Peter had made the journey to the treasure mountain successfully , without being found out by anybody . He had enjoyed himself by the way , and taken his own time , until he actually reached the little brook in the valley which it had cost him some trouble to find . Then he pressed on eagerly , and soon came to the little hollow in the wood ; down he went , burrowing like a mole into the earth ; the magic root did its work , and at last the treasure lay before his eyes . You may imagine how gaily Peter filled his sack with as much gold as he could carry , and how he staggered up the seventy-seven steps with a heart full of hope and delight . He did not quite trust the gnome 's promises of safety , and was in such haste to find himself once more in the light of day that he looked neither to the right nor the left , and could not afterwards remember whether the walls and pillars had sparkled with jewels or not . However , all went well -- he neither saw nor heard anything alarming ; the only thing that happened was that the great iron-barred door shut with a crash as soon as he was fairly outside it , and then he remembered that he had left the magic root behind him , so he could not go back for another load of treasure . But even that did not trouble Peter much ; he was quite satisfied with what he had already . After he had faithfully done everything according to Father Martin 's instructions , and pressed the earth well back into the hollow , he sat down to consider how he could bring his treasure back to his native place , and enjoy it there , without being forced to share it with his scolding wife , who would give him no peace if she once found out about it . At last , after much thinking , he hit upon a plan . He carried his sack to the nearest village , and there bought a wheelbarrow , a strong barrel , and a quantity of nails . Then he packed his gold into the barrel , covered it well with a layer of nails , hoisted it on to the wheelbarrow with some difficulty , and set off with it upon his homeward way . At one place upon the road he met a handsome young man who seemed by his downcast air to be in some great trouble . Father Peter , who wished everybody to be as happy as he was himself , greeted him cheerfully , and asked where he was going , to which he answered sadly : ` Into the wide world , good father , or out of it , where ever my feet may chance to carry me . ' ` Why out of it ? ' said Peter . ` What has the world been doing to you ? ' ` It has done nothing to me , nor I to it , ' he replied . ` Nevertheless there is not anything left in it for me . ' Father Peter did his best to cheer the young man up , and invited him to sup with him at the first inn they came to , thinking that perhaps hunger and poverty were causing the stranger 's trouble . But when good food was set before him he seemed to forget to eat .
So Peter perceived XXXXX what ailed his guest was sorrow of heart , and asked him kindly to tell him his story .
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