noon
It was easy to cross , however ; a light foot might jump from stone to stone , and be over in a minute . Not the hind herself could be lighter on her foot than Aasa was ; and even in the spring-flood it was her wont to cross and recross the brook , and to sit dreaming on a large stone against which the water broke incessantly , rushing in white torrents over its edges . Here she sat one fair summer day -- the day after Vigfusson 's departure . It was noon , and the sun stood high over the forest . The water murmured and murmured , babbled and whispered , until at length there came a sudden unceasing tone into its murmur , then another , and it sounded like a faint whispering song of small airy beings . And as she tried to listen , to fix the air in her mind , it all ceased again , and she heard but the monotonous murmuring of the brook . Everything seemed so empty and worthless , as if that faint melody had been the world of the moment .