"What do you want with these rods?" asked Johannes of his fellow-traveler.
"They are three very pretty herb-brooms," said he, "and I like them, because I am a foolish fellow."
They then went on a good deal further.
"Look how overcast the sky appears!" said Johannes, pointing before them. "Those are frightfully heavy clouds."
"No," said his fellow-traveler, "they are not clouds; they are mountains—fine, large mountains—at the top of which one may overlook the clouds, and breathe fresh air. And delightful it is, believe me, to stand there! To-morrow we shall assuredly be far out in the wide world."
But they were not so near as they looked, and it took a full day before they had reached the mountains, where the black forests were towering up to the sky, and where blocks of stone might be
