l that was in it, and that he had even left his wife, and was
wandering over the world until he found it. And that it was the sun who
had sent him to consult the wind. So she hid him under the staircase,
and soon they heard the south wind arrive, shaking the house to its
foundations. Thirsty as he was, he did not wait to drink, but he told
his mother that he smelt the blood of a Christian man, and that she had
better bring him out at once and make him ready to be eaten. But she
bade her son eat and drink what was before him, and said that the poor
young man was much to be pitied, and that the sun had granted him his
life in order that he might consult the wind. Then she brought out the
young man, who explained how he was seeking for his palace, and that no
man had been able to tell him where it was, so he had come to the wind.
And he added that he had been shamefully robbed, and that the laths were
of gold and the tiles of diamond, and all the furniture in silver and
gold, and he inquired if the wind had not seen such a palace during his
wanderings.

And the wind said yes, and that all that day he had been blowing
backwards and forwards over it without being able to move one single
tile. 'Oh, do tell me where it is,' cried the you man. 'It is a long
way off,' replied the wind, 'on the other side of the Red Sea.' But our
traveller was not discouraged, he had already journeyed too far.

So he set forth at once, and, somehow or other, he managed to reach that
distant land. And he enquired if anyone wanted a gardener. He was told
that the head gardener at the castle had just left, and perhaps he might
have a chance of getting the place. The young man lost no time, but
walked up to the castle and asked if they were in want of a gardener;
and how happy he was when they agreed to take him! Now he passed most of
his day in gossiping with the servants about the wealth of their masters
and the wonderful things in the house. He made friends with one of the
maids, who told him the history of the snuff-box, and he coaxed her to
let him see it. One evening she managed to get hold of it, and the young
man watched carefully where she hid it away, in a secret place in the
bedchamber of her mistress.

The following night, when everyone was fast asleep, he crept in and took
the snuff-box. Think of his joy as he opened the lid! When it asked him,
as of yore, 'What do you want?' he replied: 'What do I want? What do
I want? Why, I want to