The wizard went back to his dark little cell and pulled his long beard all the night long. When the sun peeped over the big blue mountains the next morning he had not closed his eyes. Like many men, wise and otherwise, he knew better how to manage other people’s affairs than his own. He had not been able to bring any charms away from the cave, he had neither money nor friends, and in vain he racked his brain for a way of escape from his gloomy prison. “I hate men,” he cried fiercely. “Why did I ever become one? They are nothing but stupid, two-legged animals. I see plainly now that it is more honor to be even a common gray fox than the wisest man in the world. Oh, that I had never seen that miserable dragon!” But it did no good to talk this way. He was chained fast to the wall in a horrible dungeon, with nothing but bread and water to live on, and the thing to worry about now was how to get out. Just as he was trying to think up some plan there came the sound of the key turning in the rusty lock. CHAPTER IV The next moment he was surprised to see an ugly old woman coming toward him. She was dressed in a purple satin gown with gold birds embroidered upon it, her bony fingers sparkled with rings, a long chain of pearls was around her neck, and he knew by the crown on her head that it was the Queen-Mother herself. “I have heard that you were very wise,” she said, peering at him. “If that is true, why don’t you get out of this dark hole?” “Ah, I could,” he moaned, shaking his head sadly, “but my charms are all in the cave. I have there a key that will unlock any door, a mantle that will make the wearer invisible to mortal eyes, a root that will cure any disease, a piece of money that the one who carries it will never have an empty pocket, and there, too, is the famous pearl that will make the woman who wears it seem the most beautiful woman in the world.” The old woman crept closer to him. “What did you say about a pearl?” she whispered breathlessly. “Ah, it is a pearl fit for a Queen,” he said, pursing up his lips. “It is big as the egg of a swan, shaped like a perfect pear and white as a dragon’s tooth. The woman who wears it hung around her neck all men will adore. She will always be young, always the loveliest lady that was ever seen.” The eyes of the Queen glittered greedily. “Where is that pearl, wizard?” she asked, grasping his arm so tightly that her claw-like fingers dug into his flesh. But the wizard only smiled. “The wise man tells not all he knows,” he answered. She caught him by the shoulders and shook him fiercely. “Speak! Speak!” she commanded. “Tell me where you keep this priceless pearl or I will have your tongue torn out by the roots.”