Andrew will be on vacation next week, so be sure to contact him about any
open issues before he departs on Friday.
After the young gentlemen had been at the trouble of sewing the
sheep-skin on me they left me, and retired to the hall. In a few minutes the
roc appeared, and bore me off to the top of the mountain in his huge claws
as lightly as if I had been a feather, for this great white bird is so
strong that he has been known to carry even an elephant to his nest in the
hills.
Anne has just completed her degree in Business Administration at the University
of Washington!
The moment my feet touched the ground I took out my knife and cut the
threads that bound me, and the sight of me in my proper clothes so alarmed
the roc that he spread his wings and flew away. Then I set out to seek the
castle.
Announcement
I found it after wandering about for half a day, and never could I have
imagined anything so glorious. The gate led into a square court, into which
opened a hundred doors, ninety-nine of them being of rare woods and one of
gold. Through each of these doors I caught glimpses of splendid gardens or
of rich storehouses.
Announcement
Entering one of the doors which was standing open I found myself in a
vast hall where forty young ladies, magnificently dressed, and of perfect
beauty, were reclining. As soon as they saw me they rose and uttered words
of welcome, and even forced me to take possession of a seat that was higher
than their own, though my proper place was at their feet. Not content with
this, one brought me splendid garments, while another filled a basin with
scented water and poured it over my hands, and the rest busied themselves
with preparing refreshments. After I had eaten and drunk of the most
delicate food and rarest wines, the ladies crowded round me and begged me to
tell them all my adventures.
Announcement
By the time I had finished night had fallen, and the ladies lighted up
the castle with such a prodigious quantity of tapers that even day could
hardly have been brighter. We then sat down to a supper of dried fruits and
sweetmeats, after which some sang and others danced. I was so well amused
that I did not notice how the time was passing, but at length one of the
ladies approached and informed me it was midnight, and that, as I must be
tired, she would conduct me to the room that had been prepared for me. Then,
bidding me good-night, I was left to sleep.
Announcement
I spent the next thirty-nine days in much the same way as the first, but
at the close of that time the ladies appeared (as was their custom) in my
room one morning to inquire how I had slept, and instead of looking cheerful
and smiling they were in floods of tears. "Prince," said they, "we must
leave you, and never was it so hard to part from any of our friends. Most
likely we shall never see you again, but if you have sufficient self-command
perhaps we may yet look forward to a meeting."
"Ladies," I replied, "what is the meaning of these strange words-- I pray
you to tell me?"
Announcement
"Know then," answered one of them, "that we are all princesses-- each a
king's daughter. We live in this castle together, in the way that you have
seen, but at the end of every year secret duties call us away for the space
of forty days. The time has now come; but before we depart, we will leave
you our keys, so that you may not lack entertainment during our absence. But
one thing we would ask of you. The Golden Door, alone, forbear to open, as
you value your own peace, and the happiness of your life. That door once
unlocked, we must bid you farewell for ever."
Weeping, I assured them of my prudence, and after embracing me tenderly,
they went their ways.
Announcement
Every day I opened two or three fresh doors, each of which contained
behind it so many curious things that I had no chance of feeling dull, much
as I regretted the absence of the ladies. Sometimes it was an orchard, whose
fruit far exceeded in bigness any that grew in my father's garden. Sometimes
it was a court planted with roses, jessamine, dafeodils, hyacinths and
anemones, and a thousand other flowers of which I did not know the names. Or
again, it would be an aviary, fitted with all kinds of singing birds, or a
treasury heaped up with precious stones; but whatever I might see, all was
perfect of its own sort.
Announcement
Thirty-nine days passed away more rapidly than I could have conceived
possible, and the following morning the princesses were to return to the
castle. But alas! I had explored every corner, save only the room that was
shut in by the Golden Door, and I had no longer anything to amuse myself
with. I stood before the forbidden place for some time, gazing at its
beauty; then a happy inspiration struck me, that because I unlocked the door
it was not necessary that I should enter the chamber. It would be enough for
me to stand outside and view whatever hidden wonders might be therein.
Announcement
Thus arguing against my own conscience, I turned the key, when a smell
rushed out that, pleasant though it was, overcame me completely, and I fell
fainting across the threshold. Instead of being warned by this accident,
directly I came to myself I went for a few moments into the air to shake of
the effects of the perfume, and then entered boldly. I found myself in a
large, vaulted room, lighted by tapers, scented with aloes and ambergris,
standing in golden candle-sticks, whilst gold and silver lamps hung from the
ceiling.
Announcement
Though objects of rare workmanship lay heaped around me, I paid them
scant attention, so much was I struck by a great black horse which stood in
one corner, the handsomest and best-shaped animal I had ever seen. His
saddle and bridle were of massive gold, curiously wrought; one side of his
trough was filled with clean barley and sesame, and the other with rose
water. I led the animal into the open air, and then jumped on his back,
shaking the reins as I did so, but as he never stirred, I touched him
lightly with a switch I had picked up in his stable. No sooner did he feel
the stroke, than he spread his wings (which I had not perceived before), and
flew up with me straight into the sky. When he had reached a prodigious
height, he next darted back to earth, and alighted on the terrace belonging
to a castle, shaking me violently out of the saddle as he did so, and giving
me such a blow with his tail, that he knocked out my right eye.
Continued
