e is no death at all.'

So next morning he bade them farewell, though the princess begged him to
stay with all her might; and when she found that she could not persuade
him she gave him as a remembrance a gold ring. This ring was still more
useful than the box, because when one wished oneself at any place one
was there directly, without even the trouble of flying to it through the
air. The prince put it on his finger, and thanking her heartily, went
his way.

He walked on for some distance, and then he recollected the ring and
thought he would try if the princess had spoken truly as to its powers.
'I wish I was at the end of the world,' he said, shutting his eyes, and
when he opened them he was standing in a street full of marble palaces.
The men who passed him were tall and strong, and their clothes were
magnificent. He stopped some of them and asked in all the twenty-seven
languages he knew what was the name of the city, but no one answered
him. Then his heart sank within him; what should he do in this strange
place if nobody could understand anything? he said. Suddenly his eyes
fell upon a man dressed after the fashion of his native country, and he
ran up to him and spoke to him in his own tongue. 'What city is this, my
friend?' he inquired.

'It is the capital city of the Blue Kingdom,' replied the man, 'but the
king himself is dead, and his daughter is now the ruler.'

With this news the prince was satisfied, and begged his countryman to
show him the way to the young queen's palace. The man led him through
several streets into a large square, one side of which was occupied by a
splendid building that seemed borne up on slender pillars of soft green
marble. In front was a flight of steps, and on these the queen was
sitting wrapped in a veil of shining silver mist, listening to the
complaints of her people and dealing out justice. When the prince
came up she saw directly that he was no ordinary man, and telling her
chamberlain to dismiss the rest of her petitioners for that day, she
signed to the prince to follow her into the palace. Luckily she had been
taught his language as a child, so they had no difficulty in talking
together.

The prince told all his story and how he was journeying in search of
the Land of Immortality. When he had finished, the princess, who had
listened attentively, rose, and taking his arm, led him to the door of
another room, the floor of which was made entirely of needles, stuck so
cl