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 either here or in the gardens where I had been; and yet I could not perceive a weed, or any superfluous thing there. 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 to roost on during the night. I went to my chamber, resolving to open all the rest of the doors the days following, excepting the golden one.

I failed not to open the fourth door next day, and, if what I had seen before was capable of surprising me, that which I saw then put me into a perfect ecstacy. I went into a large court surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the description of which I will pass by not to be tedious.

This building had forty doors, all open, and each of them was the entrance into a treasury, which would purchase the largest kingdoms. The first contained heaps of pearls. In the second treasury there were diamonds, carbuncles, and rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; in the two following there was also money. The rest contained amethysts, chrysolites, topazes, opals, turquoises, with other stones unknown to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian and coral, of which there was a storehouse filled, not only with branches but whole trees.

Transported with amazement and admiration, I cried out to myself, after having seen all these riches, 'If all the treasures of the kings of the universe were gathered together in one place, they could not come near this: what good fortune have I to possess all this wealth, with so many admirable princesses!'

I need not recount the particulars of all the other rare and precious things I saw the following days. I shall only say that thirty-nine days afforded me but just so much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view; so that there was only the hundredth door left, the opening of which was forbidden to me.

I had come to the fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses, and had I but retained so much power over myself as I ought to have had, I should have been this day the happiest of all mankind, whereas now I am the most unfortunate