suddenly , close behind them , they heard a sigh , then a groan . ' ah ! ' they turned hastily and looked at each other . there was nothing . they looked again . where was snowflake ? she has hidden herself for fun , they thought , and searched for her everywhere . ' snowflake ! snowflake ! ' but there was no answer . ' where can she be ? oh , she must have gone home . ' they returned to the village , but there was no snowflake . for days after that they sought her high and low . they examined every bush and every hedge , but there was no snowflake . and long after everyone else had given up hope ivan and marie would wander through the woods crying ' snowflake , my dove , come back , come back ! ' and sometimes they thought they heard a call , but it was never the voice of snowflake . and what had become of her ? had a fierce wild beast seized her and dragged her into his lair in the forest ? had some bird carried her off across the wide blue sea ? no , no beast had touched her , no bird had borne her away . with the first breath of flame that swept over her when she ran with her friends snowflake had melted away , and a little soft haze floating upwards was all that remained of her .
they could not find snowflake in the woods .
why did the young girls believe that snowflake went home ?
why did the young girls believe that snowflake went home ?