‘Those are dreams wandering,’ whispered Alice; ‘yesterday there was much--oh, much--to see; to-day, even the dreams avoid man’s eye. Forward! forward!’ We soared higher and flew farther on. So smooth and easy was our flight that it seemed that we moved not, but everything moved to meet us. Mountains came into view, dark, undulating, covered with forest; they rose up and swam towards us.... And now they were slipping by beneath us, with all their windings, hollows, and narrow glades, with gleams of light from rapid brooks among the slumbering trees at the bottom of the dales; and in front of us more mountains sprung up again and floated towards us.... We were in the heart of the Black Forest. Mountains, still mountains ... and forest, magnificent, ancient, stately forest. The night sky was clear; I could recognise some kinds of trees, especially the splendid firs, with their straight white trunks. Here and there on the edge of the forest, wild goats could be seen; graceful and alert, they stood on their slender legs and listened, turning their heads prettily and pricking up their great funnel-shaped ears. A ruined tower, sightless and gloomy, on the crest of a bare cliff, laid bare its crumbling turrets; above the old forgotten stones, a little golden star was shining peacefully. From a small almost black lake rose, like a mysterious wail, the plaintive croak of tiny frogs. I fancied other notes, long-drawn-out, languid like the strains of an Æolian harp.... Here we were in the home of legend! The same delicate moonlight mist, which had struck me in Schwetzingen, was shed here on every side, and the farther away the mountains, the thicker was this mist. I counted up five, six, ten different tones of shadow at different heights on the mountain slopes, and over all this realm of varied silence the moon queened it pensively. The air blew in soft, light currents. I felt myself a lightness at heart, and, as it were, a lofty calm and melancholy.... ‘Alice, you must love this country!’ ‘I love nothing.’ ‘How so? Not me?’ ‘Yes ... you!’ she answered indifferently. It seemed to me that her arm clasped my waist more tightly than before. ‘Forward! forward!’ said Alice, with a sort of cold fervour. ‘Forward!’ I repeated. XXI A loud, thrilling cry rang out suddenly over our heads, and was at once repeated a little in front. ‘Those are belated cranes flying to you, to the north,’ said Alice; ‘would you like to join them?’ ‘Yes, yes! raise me up to them.’ We darted upwards and in one instant found ourselves beside the flying flock.