it to his mouth to see whether it
would give a clear and fine tone; but, lo! it would not sound at all.
He puffed out his cheeks, and blew with all his strength; but he could
not produce a single note, and vexed at the useless present, he thrust
the whistle back into his sash. But his thoughts shortly returned to
the mysterious words of his mother. He had heard much about fairies,
but he had never learned that this or that neighbor in Balsora had had
any relations with a supernatural power; on the contrary, the legends
of these spirits had always been located in distant times and places,
and therefore he believed there were to-day no such apparitions, or
that the fairies had ceased to visit mortals or to take any interest in
their fate. But although he thought thus, he was constantly making the
attempt to believe in mysterious and supernatural powers, and wondering
what might have been their relations with his mother; and so he would
sit on his horse like one in a dream nearly the whole day, taking no
part in the conversation of the travellers, and deaf to their songs and
laughter.

Said was a very handsome youth; his eye was clear and piercing, his
mouth wore a pleasing expression, and, young as he was, he bore himself
with a certain dignity that one seldom sees in so young a man, and his
grace and soldierly appearance in the saddle commanded the attention of
many of his fellow-travellers. An old man who rode by his side was much
pleased with his manner, and sought by many questions to become more
acquainted with him. Said, in whom reverence for old age had been early
inculcated, answered modestly, but wisely and with circumspection, so
that the old man's first impressions of him were strengthened. But as
the young man's thoughts had been occupied the whole day with but one
subject, it followed that the conversation between the two soon turned
upon the mysterious realm of the fairies; and Said finally asked the
old man bluntly whether he believed in the existence of fairies, who
took mortals under their protection, or sought to injure them.

The old man shook his head thoughtfully, and stroked his beard, before
replying: "It can not be disputed that there have been instances of the
kind, although I have never seen a dwarf of the spirits, a giant of the
genii, a sorcerer, or a fairy." He then began to relate so many
wonderful stories that Said's head was fairly in a whirl, and he could
believe nothing else than that e