l of truth; and whenever he came to a place of habitation, he
would ask the men if they had heard of it. And in every place the men
answered: "Not only have we heard of it, but we alone, of all men,
possess the thing itself, and it hangs in the side of our chimney to
this day." Then would the elder son be glad, and beg for a sight of it.
And sometimes it would be a piece of mirror, that showed the seeming of
things; and then he would say, "This can never be, for there should be
more than seeming." And sometimes it would be a lump of coal, which
showed nothing; and then he would say, "This can never be, for at least
there is the seeming." And sometimes it would be a touchstone indeed,
beautiful in hue, adorned with polishing, the light inhabiting its
sides; and when he found this, he would beg the thing, and the persons
of that place would give it him, for all men were very generous of that
gift; so that at the last he had his wallet full of them, and they
chinked together when he rode; and when he halted by the side of the way
he would take them out and try them, till his head turned like the sails
upon a windmill.

"A murrain upon this business!" said the elder son, "for I perceive no
end to it. Here I have the red, and here the blue and the green; and to
me they seem all excellent, and yet shame each other. A murrain on the
trade! If it were not for the King that is a priest and whom I have
called my father, and if it were not for the fair maid of the dun that
makes my mouth to sing and my heart enlarge, I would even tumble them
all into the salt sea, and go home and be a King like other folk."

But he was like the hunter that has seen a stag upon a mountain, so that
the night may fall, and the fire be kindled, and the lights shine in his
house; but desire of that stag is single in his bosom.

Now after many years the elder son came upon the sides of the salt sea;
and it was night, and a savage place, and the clamour of the sea was
loud. There he was aware of a house, and a man sat there by the light of
a candle, for he had no fire. Now the elder son came in to him, and the
man gave him water to drink, for he had no bread; and wagged his head
when spoken to, for he had no words.

"Have you the touchstone of truth?" asked the elder son; and when the
man had wagged his head, "I might have known that," cried the elder son.
"I have here a wallet full of them!" And with that he laughed, although
his heart was weary.