“Ah, I could,” he moaned, shaking his head sadly, “but my charms are all in the cave. I have there a key that will unlock any door, a mantle that will make the wearer invisible to mortal eyes, a root that will cure any disease, a piece of money that the one who carries it will never have an empty pocket, and there, too, is the famous pearl that will make the woman who wears it seem the most beautiful woman in the world.” The old woman crept closer to him.
“What did you say about a pearl?” she whispered breathlessly.
“Ah, it is a pearl fit for a Queen,” he said, pursing up his lips. “It is big as the egg of a swan, shaped like a perfect pear and white as a dragon’s tooth. The woman who wears it hung around her neck all men will adore. She will always be young, always the loveliest lady that was ever seen.” The eyes of the Queen glittered greedily.
“Where is that pearl, wizard?” she asked, grasping his arm so tightly that her claw-like fingers dug into his flesh. But the wizard only smiled.
“The wise man tells not all he knows,” he answered. She caught him by the shoulders and shook him fiercely.
“Speak! Speak!” she commanded. “Tell me where you keep this priceless pearl or I will have your tongue torn out by the roots.”
“That would be a pity,” he said calmly. “Then the pearl would never be found, and no woman would have the glory of being the most beautiful woman in the world.” The old woman screwed up her wrinkled face and tapped her foot impatiently on the stone floor. Then she said with a cunning leer:
“If that pearl were mine—so great is the power of beauty—I would rule the land in place of my step-son the King. Then would you be my chief counsellor and next to me in authority, which surely would be better than spending all your years in a dark dungeon where no one will ever hear of your wisdom. You could live in my palace and have many servants to wait upon you, and if I were the most beautiful woman, you could become the richest man in the kingdom. It would be a sad thing for the pearl to crumble away and never be worn by a woman, and also for the great Cave Man to die a wretched death—perhaps of hunger—in this dirty hole.”
“If I were only free I could bring you the pearl,” the wizard answered. “No one save me can ever get it, for it is watched by a dragon with eyes that are always open and teeth that are sharp and cruel.” The Queen looked at the door she had just unlocked.
“I have the key,” she said thoughtfully, “but there is not only the jailer without, but many guards that you must pass.”