She extinguishes the candle in one breath but keeps it in her hand. She approaches the bottle and, blinking in the intense light, which hurts her eyes, sees a tiny man gesticulating inside. It seems like he wants to speak to her; he’s moving his lips and his body expressively. The little man in the bottle kneels, his hands pressed together, looking at her. He appears to be asking her to free him from the bottle; he’s begging her.

The Forest Girl picks up the bottle. The little man jumps with joy. He looks her in the eyes. He’s no longer trying to speak. He reaches out to her. The young woman removes the bottle’s lid and the little man escapes through its glass neck, growing long and thin to fit and then expanding again when he’s out. Once outside the bottle, he shakes himself and begins to grow, more and more and more. His body’s size doubles each second, he becomes so tall he can no longer stand, he bends down and doubles over as he continues to grow. His body begins to bump into the walls, taking up all the space, pushing the furniture back and knocking over anything in his way—amphorae, clocks—until he’s filled the whole room. The Forest Girl presses herself against the door through which she entered.

The Forest Girl watches the body of the man from the bottle expand toward her, right up to the doorframe where she has taken refuge. She opens the door and passes through it. The body of the man from the bottle continues to grow, pursuing her. She wants to shut the door behind her, pushing with all her might against the mass of the giant man. “Ow!” the man from the bottle says. “You’re pinching me! You’re hurting me!” His voice resonates, echoing off the walls, but the Forest Girl pays no heed to his cries, afraid that his enormity will cross over and invade the other wing of the palace.

“Get out of here!”

“You’re hurting me…. You’re pinching me! Don’t do that! Owwww!”

The Forest Girl pushes with all her might and manages to close the door. She turns the lock, and, without removing the key (she leaves her hand on it for what seems like an eternity), she tries to hear what’s happening on the other side of the door, wondering what to do.