The queen of the Amazons smiled.

"Then shall it be said of thee," she replied, "that thou wert a
valiant warrior who conquered the world, but was himself conquered by
women. Is that to be your message to history?"

King Alexander was a man of learning and of wisdom, as well as a great
soldier, but the words of the queen of the Amazons were such that he
could not answer. He bowed low before the queen and with a gesture
indicated that he had naught to say.

"Then it is to be peace," said the queen. "At least, before thy
return, let me prepare for thee a banquet."

In a hut made of logs and decorated with skins, a rough wooden table
was placed before Alexander and on it was laid a loaf of gold.

"Do ye eat bread of gold?" asked the king, much surprised.

"Nay," replied the queen. "We are women of simple tastes, but thou art
a mighty king. If thou didst but wish to eat ordinary bread in this
land, why didst thou desire to conquer it? Is there no more bread in
your own land that thou shouldst brave the dangers of the dark
mountains to eat it here?"

Alexander bowed his head on his breast. Never before had he felt
ashamed.

"I, Alexander of Macedon," he said, "was a fool until I came to the
land beyond the Mountains of Darkness and learned wisdom from women."

With all haste he returned through the land of eternal night on his
Libyan asses. But in the flight the cord was broken. He had to trust
entirely to the asses, and many long and weary days and nights did he
journey before he saw the light once more.

Alexander found himself in a new and beautiful land. There were no
signs of human beings, nor of animals, and a river of the clearest
water he had ever seen, flowed gently along. It was full of fish which
the soldiers caught quite easily. But a strange thing happened when,
after having cut up the fish ready for cooking, they took them to the
river to clean them. All the fish came to life again; the pieces
joined together and darted away in the water.

At first Alexander would not believe this, but after he had made an
experiment himself, he said: "Let all who are wounded bathe in this
river, for surely it will cure every ill. This must be the River of
Life which flows from Paradise."

He determined to follow the stream to its source and find the Garden
of Eden. As he marched along, the valley through which the stream
flowed, became narrower and narrower, until, at last, only one person
could pass. Alexand