splendidly caparisoned horses were waiting for their riders; and
everywhere were seen signs of opulence and gayety.

"I think," said the Bee-man to himself, "that I should like to stop
here for a time. If it should happen that I was originally like any
of these happy creatures it would please me much."

He untied his hive, and hid it behind some bushes, and taking off his
old doublet, laid that beside it. It would not do to have his bees
flying about him if he wished to go among the inhabitants of this
fair domain.

For two days the Bee-man wandered about the palace and its grounds,
avoiding notice as much as possible, but looking at every thing. He
saw handsome men and lovely ladies; the finest horses, dogs, and
cattle that were ever known; beautiful birds in cages, and fishes in
crystal globes, and it seemed to him that the best of all living
things were here collected.

At the close of the second day, the Bee-man said to himself: "There
is one being here toward whom I feel very much drawn, and that is the
Lord of the Domain. I cannot feel certain that I was once like him,
but it would be a very fine thing if it were so; and it seems
impossible for me to be drawn toward any other being in the domain
when I look upon him, so handsome, rich, and powerful. But I must
observe him more closely, and feel more sure of the matter, before
applying to the sorcerers to change me back into a lord of a fair
domain."

The next morning, the Bee-man saw the Lord of the Domain walking in