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The blue flamesSuddenly, I saw a faint blue flame. It was some distance away, on the left of the carriage. The driver saw it at the same time. He immediately stopped the horses, jumped to the ground, and disappeared into the darkness. I did not know what to do, especially because the howling of the wolves was getting closer. But the driver suddenly came back again. He got back into his seat without a word, and our journey continued. I think I must have fallen asleep, for in my dream the same thing seemed to happen again and again. Now when I think about it, it is as if I was having a kind of awful nightmare. Once a flame appeared so near the road that even in the darkness I could watch the driver. He went quickly to where the blue flame was. The flame was extremely weak, because it did not light up the place around it at all. The driver picked up a few stones and made a pattern under the flame.
Once something strange seemed to happen. When the driver stood between me and the flame I could still see the flame burning even though the driver was in the way. I was very surprised by this, and it happened very quickly. I thought I must have made a mistake because it was very difficult to see through the darkness. Then for a time there were no blue flames, and we went quickly through the night. The howling of the wolves was still around us, as though the wolves were following in a moving circle. Then there came a time when the driver went further away than he had done before. While he was away, the horses began to tremble even more than before, and to scream with fear. I could not see why they were doing it, since the howling of the wolves had stopped completely.