MR. TURTLE SAID THAT WHAT MR. 'POSSUM HAD TOLD THEM WAS TRUE
Then Mr. Rabbit coughed a little and remarked that he was glad that Mr. 'Possum said that the story was true, for no one would ever have suspected it. He said if Mr. 'Possum hadn't said it was true he would have thought it was one of those pleasant dreams that Mr. 'Possum had when he slept hanging to a peg head down.
But Mr. Turtle, who had been sitting with his eyes shut and looking as if he were asleep, knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and said that what Mr. 'Possum had told them was true—at least, some of it was true; for he himself had been sitting in the door of his house on the shore of the Wide Blue Water when the balloon passed over, and he had seen Uncle Silas Lovejoy's family sitting up there anchored and comfortable; and he had picked up a chair that Uncle Silas had dropped, and he had it in his house to this day, it being a good strong chair and better than any that was made nowadays.
Well, of course after that nobody said anything about Mr. 'Possum's story not being true, for they remembered how old and wise Mr. Turtle was and could always prove things, and they all talked about it a great deal, and asked Mr. 'Possum a good many questions.
They said how nice it was to know somebody who had had an adventure like that, and Mr. Rabbit changed his seat so he could be next to Mr. 'Possum, because he said he wanted to write it all down to keep.
And Mr. 'Possum said he never would forget how good those chickens tasted that first night in the new home, and that Mr. Rabbit mustn't forget to put them in.
Then they all remembered that they were hungry now, and Mr. Crow and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Robin hustled around to get a bite to eat before bedtime, and Mr. 'Possum hurried down to bring up the stove-wood, and was gone quite awhile, though nobody spoke of it—not then—even if they did wonder about it a little—and after supper they all sat around the fire again and smoked and dropped off to sleep while the clock ticked and the blaze flickered about and made queer shadows on the wall of the Hollow Tree.