On a night after Alexander lay in his tent musing alone, and he fell to thinking of his short life, and of the way he had come, and of the wonders of the land, and of the deeds he should do, when it seemed that there was with him in the tent his fosterer, the whilom King of Egypt, and he said to him, “O my son Alexander, many deeds shalt thou do, and many wonders shalt thou see, yet trust thou not to thy sight. Remember the stone in the Castle of the Lake, which was but the eye of man, for while he lives it may not be satisfied. Trust men who seem thy friends, but trust them not overmuch: fear the gods and them alone, for I am with thee to help thee.” Then the god departed, and Alexander lay alone asleep.
CHAPTER XIV. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS ARMY PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY OF TERROR AND SOUGHT THE WELLS OF LIFE.
Many hundred years before, one of the great heroes of the Greeks, Hercules by name, had come into India, and had conquered the people of the land, and had set up great pillars of marble wherever he had come. So Alexander, now that he had beaten Porus in battle, made up his mind to follow in the footsteps of Hercules and to see the wonders of India; and King Porus promised to go with him and to guide him. But before this he sought to find the Wells of Life of which the Elder had spoken to him in the castle in the lake. But Porus knew not of the way, nor any of the men in his army. So he turned again towards the South as the Elder had bidden him, and fared on his way.
Now as the host was on its march, it fell that the Greeks came among a poor folk which lived in holes and caves of the earth, and so poor were they that no man or woman of them had clothing or ornament, but they all went naked, save that their king wore a ring of gold on his head. As Alexander and his host drew near, this folk sent messengers to him asking what he wanted among them, and telling him of their poverty, so that he could win nothing from them. Then the king made strait inquiry into their lives, and he found that they were indeed so poor that they lived in caves and holes of the hillside, and he was moved by compassion, and made up his mind that they should be the better of his coming to them, so he offered to give them what thing they should ask of him, however great it should be. Then the king of that folk of naked wise men drew near, and said: “O Alexander, this is our request; that thou grant us never to die, for nothing else do we need.” Then said the king to them: “O people, needs must that I die one day myself; how, then, may I grant ye this thing?” And the naked wise men said: “Since thou must die, O King, why dost thou hurry from one side of the world to the other to slay a peaceful folk?” For a short while Alexander was silent; then he spoke: “Know, O feeble folk, that as the sea is stirred not by itself but by the breath of heaven, so I am driven to do the will of the gods.” Then the naked wise men left him and returned to their own place, for they would take no gifts from Alexander lest they should become rich.