And the whole night the tree stood still and in deep thought. In the morning the servant and the housemaid came in, but they dragged him out of the room and up the stairs into the loft, and here in a dark corner where no daylight could enter they left him. What's the meaning of this, thought the tree, and he leaned against the wall, lost in reverie. Time enough had he too for his reflections, for days and nights passed on and nobody came up, and when at last somebody did come, it was only to put some great trunks in a corner out of the way. 'Tis now winter out of doors, thought the tree, how kind man is after all, if it only were not so dark here and so terribly lonely. Squeak, squeak, they snuffed about the fir tree and rustled among the branches. I am by no means old, said the fir tree, there's many a one considerably older than I am. They were so extremely curious. I know no such place, said the tree, and then he told all about his youth, and the little mice had never heard the like before, and they listened and said, said the fir tree, thinking over what he had himself related, yes, in reality those were happy times. Who is Humpy Dumpy, asked the mice. Only that one, answered the tree, it is a very stupid story.