Wolf slid with a jerk into the normal world as he heard this sound, like a man falling plumb-down from a skylight upon a creaking floor.

He grasped his stick firmly by its handle, digging it into the ground at every step, and hurried with long strides down the little descent.

Nothing in the world seemed important to him now but to see his mother’s face and hear her high-pitched familiar voice.⁠ ⁠…

Standing on the platform, before the train drew in, he found that his heart was beating with excitement.

“I’m simply at an impasse ,” he thought to himself, “about what I feel for Mother. I don’t really want her down here⁠ ⁠… interfering with Gerda⁠ ⁠… interfering with everything.⁠ ⁠… It’s odd⁠ ⁠… it’s funny⁠ ⁠… it’s just like the spouting up of a great white whale⁠ ⁠… spouting up, when no one’s thinking of whales⁠ ⁠… when everyone’s thinking of the course of the ship!”