As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they imagined
themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.

'What!' said one, 'are you always going to allow yourself to be
tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your
whole kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?'

'What is the use,' replied the other, 'of being Prince of the
Gnomes, and having a mother who is queen over all the four
elements, if I cannot win the love of the Princess Argentine?
From the moment that I first saw her, sitting in the forest
surrounded by flowers, I have never ceased to think of her night
and day, and, although I love her, I am quite convinced that she
will never care for me. You know that I have in my palace the
cabinets of the years. In the first, great mirrors reflect the
past; in the second, we contemplate the present; in the third,
the future can be read. It was here that I fled after I had
gazed on the Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw
scorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when,
in spite of my fate, I still love on!'

Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this
conversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he
hoped, by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes,
to obtain from his brother the release of Rosalie. So he
joyfully returned to his father's palace, where he found his
friend the Fairy, who at once presented him with a magic pebble
like his own. As may be imagined, he lost no time in setting out
to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast that he soon arrived at
the forest, in the midst of which she lay a captive. But though