The Governess is passing by the woods to get water when she suddenly feels sick. She asks her son-in-law if he would like to join her for a midnight snack, but he refuses. He tells her that he's in a hurry to get back to the house, and that he doesn't want his mother to get sick. He also tells her about how he used to live in the woods alone, until a guest showed up, and he coughed and coughed until the guest started showing up. He says that the plan was to go to the workshop, but then he'd have to come back the next day. He asks his mother if it would be possible for them to stay the night, and she says that she'd like to do so.