noon
Hither came the wild beasts of the forest to slake their thirst . From the foot of the ruin the valley sinks abruptly down toward the northwest , where it has quite a winterly aspect . The whole declivity is covered by a layer of snow , which the rays of the sun are never able to entirely melt . The sun only shows his face there for an hour at noon every day , and what is then melted quickly hardens into a coating of ice of a mirror-like smoothness . While on the southeastern side of the mountain snow and rain are always falling and clouds obscure the landscape , a bright sky smiles on the other side and you can see as far as Poland . In the valley beneath , at least two miles distant from the ruins of the Devil 's Castle , lies the little village of Praszkinocz . A serpentine path winds down the slippery sides of the mountains into the village below , but few people ever use it , save an occasional charcoal-burner or wood-cutter .