“Aha!” said he to himself, “now maybe I shall find some great treasure compared to which even silver and gold are as nothing at all.” He digged down into the barren earth of the desert; and he digged and he digged, but neither silver nor gold did he find. He digged and digged; and by-and-by, at last, he did find something. And what was it? Why, nothing but something that looked like a piece of blue glass not a bit bigger than my thumb. “Is that all?” said Jacob Stuck. “And have I travelled all this weary way and into the blinding desert only for this? Have I passed by silver and gold enough to make me rich for all my life, only to find a little piece of blue glass?” Jacob Stuck did not know what he had found. I shall tell you what it was. It was a solid piece of good luck without flaw or blemish, and it was almost the only piece I ever heard tell of. Yes; that was what it was--a solid piece of good luck; and as for Jacob Stuck, why, he was not the first in the world by many and one over who has failed to know a piece of good luck when they have found it. Yes; it looked just like a piece of blue glass no bigger than my thumb, and nothing else. [Illustration] “Is that all?” said Jacob Stuck. “And have I travelled all this weary way and into the blinding desert only for this? Have I passed by silver and gold enough to make me rich for all my life, only to find a little piece of blue glass?” He looked at the bit of glass, and he turned it over and over in his hand. It was covered with dirt. Jacob Stuck blew his breath upon it, and rubbed it with his thumb. Crack! dong! bang! smash! Upon my word, had a bolt of lightning burst at Jacob Stuck’s feet he could not have been more struck of a heap. For no sooner had he rubbed the glass with his thumb than with a noise like a clap of thunder there instantly stood before him a great, big man, dressed in clothes as red as a flame, and with eyes that shone sparks of fire. It was the Genie of Good Luck. It nearly knocked Jacob Stuck off his feet to see him there so suddenly. “What will you have?” said the Genie. “I am the slave of good luck. Whosoever holds that piece of crystal in his hand him must I obey in whatsoever he may command.” “Do you mean that you are my servant and that I am your master?” said Jacob Stuck. “Yes; command and I obey.” “Why, then,” said Jacob Stuck, “I would like you to help me out of this desert place, if you can do so, for it is a poor spot for any Christian soul to be.” “To hear is to obey,” said the Genie, and, before Jacob Stuck knew what had happened to him, the Genie had seized him and was flying with him through the air swifter than the wind. On and on he flew, and the earth seemed to slide away beneath. On and on flew the flame-colored Genie until at last he set Jacob down in a great meadow where there was a river. Beyond the river were the white walls and grand houses of the king’s town. “Hast thou any further commands?” said the Genie.