had quite lost
her way, so she lay down upon the soft moss, said her evening prayer,
and rested her head on a little hillock. It was very still and the air
was mild; hundreds of glow-worms shone around her on the grass and in
the marsh like green fire. When she gently moved one of the branches
over her head the little shining insects fell over her like a shower
of stars. She dreamed about her brothers all night long. Again they
were children playing together: they wrote upon the golden slates with
their diamond pencils, and she looked at the picture-book which had
cost half a kingdom. But they no longer wrote strokes and noughts upon
their slates as they used to do; no, they wrote down all their boldest
exploits, and everything that they had seen and experienced.
Everything in the picture-book was alive, the birds sang, and the
people walked out of the book, and spoke to Elise and her brothers.
When she turned over a page they skipped back into their places again,
so that there should be no confusion among the pictures.

When she woke the sun was already high; it is true she could not see
it very well through the thick branches of the lofty forest trees, but
the sunbeams cast a golden shimmer around beyond the forest. There was
a fresh, delicious scent of grass and herbs in the air, and the birds
were almost ready to perch upon her shoulders. She could hear the
splashing of water, for there were many springs around, which all
flowed into a pond with a lovely sandy bottom. It was surrounded with
thick bushes, but there was one place which the stags had trampled
down, and Elise passed through the opening to the water side. It was
so transparent that had not the branches been moved by the breeze she
must have thought that they were painted on the bottom, so plainly was
every leaf reflected, both those on which the sun played, and those
which were in shade.

When she saw her own face she was quite frightened, it was so brown
and ugly; but when she wet her little hand and rubbed her eyes and
forehead her white skin shone through again. Then she took off all her
clothes and went into the fresh water. A more beautiful royal child
than she could not be found in all the world.

When she had put on her clothes again and plaited her long hair she
went to a sparkling spring, and drank some of the water out of the
hollow of her hand. Then she wandered farther into the wood, though
where she was going she had not the least idea.