Sentence

[puzzle]

She had said: "There isn't any," and gone to sleep before the words were out of her mouth.

I. Does she said the words or not?
II. If not, why use "had said"?
Please.

 

[Horsa]

It's difficult to be certain from this short extract, but I suspect she said "There isn't any" but failed to complete the sentence because she fell asleep.

 

[puzzle]

She had said: "There isn't any," and gone to sleep before the words were out of her mouth.

I understand "the words" means "There isn't any", not the other words. Right?

 

[Anglika]

Yes.

This sentence tells you that she fell asleep as she was saying "There wasn't any".

 

[puzzle]

Thank you!