Imagine rising before us a valley, surrounded on both sides by massive mountains.  The valley, we may say, runs north and south, and we are at the south end of it, for on the cliffs at the west side the sun is shining, its long level rays piercing the fringe of pines and touching with a ruddy color the tops of the mountains.  It would be a difficult matter to climb the masses of castellated rock shivered into numberless curious forms, for they extend far into the region of eternal snow, and from where we stand it seems as though they pierce the blue heavens.  The snow line is not level along the cliffs, for in places the drifts lie deep in chasms which, from a distance, look like branching rivers of pure white, or, as Ruskin says, when lighted by the sun, appear like “lines of forked lightning.”  At one end of the valley we may see the Golden River, surging, possibly, from the eastern wall, as it is almost wholly in the shadow; yet there are dashes of spray which the shining sun turns to gold.  Between the Golden River and ourselves lie some broad fields of ice.  In fact, the picture is not altogether one of beauty, for there is a suggestion of sublimity and awe mixed with the view which causes us to shudder in spite of the glowing radiance of the morning.  In the next paragraph Hans is shown proceeding on his journey, and then the depressing elements in the picture become clearer.

What did Hans find that surprised him?  Did it appear a longer walk to the Golden River than he had anticipated?  What was the nature of the ice?  If a person were crossing a glacier, would sounds of rushing water tend to frighten him?  Was the surface of the glacier smooth?  Were there many fragments of ice that seemed to take human form?  Why are the shadows called deceitful?  What are lurid lights?  What effect did the sights and sounds have upon Hans?  Had Hans been in similar dangers before?  Were these dangers worse than ever before, or was Hans in the mood to be disturbed by them?

When you have answered the questions in the last paragraph, finish for yourselves the picture of the valley as we first sketched it.  Close your eyes and try to see the valley, mountains, sunlight, great rocks, yawning chasms, and the enormous fragments of ice that looked like terrible beings ready to devour any one who came near them.  When you have done this, you will realize the power of Ruskin’s descriptions.

Now compare the valley as Hans saw it with the valley as Schwartz and Gluck saw it.  What changes are there in the picture?

There are other descriptions in the story besides those of the valley and the Golden River.  It would be interesting to go through and compare the different pictures which Ruskin gives us of the King of the Golden River.  If we should do this we might gather our information and put it into a table something like this: 

THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER