But just at that moment, luckily for himself, the Prince spied a man trudging on before him, and he hurried after, saying to himself, "I will ask him how far I have to go, and whether I have time to stop."
VI
The man did not walk very fast, but he kept steadily on, with a great pikestaff in his hand; and though the Prince called after him as soon as he was within hearing, he did not halt for a moment, or even turn his head, but trudged onward, saying, "Come along, come along; one never gets to the end of one's journey if one stops to chatter by the way."
At length the Prince came up with him, and said in a civil tone, "Pray can you tell me whither this road leads, and if it will be very long before I get to some house where I can find rest and food?"
"It leads to a very fine and beautiful castle," replied the other somewhat doggedly, and still walking on. "I think, if you come along with me, you will get there in time. I am generally well received there, and in some sort may call myself the master of the house, so that those who go with me are generally made welcome by my lady, who, though she is sometimes a little whimsical, is the most charming person in the world when she smiles upon me. But you must keep on steadily with me; for if you stop or turn aside, a thousand to one you will be lost."
When the Prince found him so communicative, he asked him if they could not cross one of the meadows to refresh themselves a little, and told him how he had been tempted to do so just before he saw him.
"Lucky you did not," answered the other; "for those meadows are full of swamps and quagmires, the groves filled with snakes, and many of the fruits poisonous. You might have got yourself into such troubles that not even I could have helped you out of them."
"If it is not improper, may I ask your name?" said the Prince.
"Come along," answered the other, "Names matter little; but if you want to know mine, it is Perseverance."
Not long after the Prince began to think he saw several tall towers glittering before him in the distance, with some misty clouds round about them, which only seemed to make them look the more beautiful.