were all in
rags, and my shoes were in such a state that I had been forced to
abandon them altogether.

I entered the town, and stopped at a tailor's shop to inquire where I
was. The man saw I was better than my condition, and begged me to sit
down, and in return I told him my whole story. The tailor listened
with attention, but his reply, instead of giving me consolation, only
increased my trouble.

"Beware," he said, "of telling any one what you have told me, for the
prince who governs the kingdom is your father's greatest enemy, and he
will be rejoiced to find you in his power."

I thanked the tailor for his counsel, and said I would do whatever he
advised; then, being very hungry, I gladly ate of the food he put
before me, and accepted his offer of a lodging in his house.

In a few days I had quite recovered from the hardships I had undergone,
and then the tailor, knowing that it was the custom for the princes of
our religion to learn a trade or profession so as to provide for
themselves in times of ill-fortune, inquired if there was anything I
could do for my living. I replied that I had been educated as a
grammarian and a poet, but that my great gift was writing.

"All that is of no use here," said the tailor. "Take my advice, put on
a short coat, and as you seem hardy and strong, go into the woods and
cut firewood, which you will sell in the streets. By this means you
will earn your living, and be able to wait till better times come. The
hatchet and the cord shall be my present."

This counsel was very distasteful to me, but I thought I could not do
otherwise than adopt it. So the next morning I set out with a company
of poor wood-cutters, to whom the tailor had introduced me. Even on
the first day I cut enough wood to sell for a tolerable sum, and very
soon I became more expert, and had made enough money to repay the
tailor all he had lent me.

I had been a wood-cutter for more than a year, when one day I wandered
further into the forest than I had ever done before, and reached a
delicious green glade, where I began to cut wood. I was hacking at the
root of a tree, when I beheld an iron ring fastened to a trapdoor of
the same metal. I soon cleared away the earth, and pulling up the
door, found a staircase, which I hastily made up my mind to go down,
carrying my hatchet with me by way of protection. When I reached the
bottom I discovered that I was in a huge palace, as brilliantly lighted
as a