I shut the door, and opened the
next.
Instead of an orchard, I found here a flower garden, which was no less
extraordinary in its kind. The roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils,
hyacinths, anemones, tulips, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of
flowers, which do not grow in other places except at certain times,
were there flourishing all at once; and nothing could be more
delicious than the fragrant smell which they emitted.
I opened the third door, and found a large aviary, paved with marble
of several fine and uncommon colors. The trellis work was made of
sandalwood and wood of aloes. It contained a vast number of
nightingales, goldfinches, canary birds, larks, and other rare singing
birds, and the vessels that held their seed were of the most sparkling
jasper or agate. The sun went down, and I retired, charmed with the
chirping notes of the multitude of birds, who then began to perch upon
such places as suited them for repose during the night. I went to my
chamber, resolving on the following days to open all the rest of the
doors, excepting that of gold.
The next day I opened the fourth door. I entered a large court,
surrounded with forty gates, all open, and through each of them was an
entrance into a treasury. The first was stored with heaps of pearls;
and, what is almost incredible, the number of those stones which are
most precious, and as large as pigeon's eggs, exceeded the number of
those of the ordinary size.
Pages:
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108