In a certain obscure village near a mighty mountain range, a boy and a girl
are found whose bodies are akin to all other humans, except only that they
differ in the colour of their skin from all the known or unknown people of our
planet. Foods are set before them but they will eat nothing though they are
tormented by great hunger, as the girl afterwards acknowledges. At length
a looking glass in the house happens to reflect a plate of food; to the great
amazement of those who saw it, the boy and the girl reach through the mirror,
take out the reflected food and eat. The boy is always lethargic for reasons
that nobody understands, however, and to everyone's grief he fades away
and disappears within a short time. The girl enjoys continual good health and
in time she loses completely her original colour. Being frequently questioned
about her people and after long effort and study at last able to make herself
understood, the girl explains that all her folk are of the same unusual colour as
she once was, as was the light in the sky and everything else in her dimension.
On the subject of how she and the boy came from their home, she asserts
that from the summits of the mountains there could be seen a bright and
(to them) queerly coloured place on the other side. When they emerged
on the other side they were struck senseless by the golden light of our sun,
so different from their own. When their terror had subsided, they realised
that they could no longer find the the way back to their native realm. The
girl lives for many years afterwards, but is never able to find her way home.
