an iron castle far away beyond forest, plain, and mountain at the very end of the world. Many princes and heroes and brave men have tried to rescue her, but none has ever succeeded. They have lost their lives in the attempt, and the Magician has turned them all into stone statues to adorn his castle. And now you are determined to throw away your life also.”

“That may be,” said the Prince; “and yet it may also be that I shall succeed even though others have failed. At any rate, I must try, for I cannot live without her.”

When the King found that his son was determined to go, and that nothing could stay him, he gave him a jewelled sword and the finest steed in his stable and bade him God-speed.

So the Prince set out with his father’s blessing, and he rode along and rode along until at last he came to a forest that was so vast there seemed to be no end to it. In this forest he quite lost his way. He was therefore very glad when he saw some one trudging along in front of him.

The Prince rode on until he overtook the man, and then he reined in his horse and bade him good day.

“Good day,” answered the man.

“Do you know the ways through this forest?” asked the Prince.

“No, I know nothing about them, but that never bothers me. If at any time I think I am going in the wrong direction, it is easy to right myself.”

“How is that?” said the Prince.

“Oh, I have the power of stretching myself out to any length, and if I lose my way I have only to make myself tall enough to see over the tree-tops, and then I can easily tell where I am.”

“That must be very curious. I should like to see that,” said the Prince.

Well, that was easy enough, and the man would be glad enough to oblige him. So he began to stretch himself. He stretched and stretched and stretched until he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest. His head and body were quite lost to sight among the branches, and all that the Prince could see were his legs and feet.

“Is that enough?” the man called down to the Prince.

“Yes, that is enough,” answered the Prince, and he had to shout to make himself heard, the man’s head was so far away.

Then the man began to shrink. He shrank and shrank until he was no taller than the Prince himself.

“You are a wonderful fellow,” said the Prince. “What is your name?”

The man’s name was Long.

“And what did you see up there?”

“I saw a plain and great mountains beyond, and still beyond that an iron castle, and it was so far away that it must be at the very end of the world.”

“It is that castle that I am seeking,” said the Prince, “and now I see that you are the very man to guide me there. Tell me, Long, will you take service with me? If you will, I will pay you well.”

Yes, Long would do that, and not for the sake of the money either, but because he had taken a fancy to the Prince.

So the Prince and his new servant travelled along together, and presently they came out of the forest on to a plain, and there, far in front of them, was another man also travelling along toward the mountains.

“Look, Master!” said Long. “Do you see that man? His name is Broad. You ought to have him for a servant too, for he is even more wonderful than I am.”

“Call him, then,” said the Prince, “and I will speak with him.”

No, Long could not call him, for Broad was too far away to hear him, but he could soon overtake him. So Long stretched himself out until he was tall enough to go half a mile at every step. In this way he soon overtook Broad and stopped him, and then he and Broad waited until the Prince had caught up to them.

“Good day,” said the Prince to Broad.

“Good day,” answered Broad.

“My servant here tells me that you are a very wonderful person,” said the Prince. “What can you do that is so wonderful?”

What Broad could do was to spread himself out until he was as broad across as he wished to be.

“I should like to see that,” said the Prince.

Very well! Nothing was easier, and Broad was willing to show him. “But first,” said Broad, “do you get behind those rocks over yonder. Otherwise you may get hurt. And now I will begin.”

“Quick! quick, Master!” cried Long, in a voice of fear. “We have not a moment to lose,” and he ran at full speed and crouched down behind the rocks. The Prince followed him, and he also got behind the rocks, but he did not know why Long was in such a hurry, nor why he seemed so frightened. He soon saw, however, for when Broad began to spread, he spread so fast and with such force that unless the Prince and Long had been behind the rocks, they would certainly have been pushed against them and crushed.

“Is that enough?” cried Broad, after he had spread out so wide that the Prince could scarcely see across him.

“Yes, that is enough.”

So Broad began to shrink, and soon he was no fatter than he had been before.

“Yes, you are certainly a very wonderful fellow, and I should like to have you for a servant,” said the Prince. “Will you come with me also?”

Yes, Broad would come, for a master who was good enough for Long was good enough for him too. So now the Prince had two servants. He rode on across the plain toward the mountains, and the two followed him.

After a while they came to a man sitting by the way with a bandage over his eyes. The Prince stopped and spoke to him.

“Are you blind, my poor fellow, that you wear a bandage over your eyes?”

“No,” answered the man, “I am not blind. I wear the bandage because I see too well without it. Even now, with this bandage, I can see as clearly as you ever can. If I take it off, I can see for hundreds of miles, and when I look at anything steadily my sight is so strong that the thing is riven to pieces, or bursts into flame and is burned.”

“That is a very curious thing,” said the Prince. “Could you break yonder rock to pieces merely by looking at it?”

“Yes, I could do that.”

“I would like to see it done,” said the Prince.

Well, the man was ready to oblige him. So he took the bandage from his eyes and fixed his gaze on the rock. First the rock grew hot, and then it smoked, and then, with a great noise, it exploded into tiny fragments, so that the pieces flew about through the air.

“Yes, you are even more wonderful than these other two,” said the Prince, “and they are wonderful enough. How are you called?”

“My name is Sharpsight.”

“Well, Sharpsight, will you take service with me, for I need just such a servant as you?”

Yes, Sharpsight would do that; so now the Prince had three servants, and they were such servants as no one in the world ever had before.

They travelled along over the plain, and at last they came to the foot of the mountain that lay between them and the iron castle.

“Now we must either go over it or round it,” said the Prince; “and which shall it be?”

“No need for that, Master,” answered Sharpsight. “Just let me unbandage my eyes, but be careful you are not struck by any of the flying pieces when the mountain begins to split.”

So the Prince and Broad and Long took shelter behind a clump of trees, and then Sharpsight uncovered his eyes. He fixed his eyes on the mountain, and presently it began to groan and split and splinter. Pieces of sharp rock and stones flew through the air. It was not long before Sharpsight’s gaze had bored a way straight through the mountain and out on the other side. Then he put back