And now they had reached a spot where a few fir-trees came to meet
them through the moonlight.
At the same time the princess awaked, and popping her head out
between the folds of the wise woman's cloak--a very ugly little
owlet she looked--saw that they were entering the wood. Now there is
something awful about every wood, especially in the moonlight; and
perhaps a fir-wood is more awful than other woods. For one thing, it
lets a little more light through, rendering the darkness a little
more visible, as it were; and then the trees go stretching away up
towards the moon, and look as if they cared nothing about the
creatures below them--not like the broad trees with soft wide leaves
that, in the darkness even, look sheltering. So the princess is not
to be blamed that she was very much frightened. She is hardly to be
blamed either that, assured the wise woman was an ogress carrying
her to her castle to eat her up, she began again to kick and scream
violently, as those of my readers who are of the same sort as
herself will consider the right and natural thing to do.
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