[Chapter Nine]
Beyond the Mist
"Oh how cold and still and gray," cried Ellen. They were in the very heart of the mist. She could hear the steady beat of the gander's wings, but the grayness around was so thick that she could see nothing but the dim outline of his neck before her. She would not have known whether they were moving at all if it had not been for the stir of air against her face.
"Mistress, do you see light before us?" asked the gander.
"No, nothing but the grayness."
"One might travel around and around in this mist, and yet never find one's way out," said the gander half to itself.
On and on it flew. "Is there no light before us yet?" it asked again, and its wings seemed to flag.
"No, there is nothing."
"Can you hear any sound?"