And the chimney-sweeper looked keenly at her, and then said, ‘My path leads through the chimney! hast thou indeed the courage to creep with me through the stove, through the flues and the tunnel? Well do I know the way! We shall mount up so high that they cannot come near us, and at the top there is a cavern that leads into the wide world.’ And he led her to the door of the stove. ‘Oh, how black it looks!’ sighed she; however, she went on with him, through the flues and through the tunnel, where it was dark, pitch dark. ‘Now we are in the chimney,’ said he; ‘and look, what a lovely star shines above us!’ And there was actually a star in the sky, shining right down upon them, as if to show them the way. And they crawled and crept--a fearful path was theirs--so high, so very high! but he guided and supported her, and showed her the best places whereon to plant her tiny porcelain feet, till they reached the edge of the chimney, where they sat down to rest, for they were very tired, and indeed not without reason. Heaven with all its stars was above them, and the town with all its roofs lay beneath them; the wide, wide world surrounded them. The poor shepherdess had never imagined all this; she leant her little head on her chimney-sweeper’s arm, and wept so vehemently that the gilding broke off from her waistband. ‘This is too much!’ exclaimed she. ‘This can I not endure! The world is all too large! Oh that I were once more upon the little table under the pier-glass! I shall never be happy till I am there again. I have followed thee out into the wide world, surely thou canst follow me home again, if thou lovest me!’ And the chimney-sweeper talked very sensibly to her, reminding her of the old Chinese mandarin and ‘the crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-General-Corporal-Sergeant,’ but she wept so bitterly, and kissed her little chimney-sweep so fondly, that at last he could not but yield to her request, unreasonable as it was. So with great difficulty they crawled down the chimney, crept through the flues and the tunnel, and at length found themselves once more in the dark stove; but they still lurked behind the door, listening, before they would venture to return into the room. Everything was quite still; they peeped out: alas! on the ground lay the old Chinese mandarin. In attempting to follow the runaways, he had fallen down off the table and had broken into three pieces; his head lay shaking in a corner; ‘the crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-General-Corporal-Sergeant’ stood where he had always stood, thinking over what had happened. ‘Oh, how shocking!’ exclaimed the little shepherdess; ‘old grandfather is broken in pieces, and we are the cause! I shall never survive it!’ and she wrung her delicate hands.