" said the old man, "I command thee, O
Carpet! to bear us over hill and valley, over lake and river, to that
spot whither I wish to go." Hardly had the words left his mouth when
away flew the carpet, swifter than the swiftest wind, carrying the old
man and the young spendthrift, until at last it brought them to a rocky
desert without leaf or blade of grass to be seen far or near. Then it
descended to where there was a circle of sand as smooth as a floor.

The old man rolled up the carpet, and then drew from a pouch that hung
at his side a box, and from the box some sticks of sandal and spice
woods, with which he built a little fire. Next he drew from the same
pouch a brazen jar, from which he poured a gray powder upon the blaze.
Instantly there leaped up a great flame of white light and a cloud of
smoke, which rose high in the air, and there spread out until it hid
everything from sight. Then the old man began to mutter spells, and in
answer the earth shook and quaked, and a rumbling as of thunder filled
the air. At last he gave a loud cry, and instantly the earth split open,
and there the young spendthrift saw a trap-door of iron, in which was an
iron ring to lift it by.

"Look!" said the old man. "Yonder is the task for which I have brought
you; lift for me that trap-door of iron, for it is too heavy for me to
raise, and I will pay you well."

And it was no small task, either, for, stout and strong as the young man
was, it was all he could do to lift up the iron plate. But at last up
it swung, and down below he saw a flight of stone steps leading into the
earth.

The old man drew from his bosom a copper lamp, which he lit at the fire
of the sandal and spice wood sticks, which had now nearly died away.
Then, leading the way, with the young man following close at his heels,
he descended the stairway that led down below. At the bottom the two
entered a great vaulted room, carved out of the solid stone, upon the
walls of which were painted strange pictures in bright colors of kings
and queens, genii and dragons. Excepting for these painted figures, the
vaulted room was perfectly bare, only that in the centre of the floor
there stood three stone tables. Upon the first table stood an iron
candlestick with three branches; upon the second stood an earthen jar,
empty of everything but dust; upon the third stood a brass bowl, a yard
wide and a yard deep, and filled to the brim with shining, gleaming,
dazzling jewels of all