Without waiting for the old
woman's invitation, I walked into the hut with her. Dusk had already
set in. Everything was in proper order; a few goblets stood in a
cupboard, some strange-looking vessels lay on a table, and a bird was
hanging in a small, shiny cage by the window. And he, indeed, it was
that I had heard singing. The old woman gasped and coughed, seemingly
as if she would never get over it. Now she stroked the little dog, now
talked to the bird, which answered her only with its usual words.
Furthermore, she acted in no way as if I were present. While I was
thus watching her, a series of shudders passed through my body; for
her face was constantly twitching and her head shaking, as if with
age, and in such a way that it was impossible for one to tell how she
really looked.

"When she finally ceased coughing she lighted a candle, set a very
small table, and laid the supper on it. Then she looked around at me
and told me to take one of the woven cane chairs. I sat down directly
opposite her, and the candle stood between us. She folded her bony
hands and prayed aloud, all the time twitching her face in such a way
that it almost made me laugh. I was very careful, however, not to do
anything to make her angry.

"After supper she prayed again, and then showed me to a bed in a tiny
little side-room--she herself slept in the main room. I did not stay
awake long, for I was half dazed. I woke up several times during the
night, however, and heard the old woman coughing and talking to the
dog, and occasionally I heard the bird, which seemed to be dreaming
and sang only a few isolated words of its song. These stray notes,
united with the rustling of the birches directly in front of my
window, and also with the song of the far-off nightingale, made such a
strange combination that I felt all the time, not as if I were awake,
but as if I were lapsing into another, still stranger, dream.

"In the morning the old woman woke me up and soon afterward gave me
some work to do; I had, namely, to spin, and I soon learned how to do
it; in addition I had to take care of the dog and the bird. I was not
long in getting acquainted with the housekeeping, and came to know all
the objects around. I now began to feel that everything was as it
should be; I no longer thought that there was anything strange about
the old woman, or romantic about the location of her home, or that the
bird was in any way extraordinary. To be sure, I was all t