ar the two
in pieces. But the queen drew from her bosom a whip with a steel-pointed
lash, and as the dogs came springing towards them she laid about her
right and left, till the skin flew and the blood ran, and the dogs
leaped away howling and yelping.

At the edge of the water was a great stone mill, and the queen pointed
towards it and bade the prince turn it. Strong as he was, it was as much
as he could do to work it; but grind it he did, though the sweat ran
down his face in streams. By-and-by a speck appeared far away upon the
water; and as the prince ground and ground at the mill the speck grew
larger and larger. It was something upon the water, and it came nearer
and nearer as swiftly as the wind. At last it came close enough for him
to see that it was a little boat all of brass. By-and-by the boat struck
upon the beach, and as soon as it did so the queen entered it, bidding
the prince do the same.

No sooner were they seated than away the boat went, still as swiftly as
the wind. On it flew and on it flew, until at last they came to another
shore, the like of which the prince had never seen in his life before.
Down to the edge of the water ran a garden--but such a garden! The
leaves of the trees were all of silver and the fruit of gold, and
instead of flowers were precious stones--white, red, yellow, blue, and
green--that flashed like sparks of sunlight as the breeze moved them
this way and that way. Beyond the silver trees, with their golden fruit,
was a great palace as white as snow, and so bright that one had to shut
one's eyes as one looked upon it.

The boat ran up on the beach close to just such a stone mill as the
prince had seen upon the other side of the water, and then he and
the queen stepped ashore. As soon as they had done so the brazen boat
floated swiftly away, and in a little while was gone.

"Here our journey ends," said the queen. "Is it not a wonderful land,
and well worth the seeing? Look at all these jewels and this gold, as
plenty as fruits and flowers at home. You may take what you please; but
while you are gathering them I have another matter after which I must
look. Wait for me here, and by-and-by I will be back again."

So saying, she turned and left the prince, going towards the castle back
of the trees.

But the prince was a prince, and not a common man; he cared nothing for
gold and jewels. What he did care for was to see where the queen went,
and why she had brought him to thi