ay, and on his journey did exactly what he had
promised.

He jumped across the first brook, and threw a white seed into it, and
turned it into a terrible inky black waste of waters a mile wide, full
of fishes six yards long, and every fish covered with spikes.

The Genii stopped roaring then; they were relieved to see the Black
River rolling once more between them and the outer world.

When Pei-Hang came to the Red River, and the White River, and the Blue
River, he did the same thing; and from that day to this no one has
been able to find the home of the Genii, because no one but Pei-Hang
could ever cross the Blue River, much less the other three.

Then Pei-Hang journeyed for seven days, and came to his father's and
mother's house, and told them all that had happened since he had left
them, and he gave them a ruby, a diamond, an emerald, a sapphire, a
pearl, and a pink topaz, a jewel for every white seed his mother had
given him, and each as large as a sparrow's egg. After that he went on
to Chang-ngan, and there he found that, although he had only been a
month away, Yun-Ying's mother had told everyone he was dead, and
invited all her friends to a wedding feast in honour of her daughter's
marriage with the yellow-faced old mandarin. The wedding had not taken
place when Pei-Hang arrived; but Yun-Ying stood under the peach tree,
in her wedding dress, which was of pink silk, all embroidered with
silver, and when she saw Pei-Hang, she threw herself into his arms and
the tears ran down her cheeks.

Pei-Hang put down the pestle and mortar while he comforted her, and
her mother came running out to look at it.

"You have come too late to marry Yun-Ying," she said. "But I'll buy
the pestle and mortar from you with some of the money the mandarin has
given me."

"No, you will not," replied Pei-Hang. And he dropped one of his white
seeds into the mortar, which at once increased in size until it filled
the whole grass plat under the peach tree, and it was full to the brim
of glittering jewels.

Pei-Hang climbed into one of the branches overhanging it, and from
there he threw down among the wedding guests diamonds, rubies,
emeralds, and all kinds of precious stones.

And the yellow-faced mandarin was as busy picking them up as anyone.

"Although he is so rich that his drinking-cups are made of gold!"
cried the others, indignantly.

"One can never have too much of a good thing. He! he! he!" he
chuckled.

And when Pei-H