That was the very thing that the magician had come to fish for.
>From his pouch the old man took a little golden key, which he
fitted into a key-hole in the side of the chest. He threw back
the lid; the fisherman looked within, and there was the prettiest
little palace that man's eye ever beheld, all made of mother-of-pearl and silver-frosted as white as
snow. The old magician
lifted the little palace out of the box and set it upon the
ground.
Then, lo and behold! a marvellous thing happened; for the palace
instantly began to grow for all the world like a soap-bubble,
until it stood in the moonlight gleaming and glistening like
snow, the windows bright with the lights of a thousand wax
tapers, and the sound of music and voices and laughter coming
from within.
Hardly could the fisherman catch his breath from one strange
thing when another happened. The old magician took off his
clothes and his face--yes, his face--for all the world as though
it had been a mask, and there stood as handsome and noble a young
man as ever the light looked on. Then, beckoning to the
fisherman, dumb with wonder, he led the way up the great flight
of marble steps to the palace door. As he came the door swung
open with a blaze of light, and there stood hundreds of noblemen,
all clad in silks and satins and velvets, who, when they saw the
magician, bowed low before him, as though he had been a king.
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