side. He
milked the cows, spoke not a word and went away.

Now a long, long day followed. It was perfectly still all around. The cows
grazed and lay down around in the sun-bathed pasture. Tom went into the
hut two or three times, drank some milk and ate some bread and cheese.
Then he came out again, sat down on the ground and carved on a piece of
wood he had in his pocket, for although he no longer dared to cherish the
hope of becoming a wood-carver, yet he could not help carving for himself
as well as he could. At last it was evening again. The man came and went.
He said not a word, and Toni had nothing to say either.

Thus passed one day after another. They were all so long! so long! In the
evening, when it began to grow dark it always seemed terrible to Toni, for
then the high mountains looked so black and threatening, as if they would
suddenly do him some harm. Then he would rush back into the hut and crawl
into his bed of hay.

Many days had passed like this, one exactly the same as the other. The
sun had always shone in a cloudless sky; always at evening the friendly
little star had gleamed above the dark mountain. But one afternoon, thick,
gray clouds began to chase one another across the sky; now and then
blinding lightning flashed, and suddenly frightful thunder-bolts sounded,
which echoed roaring from the mountains, as if there were twice as many
and then a terrible storm broke. It was as dark as night; the rain beat
against the hut, and meanwhile the thunder rolled with fearful
reverberations through the mountains; quivering lightning lighted up the
black, frightful giant-forms, which seemed quite specter-like to come
nearer and look down menacingly. The cattle ran together in alarm and
bellowed loudly, and great birds of prey flapped around with piercing
shrieks.

Toni had long since fled into the hut, but the lightning showed him the
frightful forms and it seemed every minute as if the rolling thunder
would overthrow the hut to the ground. Toni was so alarmed he could
hardly breathe. He climbed up on the table expecting every minute that the
hut would fall and crush him. The storm lasted for hours, and the man
never came over. It was now really night but still the blinding lightning
flashed and new peals of thunder rolled and the storm howled and raged as
if it would sweep the hut away.

Toni stood half the night stiff with fright, clinging to the table, and
with no thought, only a feeling of a frightf