ful not to get cold, for it will be bitter when the snow stops."

I slept. In the small hours of the night my master woke me. The fire
was still burning, and the snow had stopped falling.

"It's my turn to sleep now," said Vitalis; "as the fire goes down you
throw on this wood that I've got already here."

He had piled up a heap of small wood by the grate. My master, who slept
much lighter than I, did not wish me to wake him by pulling down the
wood from the walls each time I needed it. So from this heap that he had
prepared, I could take the wood and throw on the fire without making a
noise. It was a wise thing to do, but alas, Vitalis did not know what
the result would be.

He stretched out now before the fire with Pretty-Heart in his coverlet
cuddled up against him, and soon, from his deep breathing, I knew that
he had fallen asleep. Then I got up softly and went to the opening to
see how it looked outside.

All the grass, the bushes, and the trees were buried in snow. Everywhere
the eye rested was a dazzling white. The sky was dotted with twinkling
stars, but although they were so bright it was the snow which shed the
pale light over the earth. It was much colder now; it was freezing hard.

Oh! what should we have done in the depths of the forest in the snow and
the cold if we had not found this shelter?

Although I had walked on tiptoe to the opening without scarcely making a
sound, I had roused the dogs, and Zerbino had followed me. The splendor
of the night was nothing to him; he looked on the scene for a moment,
and then became bored and wanted to go outside. I ordered him to return
to his place. Foolish dog, wasn't it better to stay by the warm fire in
this terrible cold than to go prowling around. He obeyed me, but with a
very bad grace, and kept his eyes fixed on the entrance. I stayed there
for a few minutes longer, looking at the white night. It was beautiful,
but although I enjoyed it, somehow I felt a vague sadness. I could have
gone inside and not looked, of course, but the white, mysterious scene
held me fascinated.

At last I went back to the fire and having placed two or three long
pieces of wood crossways upon one another, I sat down on the stone which
had served me for a pillow. My master was sleeping calmly; the dogs and
Pretty-Heart also slept, and the flames leaped from the fire and swirled
upward to the roof, throwing out bright sparks. The spluttering flame
was the only sound that broke