'Good afternoon, Hassan,' said the Magician.
'It isn't a good afternoon,' answered Hassan, scowling more fiercely than before.
'Well, never mind,' said the Magician; 'I daresay it will be a good afternoon to-morrow.'
'Oh yes, to-morrow, I daresay,' answered Hassan. 'What's the use of that?'
'It's very fortunate for me,' said the Magician; 'because I shall be on my travels. I start on a pleasant journey to-day.'
'I wish I might start on a journey,' grumbled Hassan. 'I've always wanted to go on a journey, only they'll never let me.'
'In the place I am going to,' said the Magician with an agreeable smile, 'everybody is allowed to ask for anything he sees.'
'What's the use of asking for things if you don't get them!' exclaimed Hassan.
'But in the place I am going to,' said the Magician, smiling still more pleasantly, if that were possible, 'you may ask for anything you see, and nothing you ask for is refused.'
'That must be a very nice place,' said Hassan; 'just the place I should like to live in, only of course my father wouldn't let me.'