ood through which the road passed. When I got into
it the wind seemed to be rougher than ever. It blew in gusts, and the
trees struck at one another and rattled their branches, and moaned and
stooped down to get out of its way. I heard long whistling sounds as
the branches cracked and clattered and fell.

Then I heard steps behind me and felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned
round quickly but I saw nobody. Yet I was sure that somebody had
touched me with his finger, and the steps went on as though some
invisible person were walking round and round me. I began to run so
fast that I didn't know whether my feet were touching the ground or not.

The stones sprang out under my shoes and rattled behind me like a
little hailstorm. I had only one idea, and that was to run and run
until I got out of the forest.

At last I came to a clearing. It was lit up by a pale moon and the
tearing wind whirled heaps of leaves up and threw them down again, then
rolled them about and about, and turned them over in all directions.

I wanted to stop to get my breath, but the big trees were swinging
backwards and forwards with a deafening noise. Their shadows, which
looked like great black animals, threw themselves flat along the road
and then slipped away and hid behind the trees. Some of these shadows
had shapes which I recognized. But most of them hovered and jumped
about in front of me as though they wanted to prevent me from passing.
Some of them frightened me so that I took a little run, and jumped over
them. I was dreadfully afraid that they would catch at my feet.

The wind went down a little, and rain began to fall in large drops. I
had got to the other side of the clearing, and when I came to a little
path which disappeared into the wood again, I saw a white wall at the
end of it. I went a little way along the path, and saw that it was a
house. Without thinking at all I knocked at the door. I wanted to ask
the people to shelter me until the wind stopped. I knocked a second
time, and heard somebody moving. I thought the door was going to be
opened, but a window was opened on the first floor. A man in a
night-cap called out, "Who is there?" I answered, "A little girl." He
seemed surprised. "A little girl?" he said, and asked me where I came
from, where I was going, and what I wanted. I had not expected all
these questions, and I said that I had come from the farm, but then
told a lie, and said that I was going to