"'Yes,' answered the old gentleman smiling, 'it is a wise precaution of the fairy's, and very harmless, but I should like to hear what the travelers tell.'
"The mirrors stretched right across the oasis, which was of a very irregular shape, and by the time we arrived again at the main gate and entered the grounds it was nearly dark.
"Dinner was ready, and after it was over the old gentleman told me I had better leave about midnight so as to be back in the village before it was light enough for anyone to see me.
"'But how am I to get back so quickly?' I asked.
"'The way you came,' replied the old gentleman.
"'But what if Bowser will not carry the basket?' I cried. 'He has eaten all the peaches now, and I have no more.'
"'Yes,' he replied, 'but this time you will be on Bowser's back, and I can promise you he will take you over in very quick time, for he has been shut up in his cage without any supper and by midnight will be so hungry that he will not lose any time in reaching the nearest peach orchard. I am sorry to think that some poor farmer will suffer, but it is the only way you can get safely back.'
"I thanked him for this further evidence of his kindness and the evening passed very quickly in conversation. I had to do most of the talking, as the two old people had heard no news of the world since the fairy's last visit, and listened intently to all I could tell them."