Have you not just heard me say that death has no power either over myself or any of my kindred till that great tree is rooted up ? It will take me six hundred years ' hard work to do that ; so marry my daughter and let us all live happily together here . After all , six hundred years is an eternity ! ' ` Ah , dear king , ' replied the young man , ` your offer is very tempting ! But at the end of six hundred years we should have to die , so we should be no better off ! No , I must go on till I find the country where there is no death at all . ' Then the princess spoke , and tried to persuade the guest to change his mind , but he sorrowfully shook his head . At length , seeing that his resolution was firmly fixed , she took from a cabinet a little box which contained her picture , and gave it to him saying : ` As you will not stay with us , prince , accept this box , which will sometimes recall us to your memory . If you are tired of travelling before you come to the Land of Immortality , open this box and look at my picture , and you will be borne along either on earth or in the air , quick as thought , or swift as the whirlwind . ' The prince thanked her for her gift , which he placed in his tunic , and sorrowfully bade the eagle and his daughter farewell . Never was any present in the world as useful as that little box , and many times did he bless the kind thought of the princess . One evening it had carried him to the top of a high mountain , where he saw a man with a bald head , busily engaged in digging up spadefuls of earth and throwing them in a basket . When the basket was full he took it away and returned with an empty one , which he likewise filled . The prince stood and watched him for a little , till the bald-headed man looked up and said to him : ` Dear brother , what surprises you so much ? ' ' I was wondering why you were filling the basket , ' replied the prince . ` Oh ! ' replied the man , ' I am condemned to do this , for neither I nor any of my family can die till I have dug away the whole of this mountain and made it level with the plain . But , come , it is almost dark , and I shall work no longer . ' And he plucked a leaf from a tree close by , and from a rough digger he was changed into a stately bald-headed king . ` Come home with me , ' he added ; ` you must be tired and hungry , and my daughter will have supper ready for us . '
The prince accepted gladly , and they went back XXXXX the palace , where the bald-headed king 's daughter , who was still more beautiful than the other princess , welcomed them at the door and led the way into a large hall and to a table covered with silver dishes .
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