the stream, which had hitherto been her
guide, had now vanished; and when it began to grow dark, Rosamond found
that she could no longer distinguish the track. She turned, therefore,
but only to find that the same darkness covered it behind as well as
before. Still she made the attempt to go back by keeping as direct a
line as she could, for the path was straight as an arrow. But she could
not see enough even to start her in a line, and she had not gone far
before she found herself hemmed in, apparently on every side, by
ditches and pools of black, dismal, slimy water. And now it was so dark
that she could see nothing more than the gleam of a bit of clear sky
now and then in the water. Again and again she stepped knee-deep in
black mud, and once tumbled down in the shallow edge of a terrible
pool; after which she gave up the attempt to escape the meshes of the
watery net, stood still, and began to cry bitterly, despairingly. She
saw now that her unreasonable anger had made her foolish as well as
rude, and felt that she was justly punished for her wickedness to the
poor woman who had been so friendly to her. What would Prince think of
her, if he knew? She cast herself on the ground, hungry, and cold, and
weary.

Presently, she thought she saw long creatures come heaving out of the
black pools. A toad jumped upon her, and she shrieked, and sprang to
her feet, and would have run away headlong, when she spied in the
distance a faint glimmer. She thought it was a Will-o'-the-wisp. What
could he be after? Was he looking for her? She dared not run, lest he
should see and pounce upon her. The light came nearer, and grew
brighter and larger. Plainly, the little fiend was looking for her--he
would torment her. After many twistings and turnings among the pools,
it came straight towards her, and she would have shrieked, but that
terror made her dumb.

It came nearer and nearer, and lo! it was borne by a dark figure, with
a burden on its back: it was the poor woman, and no demon, that was
looking for her! She gave a scream of joy, fell down weeping at her
feet, and clasped her knees. Then the poor woman threw away her burden,
laid down her lantern, took the princess up in her arms, folded her
cloak around her, and having taken up her lantern again, carried her
slowly and carefully through the midst of the black pools, winding
hither and thither. All night long she carried her thus, slowly and
wearily, until at length the darkness