"This is the bottle,"said the man;and,when Keawe laughed,"You do not believe me?"he added."Try,then,for yourself.See if you can break it."So Keawe took the bottle up and dashed it on the floor till he was weary;but it jumped on the floor like a child's ball,and was not injured.
"This is a strange thing,"said Keawe."For by the touch of it,as well as by the look,the bottle should be of glass.""Of glass it is,"replied the man,sighing more heavily than ever;"but the glass of it was tempered in the flames of hell.An imp lives in it,and that is the shadow we behold there moving:or so Isuppose.If any man buy this bottle the imp is at his command;all that he desires -love,fame,money,houses like this house,ay,or a city like this city -all are his at the word uttered.Napoleon had this bottle,and by it he grew to be the king of the world;but he sold it at the last,and fell.Captain Cook had this bottle,and by it he found his way to so many islands;but he,too,sold it,and was slain upon Hawaii.For,once it is sold,the power goes and the protection;and unless a man remain content with what he has,ill will befall him.""And yet you talk of selling it yourself?"Keawe said.
"I have all I wish,and I am growing elderly,"replied the man.
"There is one thing the imp cannot do -he cannot prolong life;and,it would not be fair to conceal from you,there is a drawback to the bottle;for if a man die before he sells it,he must burn in hell forever.""To be sure,that is a drawback and no mistake,"cried Keawe."Iwould not meddle with the thing.I can do without a house,thank God;but there is one thing I could not be doing with one particle,and that is to be damned.""Dear me,you must not run away with things,"returned the man.