There they all remained , till they were joined by the old man . He picked up the dish in one hand , tucked the cat under his arm , told the cock to get on his shoulder , and all four vanished into the rock . And this wonderful stone contained not only food , but clothes and everything you could possibly want in the house . At first a language was often spoken at meals which was strange to Elsa , but by the help of the lady and her daughter she began slowly to understand it , though it was years before she was able to speak it herself . One day she asked Kisika why the thirteenth dish came daily to the table and was sent daily away untouched , but Kisika knew no more about it than she did . The girl must , however , have told her mother what Elsa had said , for a few days later she spoke to Elsa seriously : ` Do not worry yourself with useless wondering . You wish to know why we never eat of the thirteenth dish ? That , dear child , is the dish of hidden blessings , and we can not taste of it without bringing our happy life here to an end . And the world would be a great deal better if men , in their greed , did not seek to snatch every thing for themselves , instead of leaving something as a thankoffering to the giver of the blessings . Greed is man 's worst fault . ' The years passed like the wind for Elsa , and she grew into a lovely woman , with a knowledge of many things that she would never have learned in her native village ; but Kisika was still the same young girl that she had been on the day of her first meeting with Elsa . Each morning they both worked for an hour at reading and writing , as they had always done , and Elsa was anxious to learn all she could , but Kisika much preferred childish games to anything else . If the humour seized her , she would fling aside her tasks , take her treasure box , and go off to play in the sea , where no harm ever came to her . ` What a pity , ' she would often say to Elsa , ` that you have grown so big , you can not play with me any more . ' Nine years slipped away in this manner , when one day the lady called Elsa into her room . Elsa was surprised at the summons , for it was unusual , and her heart sank , for she feared some evil threatened her . As she crossed the threshold , she saw that the lady 's cheeks were flushed , and her eyes full of tears , which she dried hastily , as if she would conceal them from the girl . ` Dearest child , ' she began , ` the time has come when we must part . ' ` Part ? ' cried Elsa , burying her head in the lady 's lap .
` No , dear XXXXX , that can never be till death parts us .
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