IhadsleptsosoundlythatIdidnotknowwhereIwas。Ilookedaroundme。Howwonderful！Iwasinsomesortofahall，allglitteringandwhitewithgleamingpillars，andwhenIlookedupI
saw，throughdelicatewhitetracery，avault，ravenblackandstuddedwithcolouredlights。Afteragoodlook，Irememberedthatwewereintheforest，andthatwhatItookforahallandpillars，weretreescoveredwithsnowandhoar-frost，andthecolouredlightswerestarstwinklingbetweenthebranches。
Hoar-frosthadsettledinthenight；allthetwigswerethickwithit，Damianwascoveredwithit，itwasonmyfurcoat，anditdroppeddownfromthetrees。IwokeDamian，andweputonoursnowshoesandstarted。Itwasveryquietintheforest。Nosoundwasheardbutthatofoursnow-shoespushingthroughthesoftsnow；exceptwhennowandthenatree，crackedbythefrost，madetheforestresound。Onlyonceweheardthesoundofalivingcreature。Somethingrustledclosetous，andthenrushedaway。Ifeltsureitwasthebear，butwhenwewenttothespotwhencethesoundhadcome，wefoundthefootmarksofhares，andsawseveralyoungaspentreeswiththeirbarkgnawed。Wehadstartledsomehareswhiletheywerefeeding。
Wecameoutontheroad，andfollowedit，draggingoursnow-shoesbehindus。Itwaseasywalkingnow。Oursnow-shoesclatteredastheyslidbehindusfromsidetosideofthehard-troddenroad。Thesnowcreakedunderourboots，andthecoldhoar-frostsettledonourfaceslikedown。Seenthroughthebranches，thestarsseemedtoberunningtomeetus，nowtwinkling，nowvanishing，asifthewholeskywereonthemove。
Ifoundmycomradesleeping，butwokehimup，andrelatedhowwehadgotroundthebear。Aftertellingourpeasanthosttocollectbeatersforthemorning，wehadsupperandlaydowntosleep。