he had so speedily met with something worthy of his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the castle, and considered it attentively.
The gate had two doors, one of them open; and though he might have entered, he yet thought it best to knock. He knocked at first softly, and waited for some time. Seeing nobody, and supposing they had not heard him, he knocked harder the second time, and then neither seeing nor hearing anybody, he knocked again and again. But nobody appeared, and it surprised him extremely; for he could not think that a castle in such good repair was without inhabitants. 'If there is nobody in it,' said he to himself, 'I have nothing to fear; and if there is, I have wherewith to defend myself.'
At last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he called out, 'Is there nobody here to receive a stranger, who comes in for some refreshment as he passes by?' He repeated the same two or three times; but though he shouted, nobody answered. The silence increased his astonishment: he came into a very spacious court, and looked on every side, to see if he could perceive anybody; but he saw no living thing.
Perceiving nobody in the court, the sultan entered the great halls, which were hung with silk tapestry; the alcoves and sofas were covered with stuffs of Mecca, and the porches with the richest stuffs of India, mixed with gold and silver. He came afterwards into a magnificent court, in the middle of which was a great fountain with a lion of massive gold at each corner; water issued from the mouths of the four lions, and this water, as it fell, formed diamonds and pearls, while a jet of water, springing from the middle of the fountain, rose almost as high as a cupola painted after the Arabian manner.
On three sides the castle was surrounded by a garden, with flower-pots, fountains, groves, and a thousand other fine things; and to complete the beauty of the place, an infinite number of birds filled the air with their harmonious songs, and always stayed there, nets being spread over the trees, and fastened to the palace to keep them in. The sultan walked a long time from apartment to apartment, where he found everything very grand and magnificent. Being tired with walking, he sat down in a room which had a
