So saying, he turned and reëntered his lodge, and the freed traveller bounded forward as if his feet were winged. He found, as he thus sped forward, that all things retained their natural colors and shapes, except that they seemed more beautiful—the colors being richer and shapes more comely; and he would have thought that everything was the same as heretofore, had he not seen that the animals bounded across his path with the utmost freedom and confidence, and birds of beautiful plumage inhabited the groves, and sported in the waters in fearless and undisturbed enjoyment. As he passed on, however, he noticed that his passage was not impeded by trees or other objects; he appeared to walk directly through them. They were, in fact, but the souls of trees, and he then became sensible that he was in the Land of Shadows. When he had travelled some distance through the country, which continually became more and more attractive, he came to the banks of a broad lake, in the center of which was a beautiful island; and tied upon the shore of this lake he found a canoe of white, shining stone, within which were white paddles that seemed to be of the same shining material. He immediately entered the canoe and took the paddles in his hands, when, to his joy and surprise, on turning around, he discovered the object of his search, the young maiden, in another canoe exactly the counterpart of his; who, having imitated his motions in gathering up the paddles and making preparations for embarking, followed him as he pushed off from shore.