Traveling on, the prince encountered a railway switchman and asked him about his work. The switchman explained that he simply sent trains either to the right or to the left, not knowing anything about what the passengers on the trains were ultimately hoping to find. Two trains passed by even as the prince and the switchman were talking, and the prince, learning that the people on the second train were not the same as those on the first, asked whether people weren't "satisfied, where they were" (65). A third train then passed, and the prince asked if it was "chasing the first travelers" (65). The switchmen said no, and that of all the passengers, only the children were actually paying attention to their surroundings. The prince remarked that this was because "only the children know what they're looking for"—e.g. a doll they're attached to—and the switchman, agreeing, said that the children were "lucky" (65).

Next, the prince encountered a salesclerk selling pills to quench thirst. When the prince asked what the point of these pills was, the clerk replied that they could save up to 53 minutes every week. The prince replied how if he had 53 free minutes, he would "walk very slowly toward a