Transposed from Gb to G major.
Perhaps MacDowell imagines a scene from the Fairy Tale:
The White Wolf.
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stor
ies/whitewolf.html
"...she lay down on the mat outside the white wolf’s
(prince) door. And when everyone in the palace was
asleep she began to tell (sing) the whole of her
story...