-and blew but one note through it. Then in a moment the
crowd divided hither and thither, with cries of wonder and alarm, for
the Plough turned and bounded back to its master quickly, as an Arab
mare at the call of her owner.

The old woman, weeping for gladness, cried: 'Thou art master of the
Plough! Art thou master of all the other things as well?'

He said: 'Of one thing only. Tell me of the Burning Rose and the
Camphor-Worm; what and where are they? For I am the master of the ends
of the earth by reason of the speed with which this carries me; and I
am lord of the Thirsty Well, and have the Fire-eaters for my friends.'

The old woman clapped her hands, and blessed him for his youth, and
his wisdom, and his courage. 'First,' she said, 'restore to the
Princess her memory by means of the water of the Thirsty Well; then I
will show you the way to the Burning Rose, for the easier thing must
be done first.'

Then Noodle drew out the crystal and breathed in it, calling on the
Well-folk for the two drops of water to lay on Princess Melilot's
eyes. Immediately in the bottom of the cup appeared two blue drops
of water, that came climbing up the sides of the glass and stood
trembling together on the brim. And Noodle, touching them with the
firestone ring to make the memory of things sweet to her, bent back
the Princess's face, and let them fall under her closed lids.

'Look!' cried the faithful nurse, 'light trembles within those eyes of
hers! In there she begins to remember things; but as yet she sees and
hears nothing. Now it is for you to be swift and fetch her the blossom
of the Burning Rose. Be wise, and you shall not fail!'

[Illustration]

V

THE BURNING ROSE

She told him how he was to go, across the desert southward, till he
found a giant, longer in length than a day's journey, lying asleep
upon the sand. Over his head, it was told, hung a cloud, covering him
from the heat and resting itself against his brows; within the cloud
was a dream, and within the dream grew the garden of the Burning
Rose. Than this she knew no more, nor by what means Noodle might gain
entrance and become possessor of the Rose.

Noodle waited for no more; he mounted upon the Galloping Plough, and
pressed away over the desert to the south. For three days he travelled
through parched places, refreshing himself by the way with the water
of the Thirsty Well, calling on the Well-folk for the replenishment of
his crystal, and tur