"Fou! Fou!"
The little white beast bounded across the white snow, leaving behind a row of tiny animal tracks.
"So cute! Come on, over here!"
The girl's clear laughter rang out as Gerda skipped to one side and held out a hand toward Fou.
But Fou did not go to her. He merely cried out and hopped in place.
"Fou!"
He looked at Gerda as though trying to convey something.
"Hmm? Um, it looks fun, so is that it?"
Grasping the hem of her skirt with both hands, she looked at the snow beneath her feet and imitated Fou, jumping with both legs together.
"Jump!"
A smile appeared on Gerda's face.
"Fou!"
Fou hopped along with her.
"Hehe!"
Gerda scooped Fou up from the snow, held him in both hands, and looked at him seriously.
"If you're a mouse, you're far too pretty. Could you be a legendary cat? Or perhaps a legendary dog?"
"Mm! I know! You must be a legendary horse!"
Fou: .?
"Fou is Fou."
Walking beside them, Mash rubbed Fou's head with a helpless smile.
"So you're Fou. I can't believe such a cute little animal exists in this world. I've never been this close to any animal besides sheep."
"You're so pretty."
As she spoke, she hugged Fou to her chest and carefully nuzzled against him.
"Ah, but speaking of pretty things."
Gerda suddenly froze, as though she had remembered something.
"What is it, Miss Gerda?"
Mash carried a bag in her hand and glanced at Gerda.
Fou wriggled out of Gerda's arms, landed in the snow, and bounded off elsewhere.
"Not too long ago, I saw something pretty too. It was probably... a rainbow. A really huge rainbow."
She raised a hand and gestured roughly how very big it had been.
"A huge, huge