k and Fighting Falcon and the bloody
Butcher Bird, and they will take your treasure from you, and kill you,
too, into the bargain. What do you think of that, Mother Magpie?"

Then she was afraid, for she knew those bad birds; and she saw that she
must trust her secret with Whitebird, since he had already discovered
half the truth.

"Well, if you will promise me not to let any one else know, not even
King Eagle, I will tell you," she said. So Whitebird promised.

"Listen," said the Magpie. "You must find the cave which is near the
tallest oak on the mountain, under the flat stone. In a corner there is
a tiny hole, just big enough for you or me to pass. And this is the
entrance to a passage which leads down into the cellars of the earth.
And when you have gone down and down, farther than any one except myself
ever went before, you will come to the palace of the King of Riches. It
is full of gold and silver and precious stones like these you see here.
Each chamber is more beautiful and more tempting than the last. But you
must not touch a stone or a single coin, or even a little bit of
gold-dust, until you have seen the King. For first you must offer
yourself to be his servant, and then he will be generous; then he will
let you carry away as much treasure as your beak will hold. That is all
there is to it. But beware, greedy Whitebird! Take my advice, and do not
touch a grain of treasure before you see the King, or great evil will
befall you."

Whitebird promised to do as she said. And then away he flew to the blue
mountain and its tallest oak. Close by the great oak, in a lonely spot,
he found the flat rock, and under it was the cave where once a bear had
lived. Whitebird hopped in eagerly, and away back in one corner of the
cave he found a little round hole, as the Magpie had said; a hole not
much bigger than an apple. It must have been a tight squeeze for fat
Mother Magpie!

Whitebird hopped through the hole and found himself in a long, narrow
passage which led down, down, down into places where his eyes were of no
use at all. For he was not like Master Owl, who can see better in the
dark than anywhere else. Blindly he hopped on and on, till he came into
a great cavern, bright with a white radiance, as if the moonlight
filtered in from somewhere. It was the first room of the King's palace
of treasure; and it was all of silver, paved with silver, heaped with
silver, shining with silver. Whitebird's eyes glittered an