“But in those past days it was needs must we begin our quest before the burden of years was over heavy upon us.  Shortly to say it, we found the Well, and drank of its waters after abundant toil and peril, as thou mayst well deem.  Then the life and the soul came back to us, and the past years were as naught to us, and my youth was renewed in me, and I became as thou seest me to-day.  But my fellow was as a woman of forty summers again, strong and fair as I had seen her when she came into the garden in the days of my Queenhood, and thus we returned to the House of the Sorceress, and rested there for a little from our travel and our joy.

“At last, and that was but some five years ago, the Teacher said to me:  ’Sister, I have learned thee all that thine heart can take of me, and thou art strong in wisdom, and moreover again shall it be with thee, as I told of thee long ago, that no man shall look on thee that shall not love thee.  Now I will not seek to see thy life that is coming, nor what thine end shall be, for that should belike be grievous to both of us; but this I see of thee, that thou wilt now guide thy life not as I will, but as thou wilt; and since my way is not thy way, and that I see thou shalt not long abide alone, now shall we sunder; for I am minded to go to the most ancient parts of the world, and seek all the innermost of wisdom whiles I yet live; but with kings and champions and the cities of folk will I have no more to do:  while thou shalt not be able to refrain from these.  So now I bid thee farewell.’

“I wept at her words, but gainsaid them naught, for I wotted that she spake but the truth; so I kissed her, and we parted; she went her ways through the wildwood, and I abode at the House of the Sorceress, and waited on the wearing of the days.

“But scarce a month after her departure, as I stood by the threshold one morning amidst of the goats, I saw men come riding from out the wood; so I abode them, and they came to the gate of the garth and there lighted down from their horses, and they were three in company; and no one of them was young, and one was old, with white locks flowing down from under his helm:  for they were all armed in knightly fashion, but they had naught but white gaberdines over their hauberks, with no coat-armour or token upon them.  So they came through the garth-gate and I greeted them and asked them what they would; then the old man knelt down on the grass before me and said:  ’If I were as young as I am old my heart would fail me in beholding thy beauty:  but now I will ask thee somewhat:  far away beyond the forest we heard rumours of a woman dwelling in the uttermost desert, who had drunk of the Well at the World’s End, and was wise beyond measure.  Now we have set ourselves to seek that woman, and if thou be she, we would ask a question of thy wisdom.’

“I answered that I was even such as they had heard of, and bade them ask.

“Said the old man: