The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother 's palace , but the Invisible Prince had already set out . He had , however , entirely forgotten the road by which he had come , and lost himself for so long in the forest , that when at last he reached home the Fairy had already left , and , in spite of all his grief , there was nothing for it but to wait till the Fairy 's next visit , and allow Rosalie to suffer three months longer . This thought drove him to despair , and he had almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity , when one day , as he was strolling along an alley in the woods , he saw a huge oak open its trunk , and out of it step two Princes in earnest conversation . As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they imagined themselves alone , and did not lower their voices . ` What ! ' said one , ` are you always going to allow yourself to be tormented by a passion which can never end happily , and in your whole kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you ? ' ` What is the use , ' replied the other , ` of being Prince of the Gnomes , and having a mother who is queen over all the four elements , if I can not win the love of the Princess Argentine ? From the moment that I first saw her , sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers , I have never ceased to think of her night and day , and , although I love her , I am quite convinced that she will never care for me . You know that I have in my palace the cabinets of the years . In the first , great mirrors reflect the past ; in the second , we contemplate the present ; in the third , the future can be read . It was here that I fled after I had gazed on the Princess Argentine , but instead of love I only saw scorn and contempt . Think how great must be my devotion , when , in spite of my fate , I still love on ! ' Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this conversation , for the Princess Argentine was his sister , and he hoped , by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes , to obtain from his brother the release of Rosalie . So he joyfully returned to his father 's palace , where he found his friend the Fairy , who at once presented him with a magic pebble like his own . As may be imagined , he lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie , and travelled so fast that he soon arrived at the forest , in the midst of which she lay a captive . But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie . He hunted high and low , but there was no sign of her , and his despair was so great that he was ready , a thousand times over , to take his own life . At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about the cabinets of the years , and that if he could manage to reach the oak tree , he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie . Happily , he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the cabinet of the present , where he saw reflected in the mirrors the unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly , and surrounded with genii , who never left her night or day . This sight only increased the misery of the Prince , for he did not know where the castle was , nor how to set about finding it .
However , he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right XXXXX .
genii love mind misery mouth place sight sister time times