THE HAPPY PRINCE
banks of the Nile, and catch gold-fish in their beaks ; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels and carry amber beads in their hands ; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal ; of the great green snake that sleeps in a palm tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey- cakes ; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with the butterflies.
" Dear little Swallow," said the Prince, " you tell me of marvellous things, but more marvel- lous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there."
So the Swallow flew over the great city, and
