Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this conversation , for the Princess Argentine was his sister , and he hoped , by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes , to obtain from his brother the release of Rosalie . So he joyfully returned to his father 's palace , where he found his friend the Fairy , who at once presented him with a magic pebble like his own . As may be imagined , he lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie , and travelled so fast that he soon arrived at the forest , in the midst of which she lay a captive . But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie . He hunted high and low , but there was no sign of her , and his despair was so great that he was ready , a thousand times over , to take his own life . At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about the cabinets of the years , and that if he could manage to reach the oak tree , he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie . Happily , he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the cabinet of the present , where he saw reflected in the mirrors the unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly , and surrounded with genii , who never left her night or day . This sight only increased the misery of the Prince , for he did not know where the castle was , nor how to set about finding it . However , he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right place . He began by setting sail in a favourable wind , but his bad luck followed him even on the sea . He had scarcely lost sight of the land when a violent storm arose , and after several hours of beating about , the vessel was driven on to some rocks , on which it dashed itself to bits . The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a floating spar , and contrived to keep himself afloat ; and , after a long struggle with the winds and waves , he was cast upon a strange island . But what was his surprise , on reaching the shore , to hear sounds of the most heartrending distress , mingled with the sweetest songs which had ever charmed him ! His curiosity was instantly roused , and he advanced cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of a wood . They were terrible indeed to look upon . Their bodies were covered with glittering scales ; their curly tails extended far over the land ; flames darted from their mouths and noses , and their eyes would have made the bravest shudder ; but as the Prince was invisible and they did not see him , he slipped past them into the wood . He found himself at once in a labyrinth , and wandered about for a long time without meeting anyone ; in fact , the only sight he saw was a circle of human hands , sticking out of the ground above the wrist , each with a bracelet of gold , on which a name was written . The farther he advanced in the labyrinth the more curious he became , till he was stopped by two corpses lying in the midst of a cypress alley , each with a scarlet cord round his neck and a bracelet on his arm on which were engraved their own names , and those of two Princesses . The invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large islands near his own home , but the names of the Princesses were unknown to him . He grieved for their unhappy fate , and at once proceeded to bury them ; but no sooner had he laid them in their graves , than their hands started up through the earth and remained sticking up like those of their fellows .
The Prince went on his way , thinking about this strange adventure , when suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose face was the picture of misery , holding in his hands a silken cord of the exact colour XXXXX those round the necks of the dead men .
As about by from of on out than though to