two at night
Once or twice he had been inclined to hasten his steps , to join her , to talk , to hear the grateful sound of his own voice , which he had not heard since he passed the frontier customs ; yet each time he had subdued the desire and continued to lessen none of the distance between them . The little goose-girl was indeed tired , and the little wooden shoes grew heavier and heavier , and the little bare feet ached dully ; but her heart was light and her mind sweet with happiness . Day after day she had tended the geese in the valley and trudged back at evening alone , all told a matter of twelve miles ; and now she was bringing them into the city to sell in the market on the morrow . After that she would have little to do save an hour or two at night in a tavern called the Black Eagle , where she waited on patrons . On the two went , the old man in tatters , the goose-girl in wooden shoes . The man listened ; she was singing brightly , and the voice was sweet and strong and true . `` She is happy ; that is some recompense .