they asked . And then the king told them about Jaqueline and the Earthquaker , and how he needed a great weight of Stupidity to flatten him out with . The ladies heard him in silence , and then they said : `` Follow us , '' and they flew lightly beside the Flying Horse till they had crossed all the bright side of the moon , above the silver palaces and silver seas , and reached the summit of the Mountains of the Moon which separate the bright from the dark side . `` Here I may go no further , '' said the bright lady ; `` and beyond , as you see , all is darkness and heavy sleep . '' Then she touched Prigio with her golden wand with twisted serpents , and he became luminous , light raying out from him ; and the dark lady , too , shone like silver in the night : and on they flew , over black rocks and black rivers , till they reached a huge mountain , like a mountain of coal , many thousand feet high , for its head was lost in the blackness of darkness . The dark Moon-Lady struck the rock with her ebony wand , and said , `` Open ! '' and the cliffs opened like a door , and they were within the mountain . `` Here , '' said the dark lady , `` is the storehouse of all the Stupidity ; hence it descends in showers like Stardust on the earth whenever this mountain , which is a volcano , is in eruption . Only a little of the Stupidity reaches the earth , and that only in invisible dust ; yet you know how weighty it is , even in that form . '' `` Indeed , madam , '' said the king , `` no one knows it better than I do . '' `` Then make your choice of the best sort of Stupidity for your purpose , '' said the dark lady . And in the light which flowed from their bodies King Prigio looked round at the various kinds of Solid Stupidity . There it all lay in masses -- the Stupidity of bad Sermons , of ignorant reviewers , of bad poems , of bad speeches , of dreary novels , of foolish statesmen , of ignorant mobs , of fine ladies , of idle , naughty boys and girls ; and the king examined them all , and all were very , very heavy . But when he came to the Stupidity of the Learned -- of dull , blind writers on Shakspeare , and Homer , and the Bible -- then King Prigio saw that he had found the sort he wanted , and that a very little of it would go a long way . He never could have got it on the saddle of the Flying Horse if the dark lady had not touched it with her ebony wand , and made it light to carry till it was wanted for his purpose . When he needed it for use , he was to utter a certain spell , which she taught him , and then the lump would recover its natural weight . So he easily put a great block on his saddle-bow , and he and the dark lady flew back till they reached the crest of the Mountains of the Moon . There she touched him with her ebony wand , and the silver light which the bright lady had shed on him died from his face and his body , and he became like other men . `` You see your way ? '' said the dark lady , pointing to the bright moon of earth , shining far off in the heavens .
Then he knelt down and thanked her , and she murmured strange words XXXXX blessing which he did not understand ; but her face was grave and kind , and he thought of Queen Rosalind , his wife .
So about beyond from if in of than that within