I was not anxious to stay any longer with these small beings, these human
grains of sand. As I had slept enough in the afternoon and the moon was
bright, I prepared to leave. After laying in a further supply of reindeer
cheese and whatever other food I could get, I left the hut. But what a
surprise: the bright moonlight was gone, and the sky was overcast; there
was no frost, only mild weather and wet woods. It was spring.

When Olga Lapp saw this, she advised me against leaving; but why should I
listen to her chatter? She came with me a little way into the woods to
direct me, then turned and went back, tiny and queer, her feathers ruffled
like a hen's.




VI


It was difficult to advance. Never mind. A few hours later I found myself
high up on the fjeld; I must have strayed from the path. What is that dark
shape there? A mountain peak. And that over there? Another peak. Let us
pitch camp on the spot, then.

There was a deep goodness and tenderness about this mild night. I sat in
the dark recalling forgotten memories of my childhood, and many
experiences in this place and that. And what a satisfaction it is, too, to
have money in one's pocket, even if one sleeps in the open!

During the night I woke up; I found it growing too warm for me under my
crag, and loosened my sleeping bag. It seemed to me, too, that a sound