The Little Lady looks anxiously at the Story Teller.
"Did Old Hungry-Wolf ever get inside of the Hollow Tree?" she asks.
"No, he never did get inside; they only saw him through the window, and heard him bark."
"And why couldn't Mr. 'Possum ever hear him sometimes?"
"Well, you see, Old Hungry isn't a real wolf, but only a shadow wolf—the shadow of famine. He only looks in when people dread famine, and he only barks and gnaws when they feel it. A famine, you know, is when one is very hungry and there is nothing to eat. I don't think Mr. 'Possum was very hungry, and he had all those nice things laid away, so he would not care much about that old shadow wolf, which is only another name for hunger."
The Little Lady clings very close to the Story Teller.
"Will we ever see Old Hungry-Wolf and hear his bark?"
The Story Teller sits up quite straight, and gathers the Little Lady tight.
"Good gracious, no!" he says. "He moved out of our part of the country before you were born, and we'll take good care that he doesn't come back any more."
"I'm glad," says the Little Lady. "You can sing now—you know—the 'Hollow Tree Song.'"