harmony rolled out of the little globe. She would not let me
touch it any more.

We travelled on together all that day. She left me when twilight
came on; but next day, at noon, she met me as before, and again
we travelled till evening. The third day she came once more at
noon, and we walked on together. Now, though we had talked about
a great many things connected with Fairy Land, and the life she
had led hitherto, I had never been able to learn anything about
the globe. This day, however, as we went on, the shadow glided
round and inwrapt the maiden. It could not change her. But my
desire to know about the globe, which in his gloom began to waver
as with an inward light, and to shoot out flashes of
many-coloured flame, grew irresistible. I put out both my hands
and laid hold of it. It began to sound as before. The sound
rapidly increased, till it grew a low tempest of harmony, and the
globe trembled, and quivered, and throbbed between my hands. I
had not the heart to pull it away from the maiden, though I held
it in spite of her attempts to take it from me; yes, I shame to
say, in spite of her prayers, and, at last, her tears. The music
went on growing in, intensity and complication of tones, and the
globe vibrated and heaved; till at last it burst in our hands,
and a black vapour broke upwards from out of it; then turned, as
if blown sideways, and enveloped the maiden, hiding even the
shadow in its blackness. She held fast the fragments, which I
abandoned, and fled from me into the forest in the direction
whence she had come, wailing like a child, and crying, "You have
broken my globe; my globe is broken--my globe is broken!" I
followed her, in the hope of comforting her; but had not pursued
her far, before a sudden cold gust of wind bowed the tree-tops