are some folk rich and some folk poor?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I cannot tell you,\u201d said the good man; \u201conly I remember my father\nused to say that much shall have more and little shall have less.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the king; \u201cthe saying has a good sound, but let us\nfind whether or not it is really true. See; here is a purse with three\nhundred pieces of golden money in it. Take it and give it to the poorest\nman you know; in a week\u2019s time I will come again, and then you shall\ntell me whether it has made you or him the richer.\u201d\n\nNow in the town there lived two beggars who were as poor as poverty\nitself, and the poorer of the twain was one who used to sit in rags and\ntatters on the church step to beg charity of the good folk who came and\nwent. To him went the rich man, and, without so much as a good-morning,\nquoth he: \u201cHere is something for you,\u201d and so saying dropped the purse\nof gold into the beggar\u2019s hat. Then away he went without waiting for a\nword of thanks.\n\nAs for the beggar, he just sat there for a while goggling and staring\nlike one moon-struck. But at last his wits came back to him, and then\naway he scampered home as fast as his legs could carry him. Then he\nspread his money out on the table and counted it--three hundred pieces\nof gold money! He had never seen such great riches in his life before.\nThere he sat feasting his eyes upon the treasure as though they would\nnever get their fill. And now what was he to do with all of it? Should\nhe share his fortune with his brother? Not a bit of it. To be sure,\nuntil now they had always shared and shared alike, but here was the\nfirst great lump of good-luck that had ever fallen in his way, and he\nwas not for spoiling it by cutting it in two to give half to a poor\nbeggar-man such as his brother. Not he; he would hide it and keep it all\nfor his very own.\n\nNow, not far from where he lived, and beside the river, stood a\nwillow-tree, and thither the lucky beggar took his purse of money and\nstuffed it into a knot-hole of a withered branch, then went his\nway, certain that nobody would think of looking for money in such a\nhiding-place. Then all the rest of the day he sat thinking and thinking\nof the ways he would spend what had been given him, and what he would do\nto get the most good out of it. At last came evening, and his brother,\nwho had been begging in another part of the town, came home again.\n\n\u201cI nearly lost my hat to-day,\u201d said the second beggar so soon as he had\ncome into the house.\n\n\u201cDid you?\u201d said the first beggar. \u201cHow was that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! The wind blew it off into the water, but I got it again.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get it?\u201d said the first beggar.\n\n\u201cI just broke a dead branch off of the willow-tree and drew my hat\nashore,\u201d said the second beggar.\n\n\u201cA dead branch!!\u201d\n\n\u201cA dead branch.\u201d\n\n\u201cOff of the willow tree!!\u201d\n\n\u201cOff of the willow tree.\u201d\n\nThe first beggar could hardly breathe.\n\n\u201cAnd what did you do with the dead branch after that?\u201d\n\n\u201cI threw it away into the water, and it floated down the river.\u201d\n\nThe beggar to whom the money had been given ran out of the house\nhowling, and down to the river-side, thumping his head with his knuckles\nlike one possessed. For he knew that the branch his brother had broken\noff of the tree and had thrown into the water, was the very one in which\nhe had hidden the bag of money.\n\nYes; and so it was.\n\nThe next morning, as the rich man took a walk down by the river, he saw\na dead branch that had been washed up by the tide. \u201cHalloo!\u201d says he,\n\u201cthis will do to kindle the fire with.\u201d\n\nSo he brought it to the house, and, taking down his axe, began to split\nit up for kindling. The very first blow he gave, out tumbled the bag of\nmoney.\n\nBut the beggar--well, by-and-by his grieving got better of its first\nsmart, and then he started off down the river to see if he could not\nfind his money again. He hunted up and he hunted down, but never a whit\nof it did he see, and at last he stopped at the rich man\u2019s house and\nbegged for a bite to eat and lodgings for the night. There he told all\nhis story--how he had hidden the money that had been given him from his\nbrother, how his brother had broken off the branch and had thrown it\naway, and how he had spent the whole live-long day searching for it. And\nto all the rich man listened and said never a word. But though he said\nnothing, he thought to himself, \u201cMaybe, after all, it is not the will of\nHeaven that this man shall have the money. Nevertheless, I will give him\nanother trial.\u201d\n\nSo he told the poor beggar to come in and stay for the night; and,\nwhilst the beggar was snoring away in his bed in the garret, the rich\nman had his wife make two great pies, each with a fine brown crust. In\nthe first pie he put the little bag of money; the second he filled full\nof rusty nails and scraps of iron.\n\nThe next morning he called the beggar to him. \u201cMy friend,\u201d said he, \u201cI\ngrieve sadly for the story you told me last night. But maybe, after all,\nyour luck is not all gone. And now, if you will choose as you should\nchoose, you shall not go away from here comfortless. In the pantry\nyonder are two great pies--one is for you and one for me. Go in and take\nwhichever one you please.\u201d\n\n\u201cA pie!\u201d thought the beggar to himself; \u201cdoes the man think that a big\npie will comfort me for the loss of three hundred pieces of money?\u201d\n Nevertheless, as it was the best thing to be had, into the pantry the\nbeggar went and there began to feel and weigh the pies, and the one\nfilled with the rusty nails and scraps of iron was ever so much the\nfatter and the heavier.\n\n\u201cThis is the one that I shall take,\u201d said he to the rich man, \u201cand you\nmay have the other.\u201d And, tucking it under his arm, off he tramped.\n\nWell, before he got back to the town he grew hungry, and sat down by the\nroadside to eat his pie; and if there was ever an angry man in the world\nbefore, he was one that day--for there was his pie full of nothing but\nrusty nails and bits of iron. \u201cThis is the way the rich always treat the\npoor,\u201d said he.\n\nSo back he went in a fume. \u201cWhat did you give me a pie full of old nails\nfor?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYou took the pie of your own choice,\u201d said the rich man; \u201cnevertheless,\nI meant you no harm. Lodge with me here one night, and in the morning I\nwill give you something better worth while, maybe.\u201d\n\nSo that night the rich man had his wife bake two loaves of bread, in one\nof which she hid the bag with the three hundred pieces of gold money.\n\n\u201cGo to the pantry,\u201d said the rich man to the beggar in the morning, \u201cand\nthere you will find two loaves of bread--one is for you and one for me;\ntake whichever one you choose.\u201d\n\nSo in went the beggar, and the first loaf of bread he laid his hand upon\nwas the one in which the money was hidden, and off he marched with it\nunder his arm, without so much as saying thank you.\n\n\u201cI wonder,\u201d said he to himself, after he had jogged along awhile--\u201cI\nwonder whether the rich man is up to another trick such as he played\nupon me yesterday?\u201d He put the loaf of bread to his ear and shook it and\nshook it, and what should he hear but the chink of the money within. \u201cAh\nha!\u201d said he, \u201che has filled it with rusty nails and bits of iron again,\nbut I will get the better of him this time.\u201d\n\nBy-and-by he met a poor woman coming home from market. \u201cWould you like\nto buy a fine fresh loaf of bread?\u201d said the beggar.\n\n\u201cYes, I would,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cWell, here is one you may have for two pennies,\u201d said the beggar.\n\nThat was cheap enough, so the woman paid him his price and off she went\nwith the loaf of bread under her arm, and never stopped until she had\ncome to her home.\n\nNow it happened that the day before this very woman had borrowed just\nsuch a loaf of bread from the rich man\u2019s wife; and so, as there was\nplenty in the house without it, she wrapped this loaf up in a napkin,\nand sent her husband back with it to where it had started from first of\nall.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the rich man to his wife, \u201cthe way of Heaven is not to be\nchanged.\u201d And so he laid the money on the shelf until he who had given\nit to him should come again, and thought no more of giving it to the\nbeggar.\n\nAt the end of seven days the king called upon the rich man again, and\nthis time he came in his own guise as a real king. \u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cis\nthe poor man the richer for his money?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the rich man, \u201che is not;\u201d and then he told the whole story\nfrom beginning to end just as I have told it.\n\n\u201cYour father was right,\u201d said the king; \u201cand what he said was very\ntrue--Much shall have more and little shall have less.\u2019 Keep the bag of\nmoney for yourself, for there Heaven means it to stay.\u201d\n\nAnd maybe there is as much truth as poetry in this story.\n\n\nAnd now it was the turn of the Blacksmith who had made Death sit in his\npear-tree until the cold wind whistled through the ribs of man\u2019s enemy.\nHe was a big, burly man, with a bullet head, and a great thick neck, and\na voice like a bull\u2019s.\n\n\u201cDo you mind,\u201d said he, \u201cabout how I clapped a man in the fire and\ncooked him to a crisp that day that St. Peter came travelling my way?\u201d\n\nThere was a little space of silence, and then the Soldier who had\ncheated the Devil spoke up. \u201cWhy yes, friend,\u201d said he, \u201cI know your\nstory very well.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not so fortunate,\u201d said old Bidpai. \u201cI do not know your story.\nTell me, friend, did you really bake a man to a crisp? And how was it\nthen?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the Blacksmith, \u201cI was trying to do what a better man than\nI did, and where he hit the mark I missed it by an ell. Twas a pretty\nscrape I was in that day.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how did it happen?\u201d said Bidpai.\n\n\u201cIt happened,\u201d said the Blacksmith, \u201cjust as it is going to happen in\nthe story I am about to tell.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is your story about?\u201d said Fortunatus.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the Blacksmith, \u201cabout--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nWisdom\u2019s Wages and Folly\u2019s Pay\n\nOnce upon a time there was a wise man of wise men, and a great magician\nto boot, and his name was Doctor Simon Agricola.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a simpleton of simpletons, and a great booby\nto boot, and his name was Babo.\n\nSimon Agricola had read all the books written by man, and could do more\nmagic than any conjurer that ever lived. But, nevertheless, he was\nnone too well off in the world; his clothes were patched, and his shoes\ngaped, and that is the way with many another wise man of whom I have\nheard tell.\n\nBabo gathered rushes for a chair-maker, and he also had too few of the\ngood things to make life easy. But it is nothing out of the way for a\nsimpleton to be in that case.\n\nThe two of them lived neighbor to neighbor, the one in the next house\nto the other, and so far as the world could see there was not a pin to\nchoose between them--only that one was called a wise man and the other a\nsimpleton.\n\nOne day the weather was cold, and when Babo came home from gathering\nrushes he found no fire in the house. So off he went to his neighbor the\nwise man. \u201cWill you give me a live coal to start my fire?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYes, I will do that,\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cBut how will you carry the\ncoal home?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said Babo, \u201cI will just take it in my hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn your hand?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn my hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you carry a live coal in your hand?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes!\u201d said Babo; \u201cI can do that easily enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I should like to see you do it,\u201d said Simon Agricola.\n\n\u201cThen I will show you,\u201d said Babo. He spread a bed of cold, dead ashes\nupon his palm. \u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cI will take the ember upon that.\u201d\n\nAgricola rolled up his eyes like a duck in a thunder-storm. \u201cWell,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cI have lived more than seventy years, and have read all the books\nin the world; I have practised magic and necromancy, and know all about\nalgebra and geometry, and yet, wise as I am, I never thought of this\nlittle thing.\u201d\n\nThat is the way with your wise man.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said Babo; \u201cthat is nothing. I know how to do many more tricks\nthan that.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you?\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cthen listen: to-morrow I am going out\ninto the world to make my fortune, for little or nothing is to be had in\nthis town. If you will go along with me I will make your fortune also.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Babo, and the bargain was struck. So the next morning\nbright and early off they started upon their journey, cheek by jowl, the\nwise man and the simpleton, to make their fortunes in the wide world,\nand the two of them made a pair. On they jogged and on they jogged,\nand the way was none too smooth. By-and-by they came to a great field\ncovered all over with round stones.\n\n\u201cLet us each take one of these,\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cthey will be of\nuse by-and-by;\u201d and, as he spoke, he picked up a great stone as big as\nhis two fists, and dropped it into the pouch that dangled at his side.\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d said Babo; \u201cI will carry no stone with me. It is as much as my\ntwo legs can do to carry my body, let along lugging a great stone into\nthe bargain.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Agricola; \u201cborn a fool, live a fool, die a fool.\u2019\u201d And\non he tramped, with Babo at his heels.\n\nAt last they came to a great wide plain, where, far or near, nothing was\nto be seen but bare sand, without so much as a pebble or a single blade\nof grass, and there night caught up with them.\n\n\u201cDear, dear, but I am hungry!\u201d said Babo.\n\n\u201cSo am I,\u201d said Simon Agricola. \u201cLet\u2019s sit down here and eat.\u201d\n\nSo down they sat, and Simon Agricola opened his pouch and drew forth the\nstone.\n\nThe stone? It was a stone no longer, but a fine loaf of white bread as\nbig as your two fists. You should have seen Babo goggle and stare! \u201cGive\nme a piece of your bread, master,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d said Agricola. \u201cYou might have had a dozen of the same kind,\nhad you chosen to do as I bade you and to fetch them along with you.\nBorn a fool, live a fool, die a fool,\u2019\u201d said he; and that was all that\nBabo got for his supper. As for the wise man, he finished his loaf of\nbread to the last crumb, and then went to sleep with a full stomach and\na contented mind.\n\nThe next morning off they started again bright and early, and before\nlong they came to just such another field of stones as they left behind\nthem the day before.\n\n\u201cCome, master,\u201d said Babo, \u201clet us each take a stone with us. We may\nneed something more to eat before the day is over.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cwe will need no stones to-day.\u201d\n\nBut Babo had no notion to go hungry the second time, so he hunted around\ntill he found a stone as big as his head. All day he carried it, first\nunder one arm, and then under the other. The wise man stepped along\nbriskly enough, but the sweat ran down Babo\u2019s face like drops on the\nwindow in an April shower. At last they came to a great wide plain,\nwhere neither stock nor stone was to be seen, but only a gallows-tree,\nupon which one poor wight hung dancing upon nothing at all, and there\nnight caught them again.\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d said Babo to himself. \u201cThis time I shall have bread and my master\nnone.\u201d\n\nBut listen to what happened. Up stepped the wise man to the gallows, and\ngave it a sharp rap with his staff. Then, lo and behold! The gallows was\ngone, and in its place stood a fine inn, with lights in the windows, and\na landlord bowing and smiling in the doorway, and a fire roaring in\nthe kitchen, and the smell of good things cooking filling the air all\naround, so that only to sniff did one\u2019s heart good.\n\nPoor Babo let fall the stone he had carried all day. A stone it was, and\na stone he let fall.\n\n\u201cBorn a fool, live a fool, die a fool,\u2019\u201d said Agricola. \u201cBut come in,\nBabo, come in; here is room enough for two.\u201d So that night Babo had a\ngood supper and a sound sleep, and that is a cure for most of a body\u2019s\ntroubles in this world.\n\nThe third day of their travelling they came to farms and villages, and\nthere Simon Agricola began to think of showing some of those tricks of\nmagic that were to make his fortune and Babo\u2019s into the bargain.\n\nAt last they came to a blacksmith\u2019s shop, and there was the smith hard\nat work, dinging and donging, and making sweet music with hammer and\nanvil. In walked Simon Agricola and gave him good-day. He put his\nfingers into his purse, and brought out all the money he had in\nthe world; it was one golden angel. \u201cLook, friend,\u201d said he to the\nblacksmith; \u201cif you will let me have your forge for one hour, I will\ngive you this money for the use of it.\u201d\n\nThe blacksmith liked the tune of that song very well. \u201cYou may have it,\u201d\n said he; and he took off his leathern apron without another word, and\nSimon Agricola put it on in his stead.\n\nPresently, who should come riding up to the blacksmith\u2019s shop but a rich\nold nobleman and three servants. The servants were hale, stout fellows,\nbut the nobleman was as withered as a winter leaf. \u201cCan you shoe my\nhorse?\u201d said he to Simon Agricola, for he took him to be the smith\nbecause of his leathern apron.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d says Simon Agricola; \u201cthat is not my trade: I only know how to\nmake old people young.\u201d\n\n\u201cOld people young!\u201d said the old nobleman; \u201ccan you make me young\nagain?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Simon Agricola, \u201cI can, but I must have a thousand golden\nangels for doing it.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the old nobleman; \u201cmake me young, and you shall have\nthem and welcome.\u201d\n\nSo Simon Agricola gave the word, and Babo blew the bellows until the\nfire blazed and roared. Then the doctor caught the old nobleman, and\nlaid him upon the forge. He heaped the coals over him, and turned him\nthis way and that, until he grew red-hot, like a piece of iron. Then he\ndrew him forth from the fire and dipped him in the water-tank. Phizz!\nThe water hissed, and the steam rose up in a cloud; and when Simon\nAgricola took the old nobleman out, lo and behold! He was as fresh and\nblooming and lusty as a lad of twenty.\n\nBut you should have seen how all the people stared and goggled!--Babo\nand the blacksmith and the nobleman\u2019s servants. The nobleman strutted up\nand down for a while, admiring himself, and then he got upon his\nhorse again. \u201cBut wait,\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cyou forgot to pay me my\nthousand golden angels.\u201d\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the nobleman, and off he clattered, with his servants at\nhis heels; and that was all the good that Simon Agricola had of this\ntrick. But ill-luck was not done with him yet, for when the smith saw\nhow matters had turned out, he laid hold of the doctor and would not let\nhim go until he had paid him the golden angel he had promised for the\nuse of the forge. The doctor pulled a sour face, but all the same he\nhad to pay the angel. Then the smith let him go, and off he marched in a\nhuff.\n\nOutside of the forge was the smith\u2019s mother--a poor old creature,\nwithered and twisted and bent as a winter twig. Babo had kept his eyes\nopen, and had not travelled with Simon Agricola for nothing. He plucked\nthe smith by the sleeve: \u201cLook\u2019ee, friend,\u201d said he, \u201chow would you like\nme to make your mother, over yonder, young again?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like nothing better,\u201d said the smith.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Babo; \u201cgive me the golden angel that the master gave\nyou, and I\u2019ll do the job for you.\u201d\n\nWell, the smith paid the money, and Babo bade him blow the bellows. When\nthe fire roared up good and hot, he caught up the old mother, and, in\nspite of her scratching and squalling, he laid her upon the embers.\nBy-and-by, when he thought the right time had come, he took her out and\ndipped her in the tank of water; but instead of turning young, there she\nlay, as dumb as a fish and as black as coal.\n\nWhen the blacksmith saw what Babo had done to his mother, he caught him\nby the collar, and fell to giving him such a dressing down as never man\nhad before.\n\n\u201cHelp!\u201d bawled Babo. \u201cHelp! Murder!\u201d\n\nSuch a hubbub had not been heard in that town for many a day. Back came\nSimon Agricola running, and there he saw, and took it all in in one\nlook.\n\n\u201cStop, friend,\u201d said he to the smith, \u201clet the simpleton go; this is not\npast mending yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the smith; \u201cbut he must give me back my golden angel,\nand you must cure my mother, or else I\u2019ll have you both up before the\njudge.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d said Simon Agricola; so Babo paid back the money,\nand the doctor dipped the woman in the water. When he brought her out\nshe was as well and strong as ever--but just as old as she had been\nbefore.\n\n\u201cNow be off for a pair of scamps, both of you,\u201d said the blacksmith;\n\u201cand if you ever come this way again, I\u2019ll set all the dogs in the town\nupon you.\u201d\n\nSimon Agricola said nothing until they had come out upon the highway\nagain, and left the town well behind them; then--\u201cBorn a fool, live a\nfool, die a fool!\u201d says he.\n\nBabo said nothing, but he rubbed the places where the smith had dusted\nhis coat.\n\nThe fourth day of their journey they came to a town, and here Simon\nAgricola was for trying his tricks of magic again. He and Babo took\nup their stand in the corner of the market-place, and began bawling,\n\u201cDoctor Knowall! Doctor Knowall! Who has come from the other end of\nNowhere! He can cure any sickness or pain! He can bring you back from\nthe gates of death! Here is Doctor Knowall! Here is Doctor Knowall!\u201d\n\nNow there was a very, very rich man in that town, whose daughter lay\nsick to death; and when the news of this great doctor was brought to his\nears, he was for having him try his hand at curing the girl.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Simon Agricola, \u201cI will do that, but you must pay me\ntwo thousand golden angels.\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo thousand golden angels!\u201d said the rich man; \u201cthat is a great deal\nof money, but you shall have it if only you will cure my daughter.\u201d\n\nSimon Agricola drew a little vial from his bosom. From it he poured\njust six drops of yellow liquor upon the girl\u2019s tongue. Then--lo and\nbehold!--up she sat in bed as well and strong as ever, and asked for a\nboiled chicken and a dumpling, by way of something to eat.\n\n\u201cBless you! Bless you!\u201d said the rich man.\n\n\u201cYes, yes; blessings are very good, but I would like to have my two\nthousand golden angels,\u201d said Simon Agricola.\n\n\u201cTwo thousand golden angels! I said nothing about two thousand golden\nangels,\u201d said the rich man; \u201ctwo thousand fiddlesticks!\u201d said he. \u201cPooh!\nPooh! You must have been dreaming! See, here are two hundred silver\npennies, and that is enough and more than enough for six drops of\nmedicine.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want my two thousand golden angels,\u201d said Simon Agricola.\n\n\u201cYou will get nothing but two hundred pennies,\u201d said the rich man.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t touch one of them,\u201d said Simon Agricola, and off he marched in\na huff.\n\nBut Babo had kept his eyes open. Simon Agricola had laid down the vial\nupon the table, and while they were saying this and that back and forth,\nthinking of nothing else, Babo quietly slipped it into his own pocket,\nwithout any one but himself being the wiser.\n\nDown the stairs stumped the doctor with Babo at his heels. There stood\nthe cook waiting for them.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said he, \u201cmy wife is sick in there; won\u2019t you cure her, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said Simon Agricola; and out he went, banging the door behind\nhim.\n\n\u201cLook, friend,\u201d said Babo to the cook, \u201chere I have some of the same\nmedicine. Give me the two hundred pennies that the master would not\ntake, and I\u2019ll cure her for you as sound as a bottle.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the cook, and he counted out the two hundred pennies,\nand Babo slipped them into his pocket. He bade the woman open her mouth,\nand when she had done so he poured all the stuff down her throat at\nonce.\n\n\u201cUgh!\u201d said she, and therewith rolled up her eyes, and lay as stiff and\ndumb as a herring in a box.\n\nWhen the cook saw what Babo had done, he snatched up the rolling-pin and\nmade at him to pound his head to a jelly. But Babo did not wait for his\ncoming; he jumped out of the window, and away he scampered with the cook\nat his heels.\n\nWell, the upshot of the business was that Simon Agricola had to go back\nand bring life to the woman again, or the cook would thump him and Babo\nboth with the rolling-pin. And, what was more, Babo had to pay back the\ntwo hundred pennies that the cook had given him for curing his wife.\n\nThe wise man made a cross upon the woman\u2019s forehead, and up she sat, as\nwell--but no better--as before.\n\n\u201cAnd now be off,\u201d said the cook, \u201cor I will call the servants and give\nyou both a drubbing for a pair of scamps.\u201d\n\nSimon Agricola said never a word until they had gotten out of the town.\nThere his anger boiled over, like water into the fire. \u201cLook,\u201d said he\nto Babo: \u201cBorn a fool, live a fool, die a fool.\u2019 I want no more of you.\nHere are two roads; you take one, and I will take the other.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said Babo, \u201cam I to travel the rest of the way alone? And then,\nbesides, how about the fortune you promised me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that,\u201d said Simon Agricola; \u201cI have not made my own fortune\nyet.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, at least pay me something for my wages,\u201d said Babo.\n\n\u201cHow shall I pay you?\u201d said Simon Agricola. \u201cI have not a single groat\nin the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said Babo, \u201chave you nothing to give me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can give you a piece of advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Babo, \u201cthat is better than nothing, so let me have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere it is,\u201d said Simon Agricola: \u201cThink well! Think well!--before you\ndo what you are about to do, think well!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you!\u201d said Babo; and then the one went one way, and the other the\nother.\n\n(You may go with the wise man if you choose, but I shall jog along with\nthe simpleton.)\n\nAfter Babo had travelled for a while, he knew not whither, night caught\nhim, and he lay down under a hedge to sleep. There he lay, and snored\naway like a saw-mill, for he was wearied with his long journeying.\n\nNow it chanced that that same night two thieves had broken into a\nmiser\u2019s house, and had stolen an iron pot full of gold money. Day broke\nbefore they reached home, so down they sat to consider the matter; and\nthe place where they seated themselves was on the other side of the\nhedge where Babo lay. The older thief was for carrying the money home\nunder his coat; the younger was for burying it until night had come\nagain. They squabbled and bickered and argued till the noise they made\nwakened Babo, and he sat up. The first thing he thought of was the\nadvice that the doctor had given him the evening before.\n\n\u201cThink well!\u2019\u201d he bawled out; \u201cthink well! before you do what you are\nabout to do, think well!\u2019\u201d\n\nWhen the two thieves heard Babo\u2019s piece of advice, they thought that the\njudge\u2019s officers were after them for sure and certain. Down they dropped\nthe pot of money, and away they scampered as fast as their legs could\ncarry them.\n\nBabo heard them running, and poked his head through the hedge, and there\nlay the pot of gold. \u201cLook now,\u201d said he: \u201cthis has come from the advice\nthat was given me; no one ever gave me advice that was worth so much\nbefore.\u201d So he picked up the pot of gold, and off he marched with it.\n\nHe had not gone far before he met two of the king\u2019s officers, and you\nmay guess how they opened their eyes when they saw him travelling along\nthe highway with a pot full of gold money.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going with that money?\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said Babo.\n\n\u201cHow did you get it?\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cI got it for a piece of advice,\u201d said Babo.\n\nFor a piece of advice! No, no--the king\u2019s officers knew butter from\nlard, and truth from t\u2019other thing. It was just the same in that country\nas it is in our town--there was nothing in the world so cheap as advice.\nWhoever heard of anybody giving a pot of gold and silver money for it?\nWithout another word they marched Babo and his pot of money off to the\nking.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the king, \u201ctell me truly; where did you get the pot of\nmoney?\u201d\n\nPoor Babo began to whimper. \u201cI got it for a piece of advice,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cReally and truly?\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Babo; \u201creally and truly.\u201d\n\n\u201cHumph!\u201d said the king. \u201cI should like to have advice that is worth as\nmuch as that. Now, how much will you sell your advice to me for?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow much will you give?\u201d said Babo.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201clet me have it for a day on trial, and at the\nend of that time I will pay you what it is worth.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Babo, \u201cthat is a bargain;\u201d and so he lent the king his\npiece of advice for one day on trial.\n\nNow the chief councillor and some others had laid a plot against the\nking\u2019s life, and that morning it had been settled that when the barber\nshaved him he was to cut his throat with a razor. So after the barber\nhad lathered his face he began to whet the razor, and to whet the razor.\n\nJust at that moment the king remembered Babo\u2019s piece of advice. \u201cThink\nwell!\u201d said he; \u201cthink well! Before you do what you are about to do,\nthink well!\u201d\n\nWhen the barber heard the words that the king said, he thought that\nall had been discovered. Down he fell upon his knees, and confessed\neverything.\n\nThat is how Babo\u2019s advice saved the king\u2019s life--you can guess whether\nthe king thought it was worth much or little. When Babo came the next\nmorning the king gave him ten chests full of money, and that made the\nsimpleton richer than anybody in all that land.\n\nHe built himself a fine house, and by-and-by married the daughter of the\nnew councillor that came after the other one\u2019s head had been chopped off\nfor conspiring against the king\u2019s life. Besides that, he came and went\nabout the king\u2019s castle as he pleased, and the king made much of him.\nEverybody bowed to him, and all were glad to stop and chat awhile with\nhim when they met him in the street.\n\nOne morning Babo looked out of the window, and who should he see come\ntravelling along the road but Simon Agricola himself, and he was just as\npoor and dusty and travel-stained as ever.\n\n\u201cCome in, come in!\u201d said Babo; and you can guess how the wise man stared\nwhen he saw the simpleton living in such a fine way. But he opened his\neyes wider than ever when he heard that all these good things came from\nthe piece of advice he had given Babo that day they had parted at the\ncross roads.\n\n\u201cAye, aye!\u201d said he, \u201cthe luck is with you for sure and certain. But\nif you will pay me a thousand golden angels, I will give you something\nbetter than a piece of advice. I will teach you all the magic that is to\nbe learned from the books.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Babo, \u201cI am satisfied with the advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Simon Agricola, \u201cBorn a fool, live a fool, die a\nfool\u2019;\u201d and off he went in a huff.\n\nThat is all of this tale except the tip end of it, and that I will give\nyou now.\n\nI have heard tell that one day the king dropped in the street the piece\nof advice that he had bought from Babo, and that before he found it\nagain it had been trampled into the mud and dirt. I cannot say for\ncertain that this is the truth, but it must have been spoiled in some\nway or other, for I have never heard of anybody in these days who would\ngive even so much as a bad penny for it; and yet it is worth just as\nmuch now as it was when Babo sold it to the king.\n\n\nI had sat listening to these jolly folk for all this time, and I had not\nheard old Sindbad say a word, and yet I knew very well he was full of\na story, for every now and then I could see his lips move, and he would\nsmile, and anon he would stroke his long white beard and smile again.\n\nEverybody clapped their hands and rattled their canicans after the\nBlacksmith had ended his story, and methought they liked it better\nthan almost anything that had been told. Then there was a pause, and\neverybody was still, and as nobody else spoke I myself ventured to break\nthe silence. \u201cI would like,\u201d said I (and my voice sounded thin in my own\nears, as one\u2019s voice always does sound in Twilight Land), \u201cI would like\nto hear our friend Sindbad the Sailor tell a story. Methinks one is\nfermenting in his mind.\u201d\n\nOld Sindbad smiled until his cheeks crinkled into wrinkles.\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d said every one, \u201cwill you not tell a story?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be sure I will,\u201d said Sindbad. \u201cI will tell you a good story,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cand it is about--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Enchanted Island.\n\nBut it is not always the lucky one that carries away the plums;\nsometimes he only shakes the tree, and the wise man pockets the fruit.\n\nOnce upon a long, long time ago, and in a country far, far away, there\nlived two men in the same town and both were named Selim; one was Selim\nthe Baker and one was Selim the Fisherman.\n\nSelim the Baker was well off in the world, but Selim the Fisherman was\nonly so-so. Selim the Baker always had plenty to eat and a warm corner\nin cold weather, but many and many a time Selim the Fisherman\u2019s stomach\nwent empty and his teeth went chattering.\n\nOnce it happened that for time after time Selim the Fisherman caught\nnothing but bad luck in his nets, and not so much as a single sprat,\nand he was very hungry. \u201cCome,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cthose who have some\nshould surely give to those who have none,\u201d and so he went to Selim the\nBaker. \u201cLet me have a loaf of bread,\u201d said he, \u201cand I will pay you for\nit tomorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Selim the Baker; \u201cI will let you have a loaf of bread,\nif you will give me all that you catch in your nets to-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said Selim the Fisherman, for need drives one to hard\nbargains sometimes; and therewith he got his loaf of bread.\n\nSo the next day Selim the Fisherman fished and fished and fished and\nfished, and still he caught no more than the day before; until just\nat sunset he cast his net for the last time for the day, and, lo and\nbehold! There was something heavy in it. So he dragged it ashore, and\nwhat should it be but a leaden box, sealed as tight as wax, and covered\nwith all manner of strange letters and figures. \u201cHere,\u201d said he, \u201cis\nsomething to pay for my bread of yesterday, at any rate;\u201d and as he was\nan honest man, off he marched with it to Selim the Baker.\n\nThey opened the box in the baker\u2019s shop, and within they found two rolls\nof yellow linen. In each of the rolls of linen was another little leaden\nbox: in one was a finger-ring of gold set with a red stone, in the other\nwas a finger-ring of iron set with nothing at all.\n\nThat was all the box held; nevertheless, that was the greatest catch\nthat ever any fisherman made in the world; for, though Selim the one or\nSelim the other knew no more of the matter than the cat under the stove,\nthe gold ring was the Ring of Luck and the iron ring was the Ring of\nWisdom.\n\nInside of the gold ring were carved these letters: \u201cWhosoever wears me,\nshall have that which all men seek--for so it is with good-luck in this\nworld.\u201d\n\nInside of the iron ring were written these words: \u201cWhosoever wears me,\nshall have that which few men care for--and that is the way it is with\nwisdom in our town.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Selim the Baker, and he slipped the gold ring of good-luck\non his finger, \u201cI have driven a good bargain, and you have paid for your\nloaf of bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what will you do with the other ring?\u201d said Selim the Fisherman.\n\n\u201cOh, you may have that,\u201d said Selim the Baker.\n\nWell, that evening, as Selim the Baker sat in front of his shop in the\ntwilight smoking a pipe of tobacco, the ring he wore began to work. Up\ncame a little old man with a white beard, and he was dressed all in gray\nfrom top to toe, and he wore a black velvet cap, and he carried a long\nstaff in his hand. He stopped in front of Selim the Baker, and stood\nlooking at him a long, long time. At last--\u201cIs your name Selim?\u201d said\nhe.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Selim the Baker, \u201cit is.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd do you wear a gold ring with a red stone on your finger?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Selim, \u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come with me,\u201d said the little old man, \u201cand I will show you the\nwonder of the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Selim the Baker, \u201cthat will be worth the seeing, at any\nrate.\u201d So he emptied out his pipe of tobacco, and put on his hat and\nfollowed the way the old man led.\n\nUp one street they went, and down another, and here and there through\nalleys and byways where Selim had never been before. At last they came\nto where a high wall ran along the narrow street, with a garden behind\nit, and by-and-by to an iron gate. The old man rapped upon the gate\nthree times with his knuckles, and cried in a loud voice, \u201cOpen to\nSelim, who wears the Ring of Luck!\u201d\n\nThen instantly the gate swung open, and Selim the Baker followed the old\nman into the garden.\n\nBang! shut the gate behind him, and there he was.\n\nThere he was! And such a place he had never seen before. Such fruit!\nSuch flowers! Such fountains! Such summer-houses!\n\n\u201cThis is nothing,\u201d said the old man; \u201cthis is only the beginning of\nwonder. Come with me.\u201d\n\nHe led the way down a long pathway between the trees, and Selim\nfollowed. By-and-by, far away, they saw the light of torches; and when\nthey came to what they saw, lo and behold! there was the sea-shore, and\na boat with four-and-twenty oarsmen, each dressed in cloth of gold and\nsilver more splendidly than a prince. And there were four-and-twenty\nblack slaves, carrying each a torch of spice-wood, so that all the\nair was filled with sweet smells. The old man led the way, and Selim,\nfollowing, entered the boat; and there was a seat for him made soft with\nsatin cushions embroidered with gold and precious stones and stuffed\nwith down, and Selim wondered whether he was not dreaming.\n\nThe oarsmen pushed off from the shore and away they rowed.\n\nOn they rowed and on they rowed for all that livelong night.\n\nAt last morning broke, and then as the sun rose Selim saw such a sight\nas never mortal eyes beheld before or since. It was the wonder of\nwonders--a great city built on an island. The island was all one\nmountain; and on it, one above another and another above that again,\nstood palaces that glistened like snow, and orchards of fruit, and\ngardens of flowers and green trees.\n\nAnd as the boat came nearer and nearer to the city, Selim could see that\nall around on the house-tops and down to the water\u2019s edge were crowds\nand crowds of people. All were looking out towards the sea, and when\nthey saw the boat and Selim in it, a great shout went up like the\nroaring of rushing waters.\n\n\u201cIt is the King!\u201d they cried--\u201cit is the King! It is Selim the King!\u201d\n\nThen the boat landed, and there stood dozens of scores of great princes\nand nobles to welcome Selim when he came ashore. And there was a white\nhorse waiting for him to ride, and its saddle and bridle were studded\nwith diamonds and rubies and emeralds that sparkled and glistened like\nthe stars in heaven, and Selim thought for sure he must be dreaming with\nhis eyes open.\n\nBut he was not dreaming, for it was all as true as that eggs are eggs.\nSo up the hill he rode, and to the grandest and the most splendid of all\nthe splendid palaces, the princes and noblemen riding with him, and the\ncrowd shouting as though to split their throats.\n\nAnd what a palace it was!--as white as snow and painted all inside\nwith gold and blue. All around it were gardens blooming with fruit and\nflowers, and the like of it mortal man never saw in the world before.\n\nThere they made a king of Selim, and put a golden crown on his head; and\nthat is what the Ring of Good Luck can do for a baker.\n\nBut wait a bit! There was something queer about it all, and that is now\nto be told.\n\nAll that day was feasting and drinking and merry-making, and the\ntwinging and twanging of music, and dancing of beautiful dancing-girls,\nand such things as Selim had never heard tell of in all his life before.\nAnd when night came they lit thousands and thousands of candles of\nperfumed wax; so that it was a hard matter to say when night began and\nday ended, only that the one smelled sweeter than the other.\n\nBut at last it came midnight, and then suddenly, in an instant, all the\nlights went out and everything was as dark as pitch--not a spark, not\na glimmer anywhere. And, just as suddenly, all the sound of music and\ndancing and merrymaking ceased, and everybody began to wail and cry\nuntil it was enough to wring one\u2019s heart to hear. Then, in the midst of\nall the wailing and crying, a door was flung open, and in came six tall\nand terrible black men, dressed all in black from top to toe, carrying\neach a flaming torch; and by the light of the torches King Selim saw\nthat all--the princes, the noblemen, the dancing-girls--all lay on their\nfaces on the floor.\n\nThe six men took King Selim--who shuddered and shook with fear--by the\narms, and marched him through dark, gloomy entries and passage-ways,\nuntil they came at last to the very heart of the palace.\n\nThere was a great high-vaulted room all of black marble, and in the\nmiddle of it was a pedestal with seven steps, all of black marble; and\non the pedestal stood a stone statue of a woman looking as natural as\nlife, only that her eyes were shut. The statue was dressed like a queen:\nshe wore a golden crown on her head, and upon her body hung golden\nrobes, set with diamonds and emeralds and rubies and sapphires and\npearls and all sorts of precious stones.\n\nAs for the face of the statue, white paper and black ink could not tell\nyou how beautiful it was. When Selim looked at it, it made his heart\nstand still in his breast, it was so beautiful.\n\nThe six men brought Selim up in front of the statue, and then a voice\ncame as though from the vaulted roof: \u201cSelim! Selim! Selim!\u201d it said,\n\u201cwhat are thou doing? To-day is feasting and drinking and merry-making,\nbut beware of tomorrow!\u201d\n\nAs soon as these words were ended the six black men marched King Selim\nback whence they had brought him; there they left him and passed out one\nby one as they had first come in, and the door shut to behind them.\n\nThen in an instant the lights flashed out again, the music began to\nplay and the people began to talk and laugh, and King Selim thought that\nmaybe all that had just passed was only a bit of an ugly dream after\nall.\n\nSo that is the way King Selim the Baker began to reign, and that is the\nway he continued to reign. All day was feasting and drinking and making\nmerry and music and laughing and talking. But every night at midnight\nthe same thing happened: the lights went out, all the people began\nwailing and crying, and the six tall, terrible black men came with\nflashing torches and marched King Selim away to the beautiful statue.\nAnd every night the same voice said--\u201cSelim! Selim! Selim! What art thou\ndoing! To-day is feasting and drinking and merry-making; but beware of\ntomorrow!\u201d\n\nSo things went on for a twelvemonth, and at last came the end of the\nyear. That day and night the merry-making was merrier and wilder and\nmadder than it had ever been before, but the great clock in the tower\nwent on--tick, tock! tick, tock!--and by and by it came midnight. Then,\nas it always happened before, the lights went out, and all was as\nblack as ink. But this time there was no wailing and crying out, but\neverything was silent as death; the door opened slowly, and in came, not\nsix black men as before, but nine men as silent as death, dressed all in\nflaming red, and the torches they carried burned as red as blood. They\ntook King Selim by the arms, just as the six men had done, and marched\nhim through the same entries and passageways, and so came at last to\nthe same vaulted room. There stood the statue, but now it was turned to\nflesh and blood, and the eyes were open and looking straight at Selim\nthe Baker.\n\n\u201cArt thou Selim?\u201d said she; and she pointed her finger straight at him.\n\n\u201cYes, I am Selim,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cAnd dost thou wear the gold ring with the red stone?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said he; \u201cI have it on my finger.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd dost thou wear the iron ring?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said he; \u201cI gave that to Selim the Fisherman.\u201d\n\nThe words had hardly left his lips when the statue gave a great cry and\nclapped her hands together. In an instant an echoing cry sounded all\nover the town--a shriek fit to split the ears.\n\nThe next moment there came another sound--a sound like thunder--above\nand below and everywhere. The earth began to shake and to rock, and the\nhouses began to topple and fall, and the people began to scream and to\nyell and to shout, and the waters of the sea began to lash and to roar,\nand the wind began to bellow and howl. Then it was a good thing for King\nSelim that he wore Luck\u2019s Ring; for, though all the beautiful snow-white\npalace about him and above him began to crumble to pieces like slaked\nlime, the sticks and the stones and the beams to fall this side of him\nand that, he crawled out from under it without a scratch or a bruise,\nlike a rat out of a cellar.\n\nThat is what Luck\u2019s Ring did for him.\n\nBut his troubles were not over yet; for, just as he came out from under\nall the ruin, the island began to sink down into the water, carrying\neverything along with it--that is, everything but him and one thing\nelse. That one other thing was an empty boat, and King Selim climbed\ninto it, and nothing else saved him from drowning. It was Luck\u2019s Ring\nthat did that for him also.\n\nThe boat floated on and on until it came to another island that was just\nlike the island he had left, only that there was neither tree nor blade\nof grass nor hide nor hair nor living thing of any kind. Nevertheless,\nit was an island just like the other: a high mountain and nothing else.\nThere Selim the Baker went ashore, and there he would have starved to\ndeath only for Luck\u2019s Ring; for one day a boat came sailing by, and when\npoor Selim shouted, those aboard heard him and came and took him off.\nHow they all stared to see his golden crown--for he still wore it--and\nhis robes of silk and satin and the gold and jewels!\n\nBefore they would consent to carry him away, they made him give up all\nthe fine things he had. Then they took him home again to the town whence\nhe had first come, just as poor as when he had started. Back he went to\nhis bake-shop and his ovens, and the first thing he did was to take off\nhis gold ring and put it on the shelf.\n\n\u201cIf that is the ring of good luck,\u201d said he, \u201cI do not want to wear the\nlike of it.\u201d\n\nThat is the way with mortal man: for one has to have the Ring of Wisdom\nas well, to turn the Ring of Luck to good account.\n\nAnd now for Selim the Fisherman.\n\nWell, thus it happened to him. For a while he carried the iron ring\naround in his pocket--just as so many of us do--without thinking to put\nit on. But one day he slipped it on his finger--and that is what we do\nnot all of us do. After that he never took it off again, and the world\nwent smoothly with him. He was not rich, but then he was not poor; he\nwas not merry, neither was he sad. He always had enough and was thankful\nfor it, for I never yet knew wisdom to go begging or crying.\n\nSo he went his way and he fished his fish, and twelve months and a week\nor more passed by. Then one day he went past the baker shop and there\nsat Selim the Baker smoking his pipe of tobacco.\n\n\u201cSo, friend,\u201d said Selim the Fisherman, \u201cyou are back again in the old\nplace, I see.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the other Selim; \u201cawhile ago I was a king, and now I\nam nothing but a baker again. As for that gold ring with the red\nstone--they may say it is Luck\u2019s Ring if they choose, but when next I\nwear it may I be hanged.\u201d\n\nThereupon he told Selim the Fisherman the story of what had happened to\nhim with all its ins and outs, just as I have told it to you.\n\n\u201cWell!\u201d said Selim the Fisherman, \u201cI should like to have a sight of that\nisland myself. If you want the ring no longer, just let me have it; for\nmaybe if I wear it something of the kind will happen to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may have it,\u201d said Selim the Baker. \u201cYonder it is, and you are\nwelcome to it.\u201d\n\nSo Selim the Fisherman put on the ring, and then went his way about his\nown business.\n\nThat night, as he came home carrying his nets over his shoulder, whom\nshould he meet but the little old man in gray, with the white beard and\nthe black cap on his head and the long staff in his hand.\n\n\u201cIs your name Selim?\u201d said the little man, just as he had done to Selim\nthe Baker.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Selim; \u201cit is.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd do you wear a gold ring with a red stone?\u201d said the little old man,\njust as he had said before.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Selim; \u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come with me,\u201d said the little old man, \u201cand I will show you the\nwonder of the world.\u201d\n\nSelim the Fisherman remembered all that Selim the Baker had told him,\nand he took no two thoughts as to what to do. Down he tumbled his nets,\nand away he went after the other as fast as his legs could carry him.\nHere they went and there they went, up crooked streets and lanes and\ndown by-ways and alley-ways, until at last they came to the same garden\nto which Selim the Baker had been brought. Then the old man knocked at\nthe gate three times and cried out in a loud voice, \u201cOpen! Open! Open to\nSelim who wears the Ring of Luck!\u201d\n\nThen the gate opened, and in they went. Fine as it all was, Selim\nthe Fisherman cared to look neither to the right nor to the left, but\nstraight after the old man he went, until at last they came to the\nseaside and the boat and the four-and-twenty oarsmen dressed like\nprinces and the black slaves with the perfumed torches.\n\nHere the old man entered the boat and Selim after him, and away they\nsailed.\n\nTo make a long story short, everything happened to Selim the Fisherman\njust as it had happened to Selim the Baker. At dawn of day they came to\nthe island and the city built on the mountain. And the palaces were just\nas white and beautiful, and the gardens and orchards just as fresh and\nblooming as though they had not all tumbled down and sunk under the\nwater a week before, almost carrying poor Selim the Baker with them.\nThere were the people dressed in silks and satins and jewels, just as\nSelim the Baker had found them, and they shouted and hurrahed for Selim\nthe Fisherman just as they had shouted and hurrahed for the other.\nThere were the princes and the nobles and the white horse, and Selim the\nFisherman got on his back and rode up to a dazzling snow-white palace,\nand they put a crown on his head and made a king of him, just as they\nhad made a king of Selim the Baker.\n\nThat night, at midnight, it happened just as it had happened before.\nSuddenly, as the hour struck, the lights all went out, and there was a\nmoaning and a crying enough to make the heart curdle. Then the door\nflew open, and in came the six terrible black men with torches. They\nled Selim the Fisherman through damp and dismal entries and passage-ways\nuntil they came to the vaulted room of black marble, and there stood\nthe beautiful statue on its black pedestal. Then came the voice from\nabove--\u201cSelim! Selim! Selim!\u201d it cried, \u201cwhat art thou doing? To-day is\nfeasting and drinking and merry-making, but beware of to-morrow!\u201d\n\nBut Selim the Fisherman did not stand still and listen, as Selim the\nBaker had done. He called out, \u201cI hear the words! I am listening! I will\nbeware to-day for the sake of to-morrow!\u201d\n\nI do not know what I should have done had I been king of that island and\nhad I known that in a twelve-month it would all come tumbling down about\nmy ears and sink into the sea, maybe carry me along with it. This is\nwhat Selim the Fisherman did [but then he wore the iron Ring of Wisdom\non his finger, and I never had that upon mine]:\n\nFirst of all, he called the wisest men of the island to him, and found\nfrom them just where the other desert island lay upon which the boat\nwith Selim the Baker in it had drifted.\n\nThen, when he had learned where it was to be found, he sent armies and\narmies of men and built on that island palaces and houses, and planted\nthere orchards and gardens, just like the palaces and the orchards and\nthe gardens about him--only a great deal finer. Then he sent fleets and\nfleets of ships, and carried everything away from the island where he\nlived to that other island--all the men and the women and the children;\nall the flocks and herds and every living thing; all the fowls and the\nbirds and everything that wore feathers; all the gold and the silver and\nthe jewels and the silks and the satins, and whatever was of any good\nor of any use; and when all these things were done, there were still two\ndays left till the end of the year.\n\nUpon the first of these two days he sent over the beautiful statue and\nhad it set up in the very midst of the splendid new palace he had built.\n\nUpon the second day he went over himself, leaving behind him nothing but\nthe dead mountain and the rocks and the empty houses.\n\nSo came the end of the twelve months.\n\nSo came midnight.\n\nOut went all the lights in the new palace, and everything was as silent\nas death and as black as ink. The door opened, and in came the nine\nmen in red, with torches burning as red as blood. They took Selim the\nFisherman by the arms and led him to the beautiful statue, and there she\nwas with her eyes open.\n\n\u201cAre you Selim?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cYes, I am Selim,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cAnd do you wear the iron Ring of Wisdom?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cYes, I do,\u201d said he; and so he did.\n\nThere was no roaring and thundering, there was no shaking and quaking,\nthere was no toppling and tumbling, there was no splashing and dashing:\nfor this island was solid rock, and was not all enchantment and hollow\ninside and underneath like the other which he had left behind.\n\nThe beautiful statue smiled until the place lit up as though the sun\nshone. Down she came from the pedestal where she stood and kissed Selim\nthe Fisherman on the lips.\n\nThen instantly the lights blazed everywhere, and the people shouted and\ncheered, and the music played. But neither Selim the Fisherman nor the\nbeautiful statue saw or heard anything.\n\n\u201cI have done all this for you!\u201d said Selim the Fisherman.\n\n\u201cAnd I have been waiting for you a thousand years!\u201d said the beautiful\nstatue--only she was not a statue any longer.\n\nAfter that they were married, and Selim the Fisherman and the enchanted\nstatue became king and queen in real earnest.\n\nI think Selim the Fisherman sent for Selim the Baker and made him rich\nand happy--I hope he did--I am sure he did.\n\nSo, after all, it is not always the lucky one who gathers the plums when\nwisdom is by to pick up what the other shakes down.\n\n\nI could say more; for, O little children! little children! there is\nmore than meat in many an egg-shell; and many a fool tells a story that\njoggles a wise man\u2019s wits, and many a man dances and junkets in his\nfool\u2019s paradise till it comes tumbling down about his ears some day; and\nthere are few men who are like Selim the Fisherman, who wear the Ring of\nWisdom on their finger, and, alack-a-day! I am not one of them, and that\nis the end of this story.\n\n\nOld Bidpai nodded his head. \u201cAye, aye,\u201d said he, \u201cthere is a very good\nmoral in that story, my friend. It is, as a certain philosopher said,\nvery true, that there is more in an egg than the meat. And truly,\nmethinks, there is more in thy story than the story of itself.\u201d He\nnodded his head again and stroked his beard slowly, puffing out as he\ndid so as a great reflective cloud of smoke, through which his eyes\nshone and twinkled mistily like stars through a cloud.\n\n\u201cAnd whose turn is it now?\u201d said Doctor Faustus.\n\n\u201cMethinks tis mine,\u201d said Boots--he who in fairy-tale always sat in the\nashes at home and yet married a princess after he had gone out into the\nworld awhile. \u201cMy story,\u201d said he, \u201chath no moral, but, all the same, it\nis as true as that eggs hatch chickens.\u201d Then, without waiting for any\none to say another word, he began it in these words. \u201cI am going to tell\nyou,\u201d said he, how--\n\n\n\n\n\nAll Things are as Fate wills.\n\nOnce upon a time, in the old, old days, there lived a king who had a\nhead upon his shoulders wiser than other folk, and this was why: though\nhe was richer and wiser and greater than most kings, and had all that he\nwanted and more into the bargain, he was so afraid of becoming proud of\nhis own prosperity that he had these words written in letters of gold\nupon the walls of each and every room in his palace:\n\nAll Things are as Fate wills.\n\nNow, by-and-by and after a while the king died; for when his time comes,\neven the rich and the wise man must die, as well as the poor and the\nsimple man. So the king\u2019s son came, in turn, to be king of that land;\nand, though he was not so bad as the world of men goes, he was not the\nman that his father was, as this story will show you.\n\nOne day, as he sat with his chief councillor, his eyes fell upon the\nwords written in letters of gold upon the wall--the words that his\nfather had written there in time gone by:\n\nAll Things are as Fate wills; and the young king did not like the taste\nof them, for he was very proud of his own greatness. \u201cThat is not so,\u201d\n said he, pointing to the words on the wall. \u201cLet them be painted out,\nand these words written in their place:\n\n     All Things are as Man does.\u201d\n\nNow, the chief councillor was a grave old man, and had been councillor\nto the young king\u2019s father. \u201cDo not be too hasty, my lord king,\u201d said\nhe. \u201cTry first the truth of your own words before you wipe out those\nthat your father has written.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the young king, \u201cso be it. I will approve the truth of\nmy words. Bring me hither some beggar from the town whom Fate has made\npoor, and I will make him rich. So I will show you that his life shall\nbe as I will, and not as Fate wills.\u201d\n\nNow, in that town there was a poor beggar-man who used to sit every\nday beside the town gate, begging for something for charity\u2019s sake.\nSometimes people gave him a penny or two, but it was little or nothing\nthat he got, for Fate was against him.\n\nThe same day that the king and the chief councillor had had their\ntalk together, as the beggar sat holding up his wooden bowl and asking\ncharity of those who passed by, there suddenly came three men who,\nwithout saying a word, clapped hold of him and marched him off.\n\nIt was in vain that the beggar talked and questioned--in vain that he\nbegged and besought them to let him go. Not a word did they say to him,\neither of good or bad. At last they came to a gate that led through a\nhigh wall and into a garden, and there the three stopped, and one of\nthem knocked upon the gate. In answer to his knocking it flew open. He\nthrust the beggar into the garden neck and crop, and then the gate was\nbanged to again.\n\nBut what a sight it was the beggar saw before his eyes!--flowers, and\nfruit-trees, and marble walks, and a great fountain that shot up a\njet of water as white as snow. But he had not long to stand gaping and\nstaring around him, for in the garden were a great number of people,\nwho came hurrying to him, and who, without speaking a word to him or\nanswering a single question, or as much as giving him time to think,\nled him to a marble bath of tepid water. There he was stripped of his\ntattered clothes and washed as clean as snow. Then, as some of the\nattendants dried him with fine linen towels, others came carrying\nclothes fit for a prince to wear, and clad the beggar in them from head\nto foot. After that, still without saying a word, they let him out from\nthe bath again, and there he found still other attendants waiting for\nhim--two of them holding a milk-white horse, saddled and bridled, and\nfit for an emperor to ride. These helped him to mount, and then, leaping\ninto their own saddles, rode away with the beggar in their midst.\n\nThey rode of the garden and into the streets, and on and on they went\nuntil they came to the king\u2019s palace, and there they stopped. Courtiers\nand noblemen and great lords were waiting for their coming, some of whom\nhelped him to dismount from the horse, for by this time the beggar was\nso overcome with wonder that he stared like one moon-struck, and as\nthough his wits were addled. Then, leading the way up the palace steps,\nthey conducted him from room to room, until at last they came to one\nmore grand and splendid than all the rest, and there sat the king\nhimself waiting for the beggar\u2019s coming.\n\nThe beggar would have flung himself at the king\u2019s feet, but the king\nwould not let him; for he came down from the throne where he sat, and,\ntaking the beggar by the hand, led him up and sat him alongside of him.\nThen the king gave orders to the attendants who stood about, and a feast\nwas served in plates of solid gold upon a table-cloth of silver--a feast\nsuch as the beggar had never dreamed of, and the poor man ate as he had\nnever eaten in his life before.\n\nAll the while that the king and the beggar were eating, musicians played\nsweet music and dancers danced and singers sang.\n\nThen when the feast was over there came ten young men, bringing flasks\nand flagons of all kinds, full of the best wine in the world; and the\nbeggar drank as he had never drank in his life before, and until his\nhead spun like a top.\n\nSo the king and the beggar feasted and made merry, until at last the\nclock struck twelve and the king arose from his seat. \u201cMy friend,\u201d said\nhe to the beggar, \u201call these things have been done to show you that Luck\nand Fate, which have been against you for all these years, are now for\nyou. Hereafter, instead of being poor you shall be the richest of\nthe rich, for I will give you the greatest thing that I have in my\ntreasury,\u201d Then he called the chief treasurer, who came forward with a\ngolden tray in his hand. Upon the tray was a purse of silk. \u201cSee,\u201d said\nthe king, \u201chere is a purse, and in the purse are one hundred pieces of\ngold money. But though that much may seem great to you, it is but little\nof the true value of the purse. Its virtue lies in this: that however\nmuch you may take from it, there will always be one hundred pieces of\ngold money left in it. Now go; and while you are enjoying the riches\nwhich I give you, I have only to ask you to remember these are not the\ngifts of Fate, but of a mortal man.\u201d\n\nBut all the while he was talking the beggar\u2019s head was spinning and\nspinning, and buzzing and buzzing, so that he hardly heard a word of\nwhat the king said.\n\nThen when the king had ended his speech, the lords and gentlemen who had\nbrought the beggar in led him forth again. Out they went through room\nafter room--out through the courtyard, out through the gate.\n\nBang!--it was shut to behind him, and he found himself standing in the\ndarkness of midnight, with the splendid clothes upon his back, and the\nmagic purse with its hundred pieces of gold money in his pocket.\n\nHe stood looking about himself for a while, and then off he started\nhomeward, staggering and stumbling and shuffling, for the wine that he\nhad drank made him so light-headed that all the world spun topsy-turvy\naround him.\n\nHis way led along by the river, and on he went stumbling and staggering.\nAll of a sudden--plump! splash!--he was in the water over head and ears.\nUp he came, spitting out the water and shouting for help, splashing and\nsputtering, and kicking and swimming, knowing no more where he was than\nthe man in the moon. Sometimes his head was under water and sometimes it\nwas up again.\n\nAt last, just as his strength was failing him, his feet struck the\nbottom, and he crawled up on the shore more dead than alive. Then,\nthrough fear and cold and wet, he swooned away, and lay for a long time\nfor all the world as though he were dead.\n\nNow, it chanced that two fisherman were out with their nets that night,\nand Luck or Fate led them by the way where the beggar lay on the shore.\n\u201cHalloa!\u201d said one of the fishermen, \u201chere is a poor body drowned!\u201d They\nturned him over, and then they saw what rich clothes he wore, and felt\nthat he had a purse in his pocket.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the second fisherman, \u201che is dead, whoever he is. His fine\nclothes and his purse of money can do him no good now, and we might as\nwell have them as anybody else.\u201d So between them both they stripped the\nbeggar of all that the king had given him, and left him lying on the\nbeach.\n\nAt daybreak the beggar awoke from the swoon, and there he found himself\nlying without a stitch to his back, and half dead with the cold and the\nwater he had swallowed. Then, fearing lest somebody might see him, he\ncrawled away into the rushes that grew beside the river, there to hide\nhimself until night should come again.\n\nBut as he went, crawling upon hands and knees, he suddenly came upon a\nbundle that had been washed up by the water, and when he laid eyes upon\nit his heart leaped within him, for what should that bundle be but the\npatches and tatters which he had worn the day before, and which the\nattendants had thrown over the garden wall and into the river when they\nhad dressed him in the fine clothes the king gave him.\n\nHe spread his clothes out in the sun until they were dry, and then he\nput them on and went back into the town again.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, that morning, to his chief councillor, \u201cwhat do\nyou think now? Am I not greater than Fate? Did I not make the beggar\nrich? And shall I not paint my father\u2019s words out from the wall, and put\nmy own there instead?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d said the councillor, shaking his head. \u201cLet us first\nsee what has become of the beggar.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the king; and he and the councillor set off to see\nwhether the beggar had done as he ought to do with the good things that\nthe king had given him. So they came to the towngate, and there, lo and\nbehold! the first thing that they saw was the beggar with his wooden\nbowl in his hand asking those who passed by for a stray penny or two.\n\nWhen the king saw him he turned without a word, and rode back home\nagain. \u201cVery well,\u201d said he to the chief councillor, \u201cI have tried to\nmake the beggar rich and have failed; nevertheless, if I cannot make him\nI can ruin him in spite of Fate, and that I will show you.\u201d\n\nSo all that while the beggar sat at the towngate and begged until came\nnoontide, when who should he see coming but the same three men who had\ncome for him the day before. \u201cAh, ha!\u201d said he to himself, \u201cnow the\nking is going to give me some more good things.\u201d And so when the three\nreached him he was willing enough to go with them, rough as they were.\n\nOff they marched; but this time they did not come to any garden with\nfruits and flowers and fountains and marble baths. Off they marched,\nand when they stopped it was in front of the king\u2019s palace. This time\nno nobles and great lords and courtiers were waiting for his coming;\nbut instead of that the town hangman--a great ugly fellow, clad in black\nfrom head to foot. Up he came to the beggar, and, catching him by the\nscruff of his neck, dragged him up the palace steps and from room to\nroom until at last he flung him down at the king\u2019s feet.\n\nWhen the poor beggar gathered wits enough to look about him he saw there\na great chest standing wide open, and with holes in the lid. He wondered\nwhat it was for, but the king gave him no chance to ask; for, beckoning\nwith his hand, the hangman and the others caught the beggar by arms and\nlegs, thrust him into the chest, and banged down the lid upon him.\n\nThe king locked it and double-locked it, and set his seal upon it; and\nthere was the beggar as tight as a fly in a bottle.\n\nThey carried the chest out and thrust it into a cart and hauled it away,\nuntil at last they came to the sea-shore. There they flung chest and\nall into the water, and it floated away like a cork. And that is how the\nking set about to ruin the poor beggar-man.\n\nWell, the chest floated on and on for three days, and then at last it\ncame to the shore of a country far away. There the waves caught it up,\nand flung it so hard upon the rocks of the sea-beach that the chest was\nburst open by the blow, and the beggar crawled out with eyes as big as\nsaucers and face as white as dough. After he had sat for a while, and\nwhen his wits came back to him and he had gathered strength enough, he\nstood up and looked around to see where Fate had cast him; and far away\non the hill-sides he saw the walls and the roofs and the towers of the\ngreat town, shining in the sunlight as white as snow.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201chere is something to be thankful for, at least,\u201d and\nso saying and shaking the stiffness out of his knees and elbows, he\nstarted off for the white walls and the red roofs in the distance.\n\nAt last he reached the great gate, and through it he could see the stony\nstreets and multitudes of people coming and going.\n\nBut it was not for him to enter that gate. Out popped two soldiers with\ngreat battle-axes in their hands and looking as fierce as dragons. \u201cAre\nyou a stranger in this town?\u201d said one in a great, gruff voice.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the beggar, \u201cI am.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going into the town.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you are not.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause no stranger enters here. Yonder is the pathway. You must take\nthat if you would enter the town.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the beggar, \u201cI would just as lief go into the town\nthat way as another.\u201d\n\nSo off he marched without another word. On and on he went along the\nnarrow pathway until at last he came to a little gate of polished brass.\nOver the gate were written these words, in great letters as red as\nblood:\n\n\u201cWho Enters here Shall Surely Die.\u201d\n\nMany and many a man besides the beggar had travelled that path and\nlooked up at those letters, and when he had read them had turned and\ngone away again. But the beggar neither turned nor went away; because\nwhy, he could neither read nor write a word, and so the blood-red\nletters had no fear for him. Up he marched to the brazen gate, as boldly\nas though it had been a kitchen door, and rap! tap! tap! he knocked upon\nit. He waited awhile, but nobody came. Rap! tap! tap! he knocked again;\nand then, after a little while, for the third time--Rap! tap! tap! Then\ninstantly the gate swung open and he entered. So soon as he had crossed\nthe threshold it was banged to behind him again, just as the garden gate\nhad been when the king had first sent for him. He found himself in a\nlong, dark entry, and at the end of it another door, and over it the\nsame words, written in blood-red letters:\n\n\u201cBeware! Beware! Who Enters here Shall Surely Die!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the beggar, \u201cthis is the hardest town for a body to come\ninto that I ever saw.\u201d And then he opened the second door and passed\nthrough.\n\nIt was fit to deafen a body! Such a shout the beggar\u2019s ears had never\nheard before; such a sight the beggar\u2019s eyes had never beheld, for\nthere, before him, was a great splendid hall of marble as white as snow.\nAll along the hall stood scores of lords and ladies in silks and satins,\nand with jewels on their necks and arms fit to dazzle a body\u2019s eyes.\nRight up the middle of the hall stretched a carpet of blue velvet, and\nat the farther end, on a throne of gold, sat a lady as beautiful as the\nsun and moon and all the stars.\n\n\u201cWelcome! welcome!\u201d they all shouted, until the beggar was nearly\ndeafened by the noise they all made, and the lady herself stood up and\nsmiled upon him.\n\nThen there came three young men, and led the beggar up the carpet of\nvelvet to the throne of gold.\n\n\u201cWelcome, my hero!\u201d said the beautiful lady; \u201cand have you, then, come\nat last?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the beggar, \u201cI have.\u201d\n\n\u201cLong have I waited for you,\u201d said the lady; \u201clong have I waited for the\nhero who would dare without fear to come through the two gates of death\nto marry me and to rule as king over this country, and now at last you\nare here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the beggar, \u201cI am.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, while all these things were happening, the king of that other\ncountry had painted out the words his father had written on the walls,\nand had had these words painted in in their stead:\n\n\u201cAll Things are as Man does.\u201d\n\nFor a while he was very well satisfied with them, until, a week after,\nhe was bidden to the wedding of the Queen of the Golden Mountains; for\nwhen he came there who should the bridegroom be but the beggar whom he\nhad set adrift in the wooden box a week or so before.\n\nThe bridegroom winked at him, but said never a word, good or ill, for he\nwas willing to let all that had happened be past and gone. But the king\nsaw how matters stood as clear as daylight, and when he got back home\nagain he had the new words that stood on the walls of the room painted\nout, and had the old ones painted in in bigger letters than ever:\n\n\u201cAll Things are as Fate wills.\u201d\n\n\nAll the good people who were gathered around the table of the Sign of\nMother Goose sat thinking for a while over the story. As for Boots, he\nburied his face in the quart pot and took a long, long pull at the ale.\n\n\u201cMethinks,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, presently breaking\nsilence--\u201cmethinks there be very few of the women folk who do their\nshare of this story-telling. So far we have had but one, and that is\nLady Cinderella. I see another one present, and I drink to her health.\u201d\n\nHe winked his eye at Patient Grizzle, beckoning towards her with his\nquart pot, and took a long and hearty pull. Then he banged his mug down\nupon the table. \u201cFetch me another glass, lass,\u201d said he to little Brown\nBetty. \u201cMeantime, fair lady\u201d--this he said to Patient Grizzle--\u201cwill you\nnot entertain us with some story of your own?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not,\u201d said Patient Grizzle, \u201cthat I can tell you any story worth\nyour hearing.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, aye, but you can,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated the Devil; \u201cand,\nmoreover, anything coming from betwixt such red lips and such white\nteeth will be worth the listening to.\u201d\n\nPatient Grizzle smiled, and the brave little Tailor, and the Lad who\nfiddled for the Jew, and Hans and Bidpai and Boots nodded approval.\n\n\u201cAye,\u201d said Ali Baba, \u201cit is true enough that there have been but few\nof the women folk who have had their say, and methinks that it is very\nstrange and unaccountable, for nearly always they have plenty to speak\nin their own behalf.\u201d\n\nAll who sat there in Twilight Land laughed, and even Patient Grizzle\nsmiled.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Patient Grizzle, \u201cif you will have it, I will tell you\na story. It is about a fisherman who was married and had a wife of his\nown, and who made her carry all the load of everything that happened to\nhim. For he, like most men I wot of, had found out--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nWhere to Lay the Blame.\n\nMany and many a man has come to trouble--so he will say--by following\nhis wife\u2019s advice. This is how it was with a man of whom I shall tell\nyou.\n\nThere was once upon a time a fisherman who had fished all day long and\nhad caught not so much as a sprat. So at night there he sat by the fire,\nrubbing his knees and warming his shins, and waiting for supper that his\nwife was cooking for him, and his hunger was as sharp as vinegar, and\nhis temper hot enough to fry fat.\n\nWhile he sat there grumbling and growling and trying to make himself\ncomfortable and warm, there suddenly came a knock at the door. The good\nwoman opened it, and there stood an old man, clad all in red from head\nto foot, and with a snowy beard at his chin as white as winter snow.\n\nThe fisherman\u2019s wife stood gaping and staring at the strange figure,\nbut the old man in red walked straight into the hut. \u201cBring your nets,\nfisherman,\u201d said he, \u201cand come with me. There is something that I want\nyou to catch for me, and if I have luck I will pay you for your fishing\nas never fisherman was paid before.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot I,\u201d said the fisherman, \u201cI go out no more this night. I have been\nfishing all day long until my back is nearly broken, and have caught\nnothing, and now I am not such a fool as to go out and leave a warm fire\nand a good supper at your bidding.\u201d\n\nBut the fisherman\u2019s wife had listened to what the old man had said about\npaying for the job, and she was of a different mind from her husband.\n\u201cCome,\u201d said she, \u201cthe old man promises to pay you well. This is not a\nchance to be lost, I can tell you, and my advice to you is that you go.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman shook his head. No, he would not go; he had said he would\nnot, and he would not. But the wife only smiled and said again, \u201cMy\nadvice to you is that you go.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman grumbled and grumbled, and swore that he would not go. The\nwife said nothing but one thing. She did not argue; she did not lose her\ntemper; she only said to everything that he said, \u201cMy advice to you is\nthat you go.\u201d\n\nAt last the fisherman\u2019s anger boiled over. \u201cVery well,\u201d said he,\nspitting his words at her; \u201cif you will drive me out into the night, I\nsuppose I will have to go.\u201d And then he spoke the words that so many men\nsay: \u201cMany a man has come to trouble by following his wife\u2019s advice.\u201d\n\nThen down he took his fur cap and up he took his nets, and off he and\nthe old man marched through the moonlight, their shadows bobbing along\nlike black spiders behind them.\n\nWell, on they went, out from the town and across the fields and through\nthe woods, until at last they came to a dreary, lonesome desert, where\nnothing was to be seen but gray rocks and weeds and thistles.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the fisherman, \u201cI have fished, man and boy, for forty-seven\nyears, but never did I see as unlikely a place to catch anything as\nthis.\u201d\n\nBut the old man said never a word. First of all he drew a great circle\nwith strange figures, marking it with his finger upon the ground. Then\nout from under his red gown he brought a tinder-box and steel, and a\nlittle silver casket covered all over with strange figures of serpents\nand dragons and what not. He brought some sticks of spice-wood from his\npouch, and then he struck a light and made a fire. Out of the box he\ntook a gray powder, which he flung upon the little blaze.\n\nPuff! flash! A vivid flame went up into the moonlight, and then a dense\nsmoke as black as ink, which spread out wider and wider, far and near,\ntill all below was darker than the darkest midnight. Then the old\nman began to utter strange spells and words. Presently there began a\nrumbling that sounded louder and louder and nearer and nearer, until it\nroared and bellowed like thunder. The earth rocked and swayed, and the\npoor fisherman shook and trembled with fear till his teeth clattered in\nhis head.\n\nThen suddenly the roaring and bellowing ceased, and all was as still as\ndeath, though the darkness was as thick and black as ever.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the old magician--for such he was--\u201cnow we are about to take\na journey such as no one ever travelled before. Heed well what I tell\nyou. Speak not a single word, for if you do, misfortune will be sure to\nhappen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAin\u2019t I to say anything?\u201d said the fisherman.\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot even boo\u2019 to a goose?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, that is pretty hard upon a man who likes to say his say,\u201d said\nthe fisherman.\n\n\u201cAnd moreover,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI must blindfold you as well.\u201d\n\nThereupon he took from his pocket a handkerchief, and made ready to tie\nit about the fisherman\u2019s eyes.\n\n\u201cAnd ain\u2019t I to see anything at all?\u201d said the fisherman.\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot even so much as a single feather?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said the fisherman, \u201cI wish I\u2019d not come.\u201d\n\nBut the old man tied the handkerchief tightly around his eyes, and then\nhe was as blind as a bat.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the old man, \u201cthrow your leg over what you feel and hold\nfast.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman reached down his hand, and there felt the back of\nsomething rough and hairy. He flung his leg over it, and whisk! whizz!\noff he shot through the air like a sky-rocket. Nothing was left for him\nto do but grip tightly with hands and feet and to hold fast. On they\nwent, and on they went, until, after a great while, whatever it was\nthat was carrying him lit upon the ground, and there the fisherman found\nhimself standing, for that which had brought him had gone.\n\nThe old man whipped the handkerchief off his eyes, and there the\nfisherman found himself on the shores of the sea, where there was\nnothing to be seen but water upon one side and rocks and naked sand upon\nthe other.\n\n\u201cThis is the place for you to cast your nets,\u201d said the old magician;\n\u201cfor if we catch nothing here we catch nothing at all.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman unrolled his nets and cast them and dragged them, and then\ncast them and dragged them again, but neither time caught so much as\na herring. But the third time that he cast he found that he had caught\nsomething that weighed as heavy as lead. He pulled and pulled, until\nby-and-by he dragged the load ashore, and what should it be but a great\nchest of wood, blackened by the sea-water, and covered with shells and\ngreen moss.\n\nThat was the very thing that the magician had come to fish for.\n\nFrom his pouch the old man took a little golden key, which he fitted\ninto a key-hole in the side of the chest. He threw back the lid; the\nfisherman looked within, and there was the prettiest little palace that\nman\u2019s eye ever beheld, all made of mother-of-pearl and silver-frosted as\nwhite as snow. The old magician lifted the little palace out of the box\nand set it upon the ground.\n\nThen, lo and behold! a marvellous thing happened; for the palace\ninstantly began to grow for all the world like a soap-bubble, until it\nstood in the moonlight gleaming and glistening like snow, the windows\nbright with the lights of a thousand wax tapers, and the sound of music\nand voices and laughter coming from within.\n\nHardly could the fisherman catch his breath from one strange thing\nwhen another happened. The old magician took off his clothes and his\nface--yes, his face--for all the world as though it had been a mask, and\nthere stood as handsome and noble a young man as ever the light looked\non. Then, beckoning to the fisherman, dumb with wonder, he led the way\nup the great flight of marble steps to the palace door. As he came\nthe door swung open with a blaze of light, and there stood hundreds of\nnoblemen, all clad in silks and satins and velvets, who, when they\nsaw the magician, bowed low before him, as though he had been a king.\nLeading the way, they brought the two through halls and chambers and\nroom after room, each more magnificent than the other, until they came\nto one that surpassed a hundredfold any of the others.\n\nAt the farther end was a golden throne, and upon it sat a lady more\nlovely and beautiful than a dream, her eyes as bright as diamonds, her\ncheeks like rose leaves, and her hair like spun gold. She came half-way\ndown the steps of the throne to welcome the magician, and when the two\nmet they kissed one another before all those who were looking on. Then\nshe brought him to the throne and seated him beside her, and there they\ntalked for a long time very earnestly.\n\nNobody said a word to the fisherman, who stood staring about him like an\nowl. \u201cI wonder,\u201d said he to himself at last, \u201cif they will give a body a\nbite to eat by-and-by?\u201d for, to tell the truth, the good supper that\nhe had come away from at home had left a sharp hunger gnawing at his\ninsides, and he longed for something good and warm to fill the empty\nplace. But time passed, and not so much as a crust of bread was brought\nto stay his stomach.\n\nBy-and-by the clock struck twelve, and then the two who sat upon the\nthrone arose. The beautiful lady took the magician by the hand, and,\nturning to those who stood around, said, in a loud voice, \u201cBehold him\nwho alone is worthy to possess the jewel of jewels! Unto him do I give\nit, and with it all power of powers!\u201d Thereon she opened a golden casket\nthat stood beside her, and brought thence a little crystal ball, about\nas big as a pigeon\u2019s egg, in which was something that glistened like a\nspark of fire. The magician took the crystal ball and thrust it into his\nbosom; but what it was the fisherman could not guess, and if you do not\nknow I shall not tell you.\n\nThen for the first time the beautiful lady seemed to notice the\nfisherman. She beckoned him, and when he stood beside her two men came\ncarrying a chest. The chief treasurer opened it, and it was full of bags\nof gold money. \u201cHow will you have it?\u201d said the beautiful lady.\n\n\u201cHave what?\u201d said the fisherman.\n\n\u201cHave the pay for your labor?\u201d said the beautiful lady.\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the fisherman, promptly, \u201ctake it in my hat.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the beautiful lady. She waved her hand, and the chief\ntreasurer took a bag from the chest, untied it, and emptied a cataract\nof gold into the fur cap. The fisherman had never seen so much wealth in\nall his life before, and he stood like a man turned to stone.\n\n\u201cIs this all mine?\u201d said the fisherman.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the beautiful lady.\n\n\u201cThen God bless your pretty eyes,\u201d said the fisherman.\n\nThen the magician kissed the beautiful lady, and, beckoning to the\nfisherman, left the throne-room the same way that they had come. The\nnoblemen, in silks and satins and velvets, marched ahead, and back they\nwent through the other apartments, until at last they came to the door.\n\nOut they stepped, and then what do you suppose happened?\n\nIf the wonderful palace had grown like a bubble, like a bubble it\nvanished. There the two stood on the sea-shore, with nothing to be seen\nbut rocks and sand and water, and the starry sky overhead.\n\nThe fisherman shook his cap of gold, and it jingled and tinkled, and was\nas heavy as lead. If it was not all a dream, he was rich for life. \u201cBut\nanyhow,\u201d said he, \u201cthey might have given a body a bite to eat.\u201d\n\nThe magician put on his red clothes and his face again, making himself\nas hoary and as old as before. He took out his flint and steel, and\nhis sticks of spice-wood and his gray powder, and made a great fire and\nsmoke just as he had done before. Then again he tied his handkerchief\nover the fisherman\u2019s eyes. \u201cRemember,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat I told you when we\nstarted upon our journey. Keep your mouth tight shut, for if you utter\nso much as a single word you are a lost man. Now throw your leg over\nwhat you feel and hold fast.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman had his net over one arm and his cap of gold in the other\nhand; nevertheless, there he felt the same hairy thing he had felt\nbefore. He flung his leg over it, and away he was gone through the air\nlike a sky-rocket.\n\nNow, he had grown somewhat used to strange things by this time, so he\nbegan to think that he would like to see what sort of a creature it was\nupon which he was riding thus through the sky. So he contrived, in spite\nof his net and cap, to push up the handkerchief from over one eye. Out\nhe peeped, and then he saw as clear as day what the strange steed was.\n\nHe was riding upon a he-goat as black as night, and in front of him\nwas the magician riding upon just such another, his great red robe\nfluttering out behind him in the moonlight like huge red wings.\n\n\u201cGreat herring and little fishes!\u201d roared the fisherman; \u201cit is a\nbilly-goat!\u201d\n\nInstantly goats, old man, and all were gone like a flash. Down fell the\nfisherman through the empty sky, whirling over and over and around and\naround like a frog. He held tightly to his net, but away flew his fur\ncap, the golden money falling in a shower like sparks of yellow light.\nDown he fell and down he fell, until his head spun like a top.\n\nBy good-luck his house was just below, with its thatch of soft\nrushes. Into the very middle of it he tumbled, and right through the\nthatch--bump!--into the room below.\n\nThe good wife was in bed, snoring away for dear life; but such a noise\nas the fisherman made coming into the house was enough to wake the dead.\nUp she jumped, and there she sat, staring and winking with sleep, and\nwith her brains as addled as a duck\u2019s egg in a thunder-storm.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d said the fisherman, as he gathered himself up and rubbed his\nshoulder, \u201cthat is what comes of following a woman\u2019s advice!\u201d\n\n\nAll the good folk clapped their hands, not so much because of the story\nitself, but because it was a woman who told it.\n\n\u201cAye, aye,\u201d said the brave little Tailor, \u201cthere is truth in what you\ntell, fair lady, and I like very well the way in which you have told\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhose turn is it next?\u201d said Doctor Faustus, lighting a fresh pipe of\ntobacco.\n\n\u201cTis the turn of yonder old gentleman,\u201d said the Soldier who cheated\nthe Devil, and he pointed with the stem of his pipe to the Fisherman who\nunbottled the Genie that King Solomon had corked up and thrown into the\nsea. \u201cEvery one else hath told a story, and now it is his turn.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not deny, my friend, that what you say is true, and that it is\nmy turn,\u201d said the Fisherman. \u201cNor will I deny that I have already a\nstory in my mind. It is,\u201d said he, \u201cabout a certain prince, and of how\nhe went through many and one adventures, and at last discovered that\nwhich is--\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Salt of Life.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who had three sons, and by the time\nthat the youngest prince had down upon his chin the king had grown so\nold that the cares of the kingdom began to rest over-heavily upon his\nshoulders. So he called his chief councillor and told him that he was of\na mind to let the princes reign in his stead. To the son who loved him\nthe best he would give the largest part of his kingdom, to the son who\nloved him the next best the next part, and to the son who loved him the\nleast the least part. The old councillor was very wise and shook his\nhead, but the king\u2019s mind had long been settled as to what he was about\nto do. So he called the princes to him one by one and asked each as to\nhow much he loved him.\n\n\u201cI love you as a mountain of gold,\u201d said the oldest prince, and the king\nwas very pleased that his son should give him such love.\n\n\u201cI love you as a mountain of silver,\u201d said the second prince, and the\nking was pleased with that also.\n\nBut when the youngest prince was called, he did not answer at first, but\nthought and thought. At last he looked up. \u201cI love you,\u201d said he, \u201cas I\nlove salt.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard what his youngest son said he was filled with anger.\n\u201cWhat!\u201d he cried, \u201cdo you love me no better than salt--a stuff that is\nthe most bitter of all things to the taste, and the cheapest and the\ncommonest of all things in the world? Away with you, and never let me\nsee your face again! Henceforth you are no son of mine.\u201d\n\nThe prince would have spoken, but the king would not allow him, and bade\nhis guards thrust the young man forth from the room.\n\nNow the queen loved the youngest prince the best of all her sons, and\nwhen she heard how the king was about to drive him forth into the wide\nworld to shift for himself, she wept and wept. \u201cAh, my son!\u201d said she to\nhim, \u201cit is little or nothing that I have to give you. Nevertheless, I\nhave one precious thing. Here is a ring; take it and wear it always,\nfor so long as you have it upon your finger no magic can have power over\nyou.\u201d\n\nThus it was that the youngest prince set forth into the wide world with\nlittle or nothing but a ring upon his finger.\n\nFor seven days he travelled on, and knew not where he was going or\nwhither his footsteps led. At the end of that time he came to the gates\nof a town. The prince entered the gates, and found himself in a city\nthe like of which he had never seen in his life before for grandeur and\nmagnificence--beautiful palaces and gardens, stores and bazaars crowded\nwith rich stuffs of satin and silk and wrought silver and gold of\ncunningest workmanship; for the land to which he had come was the\nrichest in all of the world. All that day he wandered up and down, and\nthought nothing of weariness and hunger for wonder of all that he\nsaw. But at last evening drew down, and he began to bethink himself of\nsomewhere to lodge during the night.\n\nJust then he came to a bridge, over the wall of which leaned an old man\nwith a long white beard, looking down into the water. He was dressed\nrichly but soberly, and every now and then he sighed and groaned, and as\nthe prince drew near he saw the tears falling--drip, drip--from the old\nman\u2019s eyes.\n\nThe prince had a kind heart, and could not bear to see one in distress;\nso he spoke to the old man, and asked him his trouble.\n\n\u201cAh, me!\u201d said the other, \u201conly yesterday I had a son, tall and handsome\nlike yourself. But the queen took him to sup with her, and I am left all\nalone in my old age, like a tree stripped of leaves and fruit.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut surely,\u201d said the prince, \u201cit can be no such sad matter to sup with\na queen. That is an honor that most men covet.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the old man, \u201cyou are a stranger in this place, or else you\nwould know that no youth so chosen to sup with the queen ever returns to\nhis home again.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the prince, \u201cI am a stranger and have only come hither this\nday, and so do not understand these things. Even when I found you I was\nabout to ask the way to some inn where folk of good condition lodge.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come home with me to-night,\u201d said the old man. \u201cI live all alone,\nand I will tell you the trouble that lies upon this country.\u201d Thereupon,\ntaking the prince by the arm, he led him across the bridge and to\nanother quarter of the town where he dwelt. He bade the servants prepare\na fine supper, and he and the prince sat down to the table together.\nAfter they had made an end of eating and drinking, the old man told the\nprince all concerning those things of which he had spoken, and thus it\nwas:\n\n\u201cWhen the king of this land died he left behind him three daughters--the\nmost beautiful princesses in all of the world.\n\n\u201cFolk hardly dared speak of the eldest of them, but whisperings said\nthat she was a sorceress, and that strange and gruesome things were done\nby her. The second princess was also a witch, though it was not said\nthat she was evil, like the other. As for the youngest of the three, she\nwas as beautiful as the morning and as gentle as a dove. When she was\nborn a golden thread was about her neck, and it was foretold of her that\nshe was to be the queen of that land.\n\n\u201cBut not long after the old king died the youngest princess vanished--no\none could tell whither, and no one dared to ask--and the eldest princess\nhad herself crowned as queen, and no one dared gainsay her. For a while\neverything went well enough, but by-and-by evil days came upon the land.\nOnce every seven days the queen would bid some youth, young and strong,\nto sup with her, and from that time no one ever heard of him again, and\nno one dared ask what had become of him. At first it was the great\nfolk at the queen\u2019s palace--officers and courtiers--who suffered; but\nby-and-by the sons of the merchants and the chief men of the city began\nto be taken. One time,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI myself had three sons--as\nnoble young men as could be found in the wide world. One day the chief\nof the queen\u2019s officers came to my house and asked me concerning how\nmany sons I had. I was forced to tell him, and in a little while they\nwere taken one by one to the queen\u2019s palace, and I never saw them again.\n\n\u201cBut misfortune, like death, comes upon the young as well as the old.\nYou yourself have had trouble, or else I am mistaken. Tell me what\nlies upon your heart, my son, for the talking of it makes the burthen\nlighter.\u201d\n\nThe prince did as the old man bade him, and told all of his story; and\nso they sat talking and talking until far into the night, and the old\nman grew fonder and fonder of the prince the more he saw of him. So the\nend of the matter was that he asked the prince to live with him as his\nson, seeing that the young man had now no father and he no children, and\nthe prince consented gladly enough.\n\nSo the two lived together like father and son, and the good old man\nbegan to take some joy in life once more.\n\nBut one day who should come riding up to the door but the chief of the\nqueen\u2019s officers.\n\n\u201cHow is this?\u201d said he to the old man, when he saw the prince. \u201cDid you\nnot tell me that you had but three sons, and is this not a fourth?\u201d\n\nIt was of no use for the old man to tell the officer that the youth was\nnot his son, but was a prince who had come to visit that country. The\nofficer drew forth his tablets and wrote something upon them, and then\nwent his way, leaving the old man sighing and groaning. \u201cAh, me!\u201d said\nhe, \u201cmy heart sadly forebodes trouble.\u201d\n\nSure enough, before three days had passed a bidding came to the prince\nto make ready to sup with the queen that night.\n\nWhen evening drew near a troop of horsemen came, bringing a white horse\nwith a saddle and bridle of gold studded with precious stones, to take\nthe prince to the queen\u2019s palace.\n\nAs soon as they had brought him thither they led the prince to a room\nwhere was a golden table spread with a snow-white cloth and set with\ndishes of gold. At the end of the table the queen sat waiting for him,\nand her face was hidden by a veil of silver gauze. She raised the veil\nand looked at the prince, and when he saw her face he stood as one\nwonder-struck, for not only was she so beautiful, but she set a spell\nupon him with the evil charm of her eyes. No one sat at the table but\nthe queen and the prince, and a score of young pages served them, and\nsweet music sounded from a curtained gallery.\n\nAt last came midnight, and suddenly a great gong sounded from the\ncourt-yard outside. Then in an instant the music was stopped, the pages\nthat served them hurried from the room, and presently all was as still\nas death.\n\nThen, when all were gone, the queen arose and beckoned the prince, and\nhe had no choice but to arise also and follow whither she led. She took\nhim through the palace, where all was as still as the grave, and so came\nout by a postern door into a garden. Beside the postern a torch burned\nin a bracket. The queen took it down, and then led the prince up a path\nand under the silent trees until they came to a great wall of rough\nstone. She pressed her hand upon one of the great stones, and it opened\nlike a door, and there was a flight of steps that led downward. The\nqueen descended these steps, and the prince followed closely behind her.\nAt the bottom was a long passage-way, and at the farther end the prince\nsaw what looked like a bright spark of light, as though the sun were\nshining. She thrust the torch into another bracket in the wall of the\npassage, and then led the way towards the light. It grew larger and\nlarger as they went forward, until at last they came out at the farther\nend, and there the prince found himself standing in the sunlight and\nnot far from the seashore. The queen led the way towards the shore, when\nsuddenly a great number of black dogs came running towards them, barking\nand snapping, and showing their teeth as though they would tear the two\nin pieces. But the queen drew from her bosom a whip with a steel-pointed\nlash, and as the dogs came springing towards them she laid about her\nright and left, till the skin flew and the blood ran, and the dogs\nleaped away howling and yelping.\n\nAt the edge of the water was a great stone mill, and the queen pointed\ntowards it and bade the prince turn it. Strong as he was, it was as much\nas he could do to work it; but grind it he did, though the sweat ran\ndown his face in streams. By-and-by a speck appeared far away upon the\nwater; and as the prince ground and ground at the mill the speck grew\nlarger and larger. It was something upon the water, and it came nearer\nand nearer as swiftly as the wind. At last it came close enough for him\nto see that it was a little boat all of brass. By-and-by the boat struck\nupon the beach, and as soon as it did so the queen entered it, bidding\nthe prince do the same.\n\nNo sooner were they seated than away the boat went, still as swiftly as\nthe wind. On it flew and on it flew, until at last they came to another\nshore, the like of which the prince had never seen in his life before.\nDown to the edge of the water ran a garden--but such a garden! The\nleaves of the trees were all of silver and the fruit of gold, and\ninstead of flowers were precious stones--white, red, yellow, blue, and\ngreen--that flashed like sparks of sunlight as the breeze moved them\nthis way and that way. Beyond the silver trees, with their golden fruit,\nwas a great palace as white as snow, and so bright that one had to shut\none\u2019s eyes as one looked upon it.\n\nThe boat ran up on the beach close to just such a stone mill as the\nprince had seen upon the other side of the water, and then he and\nthe queen stepped ashore. As soon as they had done so the brazen boat\nfloated swiftly away, and in a little while was gone.\n\n\u201cHere our journey ends,\u201d said the queen. \u201cIs it not a wonderful land,\nand well worth the seeing? Look at all these jewels and this gold, as\nplenty as fruits and flowers at home. You may take what you please; but\nwhile you are gathering them I have another matter after which I must\nlook. Wait for me here, and by-and-by I will be back again.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she turned and left the prince, going towards the castle back\nof the trees.\n\nBut the prince was a prince, and not a common man; he cared nothing for\ngold and jewels. What he did care for was to see where the queen went,\nand why she had brought him to this strange land. So, as soon as she had\nfairly gone, he followed after.\n\nHe went along under the gold and silver trees, in the direction she had\ntaken, until at last he came to a tall flight of steps that led up to\nthe doorway of the snow-white palace. The door stood open, and into it\nthe prince went. He saw not a soul, but he heard a noise as of blows and\nthe sound as of some one weeping. He followed the sound, until by-and-by\nhe came to a great vaulted room in the very centre of the palace. A\ncurtain hung at the doorway. The prince lifted it and peeped within, and\nthis was what he saw:\n\nIn the middle of the room was a marble basin of water as clear as\ncrystal, and around the sides of the basin were these words, written in\nletters of gold:\n\n\u201cWhatsoever is False, that I make True.\u201d\n\nBeside the fountain upon a marble stand stood a statue of a beautiful\nwoman made of alabaster, and around the neck of the statue was a thread\nof gold. The queen stood beside the statue, and beat and beat it with\nher steel-tipped whip. And all the while she lashed it the statue sighed\nand groaned like a living being, and the tears ran down its stone cheeks\nas though it were a suffering Christian. By-and-by the queen rested for\na moment, and said, panting, \u201cWill you give me the thread of gold?\u201d and\nthe statue answered \u201cNo.\u201d Whereupon she fell to raining blows upon it as\nshe had done before.\n\nSo she continued, now beating the statue and now asking it whether it\nwould give her the thread of gold, to which the statue always answered\n\u201cNo,\u201d and all the while the prince stood gazing and wondering. By-and-by\nthe queen wearied of what she was doing, and thrust the steel-tipped\nlash back into her bosom again, upon which the prince, seeing that\nshe was done, hurried back to the garden where she had left him and\npretended to be gathering the golden fruit and jewel flowers.\n\nThe queen said nothing to him good or bad, except to command him to\ngrind at the great stone mill as he had done on the other side of the\nwater. Thereupon the prince did as she bade, and presently the brazen\nboat came skimming over the water more swiftly than the wind. Again the\nqueen and the prince entered it, and again it carried them to the other\nside whence they had come.\n\nNo sooner had the queen set foot upon the shore than she stopped and\ngathered up a handful of sand. Then, turning as quick as lightning, she\nflung it into the prince\u2019s face. \u201cBe a black dog,\u201d she cried in a loud\nvoice, \u201cand join your comrades!\u201d\n\nAnd now it was that the ring that the prince\u2019s mother had given him\nstood him in good stead. But for it he would have become a black dog\nlike those others, for thus it had happened to all before him who had\nferried the witch queen over the water. So she expected to see him\nrun away yelping, as those others had done; but the prince remained a\nprince, and stood looking her in the face.\n\nWhen the queen saw that her magic had failed her she grew as pale as\ndeath, and fell to trembling in every limb. She turned and hastened\nquickly away, and the prince followed her wondering, for he neither knew\nthe mischief she had intended doing him, nor how his ring had saved him\nfrom the fate of those others.\n\nSo they came back up the stairs and out through the stone wall into\nthe palace garden. The queen pressed her hand against the stone and it\nturned back into its place again. Then, beckoning to the prince, she\nhurried away down the garden. Before he followed he picked up a coal\nthat lay near by, and put a cross upon the stone; then he hurried after\nher, and so came to the palace once more.\n\nBy this time the cocks were crowing, and the dawn of day was just\nbeginning to show over the roof-tops and the chimney-stacks of the town.\n\nAs for the queen, she had regained her composure, and, bidding the\nprince wait for her a moment, she hastened to her chamber. There she\nopened her book of magic, and in it she soon found who the prince was\nand how the ring had saved him.\n\nWhen she had learned all that she wanted to know she put on a smiling\nface and came back to him. \u201cAh, prince,\u201d said she, \u201cI well know who you\nare, for your coming to my country is not secret to me. I have shown\nyou strange things to-night. I will unfold all the wonder to you another\ntime. Will you not come back and sup with me again?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the prince, \u201cI will come whensoever you bid me;\u201d for he was\ncurious to know the secret of the statue and the strange things he had\nseen.\n\n\u201cAnd will you not give me a pledge of your coming?\u201d said the queen,\nstill smiling.\n\n\u201cWhat pledge shall I give you,\u201d said the prince.\n\n\u201cGive me the ring that is upon your finger,\u201d said the queen; and she\nsmiled so bewitchingly that the prince could not have refused her had he\ndesired to do so.\n\nAlas for him! He thought no evil, but, without a word, drew off the ring\nand gave it to the queen, and she slipped it upon her finger.\n\n\u201cO fool!\u201d she cried, laughing a wicked laugh, \u201cO fool! to give away that\nin which your safety lay!\u201d As she spoke she dipped her fingers into a\nbasin of water that stood near by and dashed the drops into the prince\u2019s\nface. \u201cBe a raven,\u201d she cried, \u201cand a raven remain!\u201d\n\nIn an instant the prince was a prince no longer, but a coal-black raven.\nThe queen snatched up a sword that lay near by and struck at him to kill\nhim. But the raven-prince leaped aside and the blow missed its aim.\n\nBy good luck a window stood open, and before the queen could strike\nagain he spread his wings and flew out of the open casement and over the\nhouse-tops and was gone.\n\nOn he flew and on he flew until he came to the old man\u2019s house, and so\nto the room where his foster-father himself was sitting. He lit upon the\nground at the old man\u2019s feet and tried to tell him what had befallen,\nbut all that he could say was \u201cCroak! croak!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat brings this bird of ill omen?\u201d said the old man, and he drew his\nsword to kill it. He raised his hand to strike, but the raven did not\ntry to fly away as he had expected, but bowed his neck to receive the\nstroke. Then the old man saw that the tears were running down from the\nraven\u2019s eyes, and he held his hand. \u201cWhat strange thing is this?\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cSurely nothing but the living soul weeps; and how, then, can this\nbird shed tears?\u201d So he took the raven up and looked into his eyes, and\nin them he saw the prince\u2019s soul. \u201cAlas!\u201d he cried, \u201cmy heart misgives\nme that something strange has happened. Tell me, is this not my\nfoster-son, the prince?\u201d\n\nThe raven answered \u201cCroak!\u201d and nothing else; but the good old man\nunderstood it all, and the tears ran down his cheeks and trickled over\nhis beard. \u201cWhether man or raven, you shall still be my son,\u201d said he,\nand he held the raven close in his arms and caressed it.\n\nHe had a golden cage made for the bird, and every day he would walk with\nit in the garden, talking to it as a father talks to his son.\n\nOne day when they were thus in the garden together a strange lady came\ntowards them down the pathway. Over her had and face was drawn a thick\nveil, so that the two could not tell who she was. When she came close to\nthem she raised the veil, and the raven-prince saw that her face was the\nliving likeness of the queen\u2019s; and yet there was something in it that\nwas different. It was the second sister of the queen, and the old man\nknew her and bowed before her.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said she. \u201cI know what the raven is, and that it is the\nprince, whom the queen has bewitched. I also know nearly as much of\nmagic as she, and it is that alone that has saved me so long from ill.\nBut danger hangs close over me; the queen only waits for the chance to\nbewitch me; and some day she will overpower me, for she is stronger\nthan I. With the prince\u2019s aid I can overcome her and make myself forever\nsafe, and it is this that has brought me here to-day. My magic is\npowerful enough to change the prince back into his true shape again, and\nI will do so if he will aid me in what follows, and this is it: I will\nconjure the queen, and by-and-by a great eagle will come flying, and its\nplumage will be as black as night. Then I myself will become an eagle,\nwith black-and-white plumage, and we two will fight in the air. After a\nwhile we will both fall to the ground, and then the prince must cut off\nthe head of the black eagle with a knife I shall give him. Will you do\nthis?\u201d said she, turning to the raven, \u201cif I transform you to your true\nshape?\u201d\n\nThe raven bowed his head and said \u201cCroak!\u201d And the sister of the queen\nknew that he meant yes.\n\nTherewith she drew a great, long keen knife from her bosom, and thrust\nit into the ground. \u201cIt is with this knife of magic,\u201d said she, \u201cthat\nyou must cut off the black eagle\u2019s head.\u201d Then the witch-princess\ngathered up some sand in her hand, and flung it into the raven\u2019s face.\n\u201cResume,\u201d cried she, \u201cyour own shape!\u201d And in an instant the prince was\nhimself again. The next thing the sister of the queen did was to draw a\ncircle upon the ground around the prince, the old man, and herself. On\nthe circle she marked strange figures here and there. Then, all three\nstanding close together, she began her conjurations, uttering strange\nwords--now under her breath, and now clear and loud.\n\nPresently the sky darkened, and it began to thunder and rumble. Darker\nit grew and darker, and the thunder crashed and roared. The earth\ntrembled under their feet, and the trees swayed hither and thither as\nthough tossed by a tempest. Then suddenly the uproar ceased and all grew\nas still as death, the clouds rolled away, and in a moment the sun shone\nout once more, and all was calm and serene as it had been before. But\nstill the princess muttered her conjurations, and as the prince and the\nold man looked they beheld a speck that grew larger and larger, until\nthey saw that it was an eagle as black as night that was coming swiftly\nflying through the sky. Then the queen\u2019s sister also saw it and ceased\nfrom her spells. She drew a little cap of feathers from her bosom with\ntrembling hands. \u201cRemember,\u201d said she to the prince; and, so saying,\nclapped the feather cap upon her head. In an instant she herself became\nan eagle--pied, black and white--and, spreading her wings, leaped into\nthe air.\n\nFor a while the two eagles circled around and around; but at last they\ndashed against one another, and, grappling with their talons, tumbled\nover and over until they struck the ground close to the two who stood\nlooking.\n\nThen the prince snatched the knife from the ground and ran to where they\nlay struggling. \u201cWhich was I to kill?\u201d said he to the old man.\n\n\u201cAre they not birds of a feather?\u201d cried the foster-father. \u201cKill them\nboth, for then only shall we all be safe.\u201d\n\nThe prince needed no second telling to see the wisdom of what the old\nman said. In an instant he struck off the heads of both the eagles, and\nthus put an end to both sorceresses, the lesser as well as the greater.\nThey buried both of the eagles in the garden without telling any one of\nwhat had happened. So soon as that was done the old man bade the prince\ntell him all that had befallen him, and the prince did so.\n\n\u201cAye! aye!\u201d said the old man, \u201cI see it all as clear as day. The black\ndogs are the young men who have supped with the queen; the statue is the\ngood princess; and the basin of water is the water of life, which has\nthe power of taking away magic. Come; let us make haste to bring help to\nall those unfortunates who have been lying under the queen\u2019s spells.\u201d\n\nThe prince needed no urging to do that. They hurried to the palace; they\ncrossed the garden to the stone wall. There they found the stone upon\nwhich the prince had set the black cross. He pressed his hand upon it,\nand it opened to him like a door. They descended the steps, and went\nthrough the passageway, until they came out upon the sea-shore. The\nblack dogs came leaping towards them; but this time it was to fawn upon\nthem, and to lick their hands and faces.\n\nThe prince turned the great stone mill till the brazen boat came flying\ntowards the shore. They entered it, and so crossed the water and came to\nthe other side. They did not tarry in the garden, but went straight to\nthe snow-white palace and to the great vaulted chamber where was the\nstatue. \u201cYes,\u201d said the old man, \u201cit is the youngest princess, sure\nenough.\u201d\n\nThe prince said nothing, but he dipped up some of the water in his palm\nand dashed it upon the statue. \u201cIf you are the princess, take your true\nshape again,\u201d said he. Before the words had left his lips the statue\nbecame flesh and blood, and the princess stepped down from where\nshe stood, and the prince thought that he had never seen any one so\nbeautiful as she. \u201cYou have brought me back to life,\u201d said she, \u201cand\nwhatever I shall have shall be yours as well as mine.\u201d\n\nThen they all set their faces homeward again, and the prince took with\nhim a cupful of the water of life.\n\nWhen they reached the farther shore the black dogs came running to meet\nthem. The prince sprinkled the water he carried upon them, and as soon\nas it touched them that instant they were black dogs no longer, but the\ntall, noble young men that the sorceress queen had bewitched. There, as\nthe old man had hoped, he found his own three sons, and kissed them with\nthe tears running down his face.\n\nBut when the people of that land learned that their youngest princess,\nand the one whom they loved, had come back again, and that the two\nsorceresses would trouble them no longer, they shouted and shouted for\njoy. All the town was hung with flags and illuminated, the fountains ran\nwith wine, and nothing was heard but sounds of rejoicing. In the midst\nof it all the prince married the princess, and so became the king of\nthat country.\n\nAnd now to go back again to the beginning.\n\nAfter the youngest prince had been driven away from home, and the old\nking had divided the kingdom betwixt the other two, things went for a\nwhile smoothly and joyfully. But by little and little the king was put\nto one side until he became as nothing in his own land. At last hot\nwords passed between the father and the two sons, and the end of the\nmatter was that the king was driven from the land to shift for himself.\n\nNow, after the youngest prince had married and had become king of that\nother land, he bethought himself of his father and his mother, and\nlonged to see them again. So he set forth and travelled towards his old\nhome. In his journeying he came to a lonely house at the edge of a great\nforest, and there night came upon him. He sent one of the many of those\nwho rode with him to ask whether he could not find lodging there for\nthe time, and who should answer the summons but the king, his father,\ndressed in the coarse clothing of a forester. The old king did not know\nhis own son in the kingly young king who sat upon his snow-white horse.\nHe bade the visitor to enter, and he and the old queen served their son\nand bowed before him.\n\nThe next morning the young king rode back to his own land, and then sent\nattendants with horses and splendid clothes, and bade them bring his\nfather and mother to his own home.\n\nHe had a noble feast set for them, with everything befitting the\nentertainment of a king, but he ordered that not a grain of salt should\nseason it.\n\nSo the father and the mother sat down to the feast with their son and\nhis queen, but all the time they did not know him. The old king tasted\nthe food and tasted the food, but he could not eat of it.\n\n\u201cDo you not feel hungry?\u201d said the young king.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said his father, \u201cI crave your majesty\u2019s pardon, but there is no\nsalt in the food.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so is life lacking of savor without love,\u201d said the young king;\n\u201cand yet because I loved you as salt you disowned me and cast me out\ninto the world.\u201d\n\nTherewith he could contain himself no longer, but with the tears running\ndown his cheeks kissed his father and his mother; and they knew him, and\nkissed him again.\n\nAfterwards the young king went with a great army into the country of\nhis elder brothers, and, overcoming them, set his father upon his throne\nagain. If ever the two got back their crowns you may be sure that they\nwore them more modestly than they did the first time.\n\n\nSo the Fisherman who had one time unbottled the Genie whom Solomon the\nWise had stoppered up concluded his story, and all of the good folk who\nwere there began clapping their shadowy hands.\n\n\u201cAye, aye,\u201d said old Bidpai, \u201cthere is much truth in what you say, for\nit is verily so that that which men call--love--is--the--salt--of--\u201c....\n\nHis voice had been fading away thinner and thinner and smaller and\nsmaller--now it was like the shadow of a voice; now it trembled and\nquivered out into silence and was gone.\n\nAnd with the voice of old Bidpai the pleasant Land of Twilight was also\ngone. As a breath fades away from a mirror, so had it faded and vanished\ninto nothingness.\n\nI opened my eyes.\n\nThere was a yellow light--it came from the evening lamp. There were\npeople of flesh and blood around--my own dear people--and they were\ntalking together. There was the library with the rows of books looking\nsilently out from their shelves. There was the fire of hickory logs\ncrackling and snapping in the fireplace, and throwing a wavering, yellow\nlight on the wall.\n\nHad I been asleep? No; I had been in Twilight Land.\n\nAnd now the pleasant Twilight Land had gone. It had faded out, and I was\nback again in the work-a-day world.\n\nThere I was sitting in my chair; and, what was more, it was time for the\nchildren to go to bed.","title":"Twilight Land","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":73046}