The Little Lady looks into the fire thoughtfully.
"And isn't there any more about the Hollow Tree?" she says at last.
The Story Teller looks into the fire, too.
"I'm afraid not," he answers.
"And won't you never know any more? Not ever--in a thousand days?"
"I--no, I'm afraid not."
"I wish we lived in a Hollow Tree," says the Little Lady.
From the House of Many Windows the Story Teller looks down on the
dazzling lights and the clatter and jangle of the street. Then he
remembers cool, musky ways in the dim woods, down which the padded feet
of the forest people pass silently to hidden homes of peace. The Story
Teller sighs.
"Yes, sweetheart," he says, "I have wished that sometimes, too."