a myth," objected Rob, who had been studying
mythology.

The Demon shrugged his shoulders.

"Then take the words of Mr. Shakespeare, to whom you all defer," he
replied. "Do you not remember that he says:

'Thy demon (that's thy spirit which keeps thee) is
Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable.'"

"Oh, if Shakespeare says it, that's all right," answered the boy. "But
it seems you're more like a genius, for you answer the summons of the
Master Key of Electricity in the same way Aladdin's genius answered the
rubbing of the lamp."

"To be sure. A demon is also a genius; and a genius is a demon," said
the Being. "What matters a name? I am here to do your bidding."

3. The Three Gifts

Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it. The great
general is only terrible to the enemy; the great poet is frequently
scolded by his wife; the children of the great statesman clamber about
his knees with perfect trust and impunity; the great actor who is
called before the curtain by admiring audiences is often waylaid at the
stage door by his creditors.

So Rob, having conversed for a time with the glorious Demon of
Electricity, began to regard him with more composure and less awe, as
his eyes grew more and more accustomed to the splendor that at first
had well-nigh blinded them.

When the Demon announced himself ready to do the boy's bidding, he
frankly replied:

"I am no skilled electrician, as you very well know. My calling you
here was an accident. So I don't know how to command you, nor what to
ask you to do."

"But I must not take advantage of your ignorance," answered the Demon.
"Also, I am quite anxious to utilize this opportunity to show the world
what a powerful element electricity really is. So permit me to inform
you that, having struck the Master Key, you are at liberty to demand
from me three gifts each week for three successive weeks. These gifts,
provided they are within the scope of electricity, I will grant."

Rob shook his head regretfully.

"If I were a great electrician I should know what to ask," he said.
"But I am too ignorant to take advantage of your kind offer."

"Then," replied the Demon, "I will myself suggest the gifts, and they
will be of such a character that the Earth people will learn the
possibilities that lie before them and be encouraged to work more
intelligently and to persevere in mastering those natural and simple
laws which control electricity.