- Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. It's pouring the next day when Ani wakes up, and continues all day. She's not sure what time it is, so she gets dressed and makes her way to the food hall.
- There, people are gathered, snacking, chatting, and playing cards.
- Tomorrow is market day, which means she's been in Bayern one month and she's still just a goose girl.
- Thinking about her lot in life makes her think about being a princess. Yesterday she acted like a princess—in boldness—with Geric, and she realizes she can't do that anymore. As she thinks of the guard, she gets excited and a little nervous. Hmm… are we sensing a bit of a crush?
- Ani brushes this thought aside and goes to hang out with Enna.
- When Ani asks why everyone just stays inside instead of going into the city, Enna tells her that forest folk (the workers) and city folk don't really mix.
- In the city, when boys become men they have to take a big test with a javelin to prove they are really men—it's called receiving their rites—and then they become knights. No such test is available to forest folk like them.
- Enna thinks this is unfair, but then she says she doesn't really know much since she's just a nobody.
- Ani tells her not to talk about herself that way, though, and assures her that being Enna is being somebody, and that she has just as much right to an opinion as anybody else.
- The girls keep chatting, and Enna tells Ani a secret: she's always thought fire can talk, but that's weird isn't it?
- Not at all, as far as Ani's concerned—in fact she herself has heard of wind talking too. When Enna asks her about this, Ani describes a story her aunt used to tell—Razo chimes in too, and pretty soon everyone is listening. The story goes like this:
- Wild horses used to run as fast as the wind. They would only stop to gobble up gold they saw on the ground, and then they would keep running at a wild pace.
- One day, a maid saw the horses and played music for them as they ran—it was so beautiful. Each horse would stop for gold, chew it up, and then become the wind as it galloped off so fast.
- Everyday the same thing happened, and the girl got in trouble for spending time playing music and watching horses instead of helping in the fields like she as supposed to. But she didn't care.
- Then there was no more gold. The horses no longer stopped and the girl was heartbroken, until she realized her hair was the color of gold too—so she chopped it off and put it in the ground where the horses stopped for gold, but none of them cared.
- Finally the last horse stopped, looked her straight in the face, and then ate her golden mane.
- She was never seen again because she became the wind too, just like the horses.
- A hush falls on the crowd—no one is really sure what the story means, but everyone thinks it's beautiful.
- Conrad isn't so sure about all this, though, and he doesn't like the attention Ani is getting from her goose talking and storytelling.
- After she heads back home, Ani thinks about her new life. Sure, she's not ruling the nation like she thought she would be, but she's in charge of fifty geese and can tell a story to a bunch of captivated listeners. Can a queen do that?