"I jumped to my feet, not knowing who or what I should see, drawing my sword as I did so, but when I caught a glimpse of a nice motherly looking woman and a mild-looking old gentleman standing before me apparently very much alarmed, I hastily stepped forward and made a low bow, begging their pardon for having intruded in this unseemly fashion. I explained my errand, told them who I was, and how I had contrived to get there, and when I had finished they both looked much relieved. "'That is quite all right, Prince Tasmir,' said the old gentleman, 'and now if you will come into the house and partake of some refreshment I will tell you about the Wonderful Plant which you have come so far to seek.' "'First, may I ask,' I said, 'does Bowser bite?' "'No,' said the old gentleman, 'he is quite good natured, and besides he has no teeth.' "'Well,' I said, 'I am rather grateful to him for carrying me safely here, and I should like to give him those peaches, but did not wish him to bite me in two while I was doing it.' "So saying I went to the peach basket, where Bowser was vainly endeavoring to get the peaches out, and opened the fastenings, while he hopped around me on his huge legs and uttered his strange chuckling laugh. I picked out a few dozen of the ripest for the old lady, and let Bowser have the rest, which we left him swallowing greedily. "They took me around to a spacious veranda, where a dark-skinned maid served us with delicious iced drinks, fruit and small cakes, and then the old gentleman told me about the Wonderful Plant." CHAPTER XIV "'You are no doubt wondering,' he said with a smile, 'who we are and what manner of oasis this is, and I am going to tell you about ourselves first. "'To begin with, we are not fairies, but quite ordinary mortals, and we live here alone. We have no children, and no pets but Bowser, but we are never lonesome. Now Bowser is just a common toucan, and I found him on the ground under a big tree one morning, where a bad storm the night before had tossed him out of the nest. We brought him in and my wife cared for him, and the only reason he is so big is that he has such a voracious appetite and eats ten meals a day. In fact he is eating practically all the time, and I believe is still growing. I suppose his brothers and sisters might be as large as he if they could get enough to satisfy their appetites the way Bowser does. He would eat most families out of house and home, but as our store-room never gives out it does not matter. But although we do our best to feed him enough to satisfy his appetite we cannot cure him of stealing peaches. We are very sorry for the poor farmers whose orchards he raids, but in one sense it is rather a good thing, as it serves to keep people afraid of him, and he is our only watchdog.