so charmed her that since that day she had thought of no one else.
At these words the Prince could contain himself no longer. He took the
pebble from his mouth, and flung himself at Rosalie's feet.

When they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make
plans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did
not prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at
a time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle would
have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie would not
hear of this.

'No, Prince,' she said; 'since you are here this island no longer feels
a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who always
visits your father's court at this season. Go instantly and seek her,
and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with similar
powers. Once you have that, there will be no further difficulty in the
way of escape.'

The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother's
palace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however,
entirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for
so long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had
already left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it
but to wait till the Fairy's next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer
three months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had
almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when
one day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a
huge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest
conversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they imagined
themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.

'What!' said one, 'are you always going to allow yourself to be
tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole
kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?'

'What is the use,' replied the other, 'of being Prince of the Gnomes,
and having a mother who is queen over all the four elements, if I cannot
win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I first saw
her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have never ceased
to think of her night and day, and, although I love her, I am quite
convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I have in my
palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great mirrors reflect
the past; in the second,