They
went on, down and down with the running water, Curdie getting more
and more afraid it was leading them to some terrible gulf in the
heart of the mountain. In one or two places he had to break away
the rock to make room before even Irene could get through - at
least without hurting herself. But at length they spied a glimmer
of light, and in a minute more they were almost blinded by the full
sunlight, into which they emerged. It was some little time before
the princess could see well enough to discover that they stood in
her own garden, close by the seat on which she and her king-papa
had sat that afternoon. They had come out by the channel of the
little stream. She danced and clapped her hands with delight.
'Now, Curdie!' she cried, 'won't you believe what I told you about
my grandmother and her thread?'
For she had felt all the time that Curdie was not believing what
she told him.
'There! - don't you see it shining on before us?' she added.
'I don't see anything,' persisted Curdie.
'Then you must believe without seeing,' said the princess; 'for you
can't deny it has brought us out of the mountain.
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