` Well , but what is it ? ' persisted he . ` Nothing but to build a palace of ice wherein fires can burn that shall keep it so warm that the most delicate singing-birds can live in it ! ' ' I thought it would be something much harder than that , ' exclaimed the young man . ' I will see about it at once . ' And leaving his mother , he went into the country and took the stone from his turban . ' I want a palace of ice that can be warmed with fires and filled with the rarest singing-birds ! ' ` Shut your eyes , then , ' said the stone ; and he shut them , and when he opened them again there was the palace , more beautiful than anything he could have imagined , the fires throwing a soft pink glow over the ice . ` It is fit even for the princess , ' thought he to himself . As soon as the king awoke next morning he ran to the window , and there across the plain he beheld the palace . ` That young man must be a great wizard ; he may be useful to me . ' And when the mother came again to tell him that his orders had been fulfilled he received her with great honour , and bade her tell her son that the wedding was fixed for the following day . The princess was delighted with her new home , and with her husband also ; and several days slipped happily by , spent in turning over all the beautiful things that the palace contained . But at length the young man grew tired of always staying inside walls , and he told his wife that the next day he must leave her for a few hours , and go out hunting . ` You will not mind ? ' he asked . And she answered as became a good wife : ` Yes , of course I shall mind ; but I will spend the day in planning out some new dresses ; and then it will be so delightful when you come back , you know ! ' So the husband went off to hunt , with the falcon on his wrist , and the greyhound and the cat behind him -- for the palace was so warm that even the cat did not mind living in it . No sooner had he gone , than the ogre who had been watching his chance for many days , knocked at the door of the palace . ' I have just returned from a far country , ' he said , ` and I have some of the largest and most brilliant stones in the world with me .
The princess is known XXXXX love beautiful things , perhaps she might like to buy some ? '
So across at behind by of over than that to