"Thou shalt sleep soon. The wise men told us of the Delightful Chateau at
the gateway of the hills. Courage, my son! If I gave thee the golden
balls to toss, would it cheer thee?"

"My father, I care not for the golden balls; but if I had horse and sword
and a thousand men, I would take a city."

The man laid his hand upon the boy's shoulder.

"If I, my son," he said, "had a horse and sword and a thousand men, I
would build a city."

"Why dost thou not fly thy falcon, or write thy thoughts upon the sand,
as thou didst yesterday, my father?"

The man loosed the falcon from his wrist, and watched it fly away.

"My son, I care not for the falcon, nor any more for writing on the
sands."

"My father, if thou didst build a city, I would not tear it down, but I
would keep it with my thousand men.

"Thou hast well said, my son." And the man stooped and kissed the lad on
the forehead.

And so they travelled on in silence for a long time, and slowly they came
to the opal haze, which smelled sweet as floating flowers, and gave their
hearts a halcyon restfulness. And glancing down at him many times, the
father saw the lad's face look serenely wise, without becoming old, and