"Alas!" they cried, "what shall we do? we are lost!" "Wait!" said Keen Eyes; "not yet!" He had also been searching for the Princess. "What!" exclaimed the young Prince, "can you have found her?" "Yes," replied Keen Eyes. "Four hundred leagues away there is a forest. In this forest there is a tree. On this tree there is a limb. On this limb there is an acorn." "Well—well?" cried Prince Erian. "And in that acorn is the Princess." "Then all is lost!" exclaimed the young Prince. "To travel four hundred leagues and return by noon is an impossibility." "Do not give up all hope, my master," said Long. "Wait a little while." Keen Eyes got on Long's shoulders, and Long stretched himself out so that with a few leaps he was in the forest and then at the tree. Keen Eyes took possession of the precious acorn. Long drew his great length together, and in a moment they had returned. Prince Erian took the acorn, broke it open, and out stepped the Princess, more beautiful and more resplendent than ever. All this time, Magor, the King of the Sorcerers, was laughing to himself and enjoying the neat trick he had played on the young Prince and his companions. At precisely twelve o'clock he presented himself at the door of the hall, and cried out: "Ah, well! faithful guardian! Can you show me the beautiful Princess?" "Most certainly," replied Prince Erian. "Behold her here!" A cry of rage broke from the Magician. A band of iron broke from his body and fell at his feet. "But wait!" cried Magor. "Watch well to-night." "Be not uneasy," said Prince Erian. "Meanwhile permit us to promenade in your magnificent garden." They inspected the palace from top to bottom and went through the garden. They saw some very strange things, and much that they saw was calculated to make a very serious impression on their minds. That which most affected the friends of the young Princess was the spectacle of a wall along which were ranged the statues of many Knights. Some stood with clubs uplifted as if for combat. Others were in an attitude of supplication, while still others, with muscles strained and eyes filled with fire, seemed to be having a hand-to-hand contest with the terrible Sorcerer; but they had all been vanquished and turned to stone by his power. "These unfortunate men," said the Princess, "have been transformed into statues for attempting to rescue me from the King of the Magicians. I have been the innocent cause of the misfortune of these brave men, and I bring misery to all who interest themselves in my sad fate." "Then why do you not fly from this desolate palace?" Prince Erian asked. "Are you never free from this Magician? He has such power over you?"