"Did it never occur to you," the tree said, in a tone which, if the boy had been of a mind to pay attention to such things, would have seemed slightly impatient and exasperated, "that I have just been fattening you up?" 21/

Over the course of several minutes, the rest of the boy slid down the throat of the tree. The sun began to set, and the sky blazed orange and golden and red. The branches of the tree stretched out over the closely cropped grass of the yard. The End 22/end