, and then to white. A layer of frost formed about it and tiny
icicles clung to its surface. Then slowly the body of the girl became
visible again and the heart was hidden from view. Gloria seemed to have
fainted, but now she recovered and, opening her beautiful eyes, stared
coldly and without emotion at the group of witches confronting her.

Blinkie and the others knew by that one cold look that their charm had
been successful. They burst into a chorus of wild laughter and the
three beautiful ones began dancing again, while Blinkie unbound the
Princess and set her free.

Trot rubbed her eyes to prove that she was wide awake and seeing
clearly, for her astonishment was great when the three lovely maidens
turned into ugly, crooked hags again, leaning on broomsticks and canes.
They jeered at Gloria, but the Princess regarded them with cold
disdain. Being now free, she walked to a door, opened it and passed
out. And the witches let her go.

Trot and Pon had been so intent upon this scene that in their eagerness
they had pressed quite hard against the window. Just as Gloria went out
of the house the window-sash broke loose from its fastenings and fell
with a crash into the room. The witches uttered a chorus of screams and
then, seeing that their magical incantation had been observed, they
rushed for the open window with uplifted broomsticks and canes. But Pon
was off like the wind, and Trot followed at his heels. Fear lent them
strength to run, to leap across ditches, to speed up the hills and to
vault the low fences as a deer would.

The band of witches had dashed through the window in pursuit; but
Blinkie was so old, and the others so crooked and awkward, that they
soon realized they would be unable to overtake the fugitives. So the
three who had been summoned by the Wicked Witch put their canes or
broomsticks between their legs and flew away through the air, quickly
disappearing against the blue sky. Blinkie, however, was so enraged at
Pon and Trot that she hobbled on in the direction they had taken, fully
determined to catch them, in time, and to punish them terribly for
spying upon her witchcraft.

When Pon and Trot had run so far that they were confident they had made
good their escape, they sat down near the edge of a forest to get their
breath again, for both were panting hard from their exertions. Trot was
the first to recover speech, and she said to her companion:

"My! wasn't it terr'ble?"

"The most terr