Giving up his quest of a wife, and hastening home with all speed, he
secretly got together a number of his more intimate friends and told
them of his remarkable discovery. He then persuaded them to join him in
going back to the Well, in order to see what might be done with its
waters, and whether or not he could do some of the other things about
which he had been thinking; but, for fear of failure, he did not let
his father know of his return or of his intentions. For the same reason
he did not tell his friends what was in his mind; but he resolved that
should the matter turn out as fortunately as he hoped, to take them
into his entire confidence and seek their assistance in the carrying
out of the great enterprises he had in view. So, having provided them
with everything he thought might be required for the works he proposed
to carry out, quietly and unobtrusively, off they set upon their
mission.
After surmounting many difficulties, in due course they arrived at the
place where Prince Waratah had rested a few weeks earlier. He very
easily found the spot where he had lain down to sleep, because, quite
apart from a pile of stones he had set up to mark it—the tussock he had
disturbed was, consequent upon its getting a little more water than it
had previously been able to draw from the earth, much greener than
before. It was only the work of a moment to again pull it from its
place, and there, sure enough, in a very few minutes the tiny bubble of
water appeared!
To say that they all were deeply interested is to put it mildly. But
they were not allowed to waste much time in merely wondering from
whence the water came. Acting under the Prince’s orders, a circle was
first drawn round the opening from which the tussock had come. From
centre to circumference the distance was six feet, so that from edge to
edge of the circle was exactly twelve feet. Within the circle they all
then set to work removing the earth, even the Prince himself digging
away with the others.
Curiously enough, as the digging advanced, they found embedded in the
soil several implements such as are used by the Garden Fairies in
cultivating their lands; just exactly in the same way as people in
England, in digging wells, often come across old Roman coins or other
articles. When they had reached a depth of about twelve feet, meeting a
little more moisture as they proceeded, they suddenly came upon some
broad flat stones. The Prince instantly ordered them all to stop
working until he had looked them over carefully, with a view to seeing
how they might best be removed. Gently stamping his foot to test the
thickness of the stones, the Prince thought he detected a somewhat
hollow sound coming from underneath. Listening intently, he vigorously
stamped upon the particular stone upon which he was then standing. In
doing so he involuntarily stepped backwards, and, to his amazement, the
stone immediately tip-tilted a little, and out shot a long thin stream
of clear cold water!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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