“We stood in a spacious court, the blue sky overhead, velvety grass underfoot and the windows of the house all around us. Most of these were open and in some of them were caged birds singing gloriously, and against all the sills were window-boxes full of flowers. Flowering ivy and climbing roses trailed here and there up the sides of the building, and there were so many rose bushes about in the gardens that the scent of them was quite heavy in the air. A small fountain stood at either end of the enclosure, in which curious small silver fish jumped and splashed about in the late afternoon sun.

“In the exact center of the court stood a large shrub about eight feet tall. It was beautifully trimmed and perfectly conical in form. The thick foliage was a dark, bright green, and the whole bush was covered with pure yellow flowers. They looked very much like velvety yellow pansies. I walked over and touched one. It was stiff and hard and shone with a metallic luster. It had evidently been on the bush for some time, as the buds and new blossoms were as soft as any flower.

“‘If my father could but see it,’ I murmured. ’If he had even a tiny plant I am sure it would prolong his life.’

“‘You shall have a seed, dear Prince,’ said the old gentleman, ’and it will grow very quickly, you shall see. Perhaps I did not tell you that only one seed is formed every seven years and that from the blossoms which comes out first on the seventh day of the seventh month, the day when the plant begins its yearly period of bloom. The seed which I have saved for you ripened only a few days ago, so you are very fortunate.’

“He went back into the house and returned with a small golden box from which he took a gold ring set with a valuable black diamond. He pressed a spring and the stone lifted, disclosing a small seed lying in the cavity. He shut the spring down again.

“‘Put this on your finger,’ he said, ’and do not open it until you are safely at home and in your father’s conservatory. Plant it in an unpretentious pot at night, and do not tell anyone what it is, but watch it every day yourself. The fairy too will watch it and pick the blossoms for you, as no mortal can do that. She will pick the seed flower as soon as it blooms, so that the Evil Magician may not secure the seed.’

“I thanked him with tears in my eyes and hoped that I might see the good fairy when I reached home.

“The old gentleman then took me over the house, which was indeed as magnificent as he had said, and after that we went to see the grounds and the immense wall.

“‘We will have to ride,’ said he, and led the way to the stables where stood his two horses, fine sleek animals. A colored boy, who of course like the other servants, was a fairy, harnessed them, and after riding through the park and past the lovely gardens we came to a great gateway in the high wall.

“The old gentleman reached down and touched a button at the side and the gates swung slowly open, closing again as soon as we had passed out.

“Out there were more trees set well apart and at some distance from the wall, and beyond that the yellow desert sands stretched away in the distance. We rode along beside the wall, which on this side faced the west. I was surprised to see that the whole wall was set with mirrors of magnifying glass, now reflecting the gorgeous colors of the sunset as it glowed in between the trees. It would have been beautiful had it not been for the frightful reflections of ourselves and the horses. They loomed large and distorted before us, and the old gentleman explained to me that he never had blinders on the horses excepting when they were riding beside the wall. He had tried riding without the blinders one day, but his horse had bolted in fright, and he had great difficulty in getting him inside again.

“‘Now I can understand,’ I said, ’why I thought I saw a lake when I was traveling towards this oasis. And now too I know what kind of giants chase all those who attempt to cross the desert.’

“‘Yes,’ answered the old gentleman smiling, ’it is a wise precaution of the fairy’s, and very harmless, but I should like to hear what the travelers tell.’

“The mirrors stretched right across the oasis, which was of a very irregular shape, and by the time we arrived again at the main gate and entered the grounds it was nearly dark.

“Dinner was ready, and after it was over the old gentleman told me I had better leave about midnight so as to be back in the village before it was light enough for anyone to see me.

“‘But how am I to get back so quickly?’ I asked.

“‘The way you came,’ replied the old gentleman.

“‘But what if Bowser will not carry the basket?’ I cried. ’He has eaten all the peaches now, and I have no more.’

“‘Yes,’ he replied, ’but this time you will be on Bowser’s back, and I can promise you he will take you over in very quick time, for he has been shut up in his cage without any supper and by midnight will be so hungry that he will not lose any time in reaching the nearest peach orchard. I am sorry to think that some poor farmer will suffer, but it is the only way you can get safely back.’

“I thanked him for this further evidence of his kindness and the evening passed very quickly in conversation. I had to do most of the talking, as the two old people had heard no news of the world since the fairy’s last visit, and listened intently to all I could tell them.”