"Little Gretelkin," said Haensel, "you stick close to me, and I'll let nothing hurt you;" and while they huddled together, a thick white mist slowly gathered and spread between the children and the Ilsenstein. "Oh! there are some shadowy old women, coming to carry me away," Gretel sobbed, hiding her face, as the mist seemed to sway and assume strange forms. Then while her face was hidden, the mist slowly cleared away, and a little gray manikin with a little sack upon his back came out of the shadows. Haensel held his breath with fear and sheltered Gretel beside him as best he could. "It is a shadowy queer little manikin, Gretel dear, with a little sack upon his back, but he looks very friendly." Then addressing the little manikin, "Do not hurt us, sir--and will you tell us who you are?" I shut the children's peepers--sh! And guard the little sleepers--sh! For dearly I do love them--sh! And gladly watch above them--sh! And with my little bag of sand, By every child's bedside I stand; Then little tired eyelids close, And little limbs have sweet repose; And if they are good and quickly go to sleep, Then from the starry sphere above The angels come with peace and love, And send the children happy dreams, while watch they keep. All the while the little sand-man was telling them who he was, the children got sleepier and sleepier and nodded upon each other's shoulders. "The sand-man was here?" little Haensel asked, trying to rouse a bit. "I guess so," said Gretel; "let us say our prayers," and so they folded their hands, and said a little prayer to the fourteen angels which guard little children. They prayed to the two angels who should stand at their head, to the two at their feet, two upon their right hand and two upon the left, and two should cover them warm, and two should guard them from harm, and two should guide them one day to Heaven; and so they sank to sleep. As they slept, a beautiful light broke through the mist, which rolled up into a glittering staircase down which those angels came, two and two. They all grouped about Haensel and Gretel as they had been prayed to do; and as they silently took their places the night grew dark, the trees and birds all slept, and Haensel and Gretel were safe until the morning. ACT III The night had passed, the angels had disappeared again in the mist which still hung over the forest at the back, and now as dawn broke, the dew-fairy came out of the mist as the manikin and the angels had done; and from a little blue bell she shook the dewdrops over the children's eyes. Just as they began to stir, away ran the dew-fairy, and when they were quite wide awake they found the sun rising and themselves all alone. "Haensel, where are we?" little Gretel asked, not recalling all that had happened to them since the day before. "I hear the birds twittering high in the branches. We certainly are not in our beds at home."