One thing astonished Hassan very much indeed. Although it was still quite early in the afternoon, the farther he walked the darker it grew, and at first he thought the dimness was due to the trees. But he noticed there were not nearly so many trees as there had been, and yet the light became fainter and fainter. 'I should like to have some dinner!' cried Hassan, as he followed the Magician. 'I'm hungry, and you promised I might have anything I asked for.' 'When we get there,' answered the Magician; 'we are not there yet, you see, but when we arrive I shall keep my word.' Hassan wished he had never seen the Magician; he felt so sleepy that he could scarcely prevent his eyes from closing, but still he walked on and on; and still it grew darker and darker. There were no trees now, only a few low bushes, and the sky looked a curious dark colour. There were no stars, no moon; Hassan could scarcely see his way, and gradually everything became invisible except the Magician, until presently he disappeared too. It seemed darker than the middle of the night; when Hassan looked upwards he saw nothing but blackness; when he looked down he saw nothing but blackness; to the right and the left it was the same; he could not see his own hands when he held them close to his nose, and yet his eyes were quite widely open all the time. 'Are you here?' he cried, to make sure the Magician had not gone away and left him alone. 'No,' was the answer, 'we are there now!' 'I'm glad of that,' said Hassan; 'I want some light.' 'Very sorry!' exclaimed the Magician. 'And something to eat,' said Hassan. 'Very sorry,' answered the Magician again, but he did not sound sorry in the least. Hassan thought he sounded quite glad, though there did not seem much to be glad about. Then Hassan began to stamp about on the grass just as if he were at home, and he scowled until his forehead was full of wrinkles, only he might as well have laughed, for there was nobody to see him. 'Now,' said the Magician, 'I hope you will make yourself quite at home. Everybody does exactly as he likes here. What should you like to do?' 'You said I could have anything I asked for,' answered Hassan, 'and I should like something nice to eat.' 'Well,' said the Magician very civilly, 'you can look round and choose anything you see.' 'What's the use of looking round,' asked Hassan, 'if I can't see anything?' 'No, no!' cried the Magician very politely, 'of course not. No use at all.' 'Then why did you tell me to look?' said Hassan. 'Anything you see you may ask for,' said the Magician, as if he were muttering to himself, 'and anything you ask for you may have.'