glad song of welcome to the prince. Harweda, however, cared very
little about birds, so he took no notice of the singer.

Around on every side were couches with richly embroidered coverings
and soft down pillows. "Ah," thought the prince, "here I can lounge at
my ease with no one to call me to stupid lessons!" Wonderfully carved
jars and vases of gold and silver stood about on the floor, and each
was filled with a different perfume. "This is delicious," said Prince
Harweda. "Now I can have all the sweet odours I want without the
trouble of going into the garden for roses or lilies."

In the centre of the room was a fountain of sparkling water which
leaped up and fell back into its marble basin with a faint, dreamy
music very pleasant to hear.

On a table near at hand were various baskets of the most tempting
pears and grapes and peaches, and near them were dishes of sweetmeats.
"Good," said the greedy young prince, "that is what I like best of
all." Thereupon he fell to eating the fruit and sweetmeats as fast as
he could cram them into his mouth. He ate so much that he had a pain
in his stomach, but strange to say, the table was just as full as
when he began, for no sooner did he reach his hand out and take a
soft, mellow pear or a rich, juicy peach than another pear or peach
took its place in the basket. The same thing happened when he helped
himself to chocolate drops or marsh-mallows, for of course, as the
little palace was enchanted, everything in it was enchanted also.

When Prince Harweda had eaten until he could eat no more, he threw
himself down upon one of the couches and fell asleep. When he awoke,
he noticed, for the first time, the walls which, by the way, were
really the strangest part of his new home. They had in them twelve
long, chequered windows which reached from the ceiling to the floor.
The spaces between the windows were filled with mirrors exactly the
same size as the windows, so that the whole room was walled in with
windows and looking-glasses. Through the three windows that looked to
the north could be seen far distant mountains, towering high above the
surrounding country. From the three windows that faced the south could
be seen the great ocean, tossing and moving and gleaming with white
and silver. The eastern windows gave each morning a glorious view of
the sunrise. The windows on the west looked out upon a great forest of
tall fir-trees, and at the time of sunset most splendid colours c