three o'clock before
Give me my skates and put me on a sheet of ice , and I was at home . As I paused and watched the skaters , it struck me that there was no reason at all why I should deny myself that seasonable enjoyment . I had my skates , and the mere was large enough to hold me as well as the others -- indeed , I saw in the distance great tracts of virgin ice to which no skater seemed yet to have reached . I went home , and on the following afternoon carried out my resolution ; though it was after three o'clock before I could set out . A long , bleak way . First up the merry Jägerhofstrasse , then through the Malkasten garden , up a narrow lane , then out upon the open , bleak road , with that bitter wind going ping-ping at one 's ears and upon one 's cheek . Through a big gate-way , and a court-yard pertaining to an orphan asylum -- along a lane bordered with apple-trees , through a rustic arch , and , hurrah !