Axl and Beatrice meet the old woman while taking shelter from a storm in the beginning of their journey. The old woman is preparing to slaughter a rabbit to irritate the boatman, who is also taking shelter there. The woman does this because the boatman was supposed to take her and her husband across the water to the island together, but only took her husband. Although she waited, he has never taken her, and now the woman makes a point of harassing the boatman whenever he returns to his childhood home after weeks of hard work.