noon
The voices come rushing like a hurricane in her ears ; the plash of the river rises to a mighty roar . Wildly the mermaid tosses her white arms above her head , and laughs , and shrieks , and laughs again , in ghastly triumph . The dreamer has found her voice now , and in a frenzy of despair and horror she screams aloud . With that scream she awoke , and left her tent for the cool night air , and counted the hours till noon ; and so , with no more preparation , she betook herself to her journey , goaded with the thought that there might be time even yet . It is sunrise now ; a thousand gladsome tokens of life and happiness wake with the morning light . The dew sparkles on herb and autumn flower ; the lark rises into the bright , pure heaven ; herds of oxen file slowly across the plain . Hope is ever strong in the morning ; and the gipsy 's step is more elastic , her brow grows clearer and her eye brighter , as she calculates the distance she has already traversed , and the miles that yet lie between her and the woods and towers of Edeldorf .