The Neverending Story

by Michael Ende

‘But,’

‘didn’t you say that their eyes sometimes close? Don’t they have to sleep ...

‘Goodness gracious! A sphinx sleep? I should say not. You really are an innocent. Still, there’s some point to your question. All my research, in fact, hinges on t...

eyes for some travelers and let them through. The question that no one has answered up until now is this: Why one traveler and not another? Because you mustn’t suppose they let wise, brave, or good people through, and keep the stupid, cowardly, and wicked out. Not a bit of it! With my own eyes I’ve seen them admit stupid fools and treacherous knaves, while decent, sensible people have given up after being kept waiting for months. And it seems to make no diff...

‘Haven’t your investigations suggested som...

‘Have you been listening or haven’t you? Didn’t I just say that so far no one has answered that question? Of course, I’ve worked up a few theories over the years. At first I thought the sphinxes’ judgment might be guided by certain physical characteristics – size, beauty, strength, and so on. But I soon had to drop that idea. Then I toyed with numerical patterns. The idea, for instance, that three out of five were regularly excluded, or that only prime-numbered candidates were admitted. That worked pretty well for the past, but for forecasting it was no use at all. Since then I’ve come to the conclusion that the sphinxes’ dec...

‘Are you starting your old nonsense again?’ came Urgl’s angry voice from the cave. ‘Shame on you! Such skepticism only shows that the bit of brain you o...

‘And the worst of it is that she’s right.’ ‘What about the Childli...

‘Do you think they’ll respect it? They too are natives of Fantastica, after all.’ ‘...

‘But to respect it they’d have to see it. And they don’t see anything. But their gaze would strike you. And I’m not so sure the sphinxes would obey the Childlike Empress. Maybe they are greater than she is. I...

‘Then what do you...

‘You will have to do what all the others have done. Wait and see what the sphinxes decide – w...

‘Couldn’t you make yourself a little useful,’

‘instead of sitting around like this, talking rubbish?’ ‘I am making myself extremely useful,’

‘Possibly more useful than you, but that’s more than a simple-minded woman like y...

‘She can only think of practical matters. She has no feeling for the gre...

The clock in the belfry struck three. By now Bastian’s father must have noticed – if he was ever going to – that Bastian hadn’t come home. Would he worry? Maybe he’d go looking for him. Maybe he had already notified the police. Maybe calls had gone out over the radio. Bastian felt a sick pain in the pit of his stomach. But if the police had been notified, where would they look for him? Could they possibly come to this attic? Had he locked the door when he came back from the toilet? He couldn’t remember. He got up and checked. Yes, the door was locked and bolted. Outside, the November afternoon was drawing to a close. Ever so slowly the light was failing. To steady his nerves, Bastian paced the floor for a while. Looking about him, he discovered quite a few things one wouldn’t have exp...

frames. They were so faded that hardly anything could be made out – only here and there a pale, solemn-looking face that shimmered against a dark background. And then there was a rusty, seven-armed candelabrum, still holding the stumps of thick wax candles, bearded with drippings. Bastian gave a sudden start, for looking into a dark corner he saw someone moving. But when he looked again, it dawned on him that he had only seen himself, reflected in a large mirror that had lost half its silvering. He went closer and looked at himself for a while. He was really nothing much to look at, with his pudgy build and his bow...

‘Where we...

‘At the Great Ridd...

‘Right. Now suppose you’ve managed to get through. Then – and only then – the second gate will be there for you. The Magic Mirror Gate. As I’ve said, I myself have not been able to observe it, what I tell you has been gleaned from travelers’ accounts. This second gate is both open and closed. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It might be better to say: neither closed nor open. Though that doesn’t make it any less crazy. The point is that this gate seems to be a big mirror or something of the kind, though it’s made neither of glass nor of metal. What it is made of...

see your outward appearance; what you see is your real innermost nature. If you want to go through, you have to – in a manner of ...

‘It seems to me that this Magic Mirror Gate is easier to get through tha...

‘Dead wrong, my friend! I’ve known travelers who considered themselves absolutely blameless to yelp with horror and run away at the sight of the monster grinning out of the mirror at them. We had to care for some of...

‘...

‘I keep hearing “we”. When did you ever take c...

‘Oth...

‘appear to have seen something even more horrible, but had the courage to go through. What some saw was not so frightening, but it still cost every one of them an inner struggle. Nothing I can say would apply...

‘Then at least it’s possible to go through this Magic Mirror Gate?’ ‘Oh yes, of course it’s possible, or it wouldn’t be a gate. Where’s your logic, my boy?...

‘Or isn’t it?’ ‘Yes indeed,’ said Engywook. ‘Of course it is. But if you do that, there’s nothing more behind it....

you’ve gone through the second. How often do I have to tell you that?’ ‘I understand. But what about this third gate?’ ‘That’s where things get really difficult! Because, you see, the No-Key Gate is closed. Simply closed. And that’s that! There’s no handle and no doorknob and no keyhole. Nothing. My theory is that this single, hermetically closed door is made of Fantastican selenium. You may know that there’s no way of destroying, bending, or dissolving Fantastican selenium. It’s absolutely indestructible.’ ‘Then there’s no way of getting through?’ ‘Not so fast. Not so fast, my boy. Certain individuals have got through and spoken with Uyulala. So the door can be opened.’ ‘But how?’ ‘Just listen. Fantastican selenium reacts to our will. It’s our will that makes it unyielding. But if someone succeeds in forgetting all purpose, in w...

‘Just what I’ve been saying. The No-Key Gate is the hardest.’ ‘But if I succeed after all,’ Atreyu asked, ‘will I then be in the Southern Oracle?’ ‘Yes,’ sa...

‘No i...

‘None of those who have reached her has been willing to tell me. How can I be expected to complete my scientific work if everyone cloaks himself in mysterious silence? I could tear my hair out – if I had any left. If you reach her, Atreyu, will you tell me? Will you? One of these days my thirst for knowledge will be the de...

‘I can’t promise that, Engywook,’ he said softly, ‘though I’d be glad to show my gratitude. But if no one has told you who or what Uyulala is, there must be a reason. And before I know what that reason is, I can’t decide whether someone who hasn’t seen her with his own eyes has a right to know.’

‘In that case, get away from me!’

‘All I get is ingratitude! All my life I wear myself out trying to reveal a secret of universal interest. And no one helps me. I ...

‘The old fool means no harm. But he’s always running into such disappointments with this ridiculous investigation of his. He wants to go down in history as the one who has solved the great riddle. The world-famous gnome Engywook. You mustn’t mind him.’

‘Of course not,’

‘Just tell him I thank him with all my heart for what he has done for me. And I thank you too. If it’s allowed, I will tel...

‘Then you’re leav...

‘I hav...

‘There’s no time to be lost. Now I shall go to the Oracle. Farewell! And in the meantime take good ca...

‘Lots of luck, Atreyu!’

‘He’ll need it all right – he’ll need lots of luck.’

Bastian gave a start when he realized what he had just read. Why, that was him! The description was right in every detail. The book trembled in his hands. This was going too far. How could there be something in a book that applied only to this particular moment and only to him? It could only be a crazy accident. But a very remarkable accident. ‘Bastian,’ he said aloud, ‘you really are a screwball. Pull yourself together.’ He had meant to say this very sternly, but his voice quavered a little, for he was not quite sure that what had happened was an accident. Just imagine, he thought. What if they’ve really heard of me in Fantastica! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But he didn’t dare say it aloud.

Magic Mirror Gate,

‘No, no, don’t go away,’

said Bastian aloud. ‘Turn around. You have to go through the No-Key Gate!’

The clock in the belfry struck four. Little by little, the murky light was failing. It was getting too dark to read by. Bastian put the book down. What was he to do now? There was bound to be electric light in this attic. He groped his way to the door and ran his hand along the wall, but couldn’t find a switch. He looked on the opposite side, and again there was none. He took a box of matches from his trouser pocket (he always had matches on him, for he had a weakness for making little fires), but they were damp and the first three wouldn’t light. In the faint glow of the fourth he tried to locate a light switch, but there wasn’t any. The thought of having to spend the whole evening and night here in total darkness gave him the cold shivers. He was no baby, and at home or