ed. Here then we have lived ever since
in peace and comfort.'

"'But the Wonderful Plant, where is it? May I see it?' I asked, 'or am
I to meet with some misfortune for having dared to enter upon this
oasis?'

"The old gentleman laughed.

"'You are not to meet with anything here but good fortune, my dear
Prince,' said he, 'for the last time the fairy paid us a visit she told
us you were looking for a seed of the Wonderful Plant for your father,
and that if you succeeded in reaching this spot alone I was to give you
one. To tell you the truth we did not think much more about it, as we
did not believe anyone would ever reach here. Now you shall see the
plant itself.'

"He and the little old lady led the way into the great front hall and
through a long passage. Stopping at a heavily carved door he took a
small key from his pocket and unlocked it. The door swung open and we
stepped out."

CHAPTER XV

"We stood in a spacious court, the blue sky overhead, velvety grass
underfoot and the windows of the house all around us. Most of these
were open and in some of them were caged birds singing gloriously, and
against all the sills were window-boxes full of flowers. Flowering ivy
and climbing roses trailed here and there up the sides of the building,
and there were so many rose bushes about in the gardens that the scent
of them was quite heavy in the air. A small fountain stood at either
end of the enclosure, in which curious small silver fish jumped and
splashed about in the late afternoon sun.

"In the exact center of the court stood a large shrub about eight feet
tall. It was beautifully trimmed and perfectly conical in form. The
thick foliage was a dark, bright green, and the whole bush was covered
with pure yellow flowers. They looked very much like velvety yellow
pansies. I walked over and touched one. It was stiff and hard and
shone with a metallic luster. It had evidently been on the bush for
some time, as the buds and new blossoms were as soft as any flower.

"'If my father could but see it,' I murmured. 'If he had even a tiny
plant I am sure it would prolong his life.'

"'You shall have a seed, dear Prince,' said the old gentleman, 'and it
will grow very quickly, you shall see. Perhaps I did not tell you that
only one seed is formed every seven years and that from the blossoms
which comes out first on the seventh day of the seventh month, the day
when the plant begins its yearly period