That night the stranger slept on the floor in front of the fire--there
was no other place for him; but he was glad to be safe from the storm
outside.
Early in the morning, the two started out through the forest again.
They must hurry, if they were to reach the next village before
darkness fell. The storm had passed over, and the day was cold and
clear. A beautiful winter's day. The little girl and the stranger
reached the village on the other side of the forest early in the
afternoon, and there before them they saw a beautiful sleigh drawn by
four horses. There were four servants standing near.
"What a lovely sleigh!" exclaimed Paulina.
"Yes, I wonder where they are going. I will ask them," the stranger
said. He went nearer the men and spoke to them.
"We are driving for our master to Igorhof," they said.
"Why, that is where my daughter is. If I might only ride with you, I
could spend Christmas with her. Tomorrow is Christmas day, you know.
And, little one, you could spend Christmas with us, too."
"O, no," said Paulina. "I could not take the time. I must hurry on to
my father. But it would be lovely if we could only ride in this
beautiful sleigh."
"You could spend the night with us, and then we could set you on your
way, because you have been so kind to me," the man told her.
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