"Seeing that you won't be travelling together long, come in and welcome."
She opened the door and they followed her in.
As they crossed the threshold, Udo half turned round and whispered over his shoulder to Coronel,
"Probably a fairy. Be kind to her."
"How can one be kind to one's hostess?" said Coronel. "It's she who has to be kind to us."
"Well, you know what I mean; don't be rude to her."
"My dear Udo, this to me—the pride of Araby, the favourite courtier of his Majesty, the——"
"Oh, all right," said Udo.
"Sit down and rest yourselves," said the old woman. "There'll be something in the pot for you directly."
"Good," said Udo. He looked approvingly at the large cauldron hanging over the fire. It was a big fireplace for such a small room. So he thought when he first looked at it, but as he gazed, the room seemed to get bigger and bigger, and the fireplace to get farther and farther away, until he felt that he was in a vast cavern cut deep into the mountainside. He rubbed his eyes, and there he was in the small kitchen again and the cauldron was sending out a savoury smell.