weary frame was wrapt in slumber.

And now a strange thing occurred. Whether he dreamed, or whether he
waked, he scarcely knew; but delicious music stole through his soul, and
he opened his eyes. The little woodland glen was steeped in soft
moonlight; and, if it looked wonderful and beautiful when the sun shone
upon it, how much more so now, when the very light was mysterious, and
suggestive of something beyond! Around the mound there doated--for that
word only can express their motion--like bright and fleecy clouds, a
band of lovely beings, resembling none he had ever seen before. As he
gazed upon them, he thought not of creatures of earthly mould, but of
the most rapturous and fleeting sights and sounds of nature;--of the
rainbow, spanning the sky after a storm; of the dashing cataract,
descending in mist from stupendous heights; of the nightingale, singing
in her hidden nest; of harmless sheet-lightning, suddenly revealing
hills, domes, and castles in the clouds, then as suddenly dispelling the
illusion. As he looked more closely, he found that, as with linked hands
they glided round, their gossamer wings moving through the air waked up
a melody like that of the Eolian harp; while a few, standing apart, made
silvery music by shaking instruments, which looked like spikes of
bell-shaped flowers, and deeper tones were evolved from larger, single
bells, struck with rays of light. As the bells swung to the breeze, and
the cadence swelled and rose, a delicious fragrance of wild-flowers
filled the air, and from the depths of the forest all animated creatures
came forth to gaze upon the spectacle. The glow-worm crept there, but
his tiny lamp was dimmed by brighter fairy eyes; the noisy cricket and
the songsters of the grove hushed their notes, to listen to the harmony.
The wolf and the bear drew near together, but laid aside their
fierceness; the deer and the hare came forward fearlessly, under the
influence of the potent spell. Suddenly, from a hollow in the oak, an
owl with glaring eyes flew down: the music and the dance were hushed,
and all listened to his voice. To his surprise, Rudolph found that he
could understand the language of all animals, which had formerly seemed
to him mere unmeaning sounds.

"Bright Fairy Queen, shall mortal dare
On beauty gaze beyond compare;
Shall one of earth unpunish'd see
The mazes of your revelry?
That ancient oak, by your donation,
For years has