"We'll do it!" immediately cried the whole sixteen, without waiting for further information.
"Which will you do first," said the man, "listen to my explanations, or eat?"
"Eat!" cried the entire sixteen in chorus.
The man now produced from his cart a quantity of bread, meat, wine, and other provisions, which he distributed generously, but judiciously, to the hungry Prince and his followers. Every one had enough, but no one too much. And soon, revived and strengthened, they felt like new beings.
"Now," said the Prince, "we are ready to form a nucleus, as we promised. How is it done?"
"I will explain the matter to you in a few words," said the man with the red beard. "For a long time I have been desirous to found a city. In order to do this one must begin by forming a nucleus. Every great city is started from a nucleus. A few persons settle down in some particular spot, and live there. Then they are a nucleus. Then other people come there, and gather around this nucleus, and then more people come and more, until in course of time there is a great city. I have loaded this cart with provisions, tools, and other things that are necessary for my purpose, and have set out to find some people who would be willing to form a nucleus. I am very glad to have found you and that you are willing to enter into my plan; and this seems a good spot for us to settle upon."
"What is the first thing to be done?" said the Prince.
"We must all go to work," said the man with the red beard, "to build dwellings, and also a school-house for these young people. Then we must till some ground in the suburbs, and lay the foundations, at least, of a few public buildings."
"All this will take a good while, will it not?" said the Prince.
"Yes," said the man, "it will take a good while; and the sooner we set about it, the better."