And it was snowing hard outside, which made it a nicer Christmas than if it hadn't been, and when all the others came they brought presents, too. And when they saw Mr. Dog dressed up as Santa Claus and heard how he'd gone to sleep and been caught, they laughed and laughed. And it snowed so hard that they had to stay all night, and after dinner they sat around the fire and told stories. And they had to stay the next night, too, and all that Christmas week. And I wish I could tell you all that happened that week, but I can't, because I haven't time. But it was the very nicest Christmas that ever was in the Hollow Tree, or in the Big Deep Woods anywhere.
And this, said the Story Teller, is the very last Hollow Tree story, and there will be no more, for they all came out through Mr. Dog, and Mr. Dog has gone away now into that Far Land of Evening where all good dogs go to when they get very, very old. He was friends with the Hollow Tree people to the last, and when he got too old to visit them, they used to come to see him, sometimes at night, when Mr. Man was asleep. And when Mr. Dog went away on his long journey beyond the sunset they were all so sorry, for they knew that no other Mr. Dog would ever be friends with them, and they were very sad in the Hollow Tree for a long time.
Then here's goodby to the old black Crow,
And the rest, with a one, two, three!
And here's goodby to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow—
Good-by to the Hollow Tree.
GOOD-BYE TO THE LITTLE LADY
WHAT SHE WISHES AND WHAT THE STORY TELLER SAYS
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.