I wish I was at the end of the world , ' he said , shutting his eyes , and when he opened them he was standing in a street full of marble palaces . The men who passed him were tall and strong , and their clothes were magnificent . He stopped some of them and asked in all the twenty-seven languages he knew what was the name of the city , but no one answered him . Then his heart sank within him ; what should he do in this strange place if nobody could understand anything ? he said . Suddenly his eyes fell upon a man dressed after the fashion of his native country , and he ran up to him and spoke to him in his own tongue . ` What city is this , my friend ? ' he inquired . ` It is the capital city of the Blue Kingdom , ' replied the man , ` but the king himself is dead , and his daughter is now the ruler . ' With this news the prince was satisfied , and begged his countryman to show him the way to the young queen 's palace . The man led him through several streets into a large square , one side of which was occupied by a splendid building that seemed borne up on slender pillars of soft green marble . In front was a flight of steps , and on these the queen was sitting wrapped in a veil of shining silver mist , listening to the complaints of her people and dealing out justice . When the prince came up she saw directly that he was no ordinary man , and telling her chamberlain to dismiss the rest of her petitioners for that day , she signed to the prince to follow her into the palace . Luckily she had been taught his language as a child , so they had no difficulty in talking together . The prince told all his story and how he was journeying in search of the Land of Immortality . When he had finished , the princess , who had listened attentively , rose , and taking his arm , led him to the door of another room , the floor of which was made entirely of needles , stuck so close together that there was not room for a single needle more . ` Prince , ' she said , turning to him , ` you see these needles ? Well , know that neither I nor any of my family can die till I have worn out these needles in sewing . It will take at least a thousand years for that . Stay here , and share my throne ; a thousand years is long enough to live ! '
` Certainly , ' answered he ; ` still , at the end of the thousand years I should have XXXXX die !
With at for in of on till to upon within