“‘You see I am waiting for you,’ he said. ‘How did you enjoy your visit?’
“‘I didn’t enjoy it much,’ replied the little girl. ‘Everything was so large, and the Thunder made so much fuss.’
“‘I hope you didn’t mind that,’ said the old man. ‘The Thunder is a great growler and grumbler, but when that’s said, all’s said. I am sorry, though, you didn’t have a good time. I suppose you think it is my fault, but it isn’t. If you say so, I’ll go to the Jumping-Off Place.’
“‘Where is that?’ asked the little girl.
“‘Just beyond the Well at the End of the World.’
“‘If it isn’t too far, let’s go there,’ said the little girl.
“So the old man lifted her on his back, and they went on their way. They must have gone very swiftly, for it wasn’t long before they came to the Well at the End of the World. An old woman was sitting near the Well, combing her hair. She paid no attention to the travelers, nor they to her. When they had gone beyond the Well a little distance, the little girl noticed that the sky appeared to be very close at hand. It was no longer blue, but dark, and seemed to hang down like a blanket or a curtain.”
“But that couldn’t be, you know,” said Buster John, “for the sky is no sky at all. It is nothing but space.”
“How comes it dey call it sky, ef ’t ain’t no sky?” asked Drusilla, indignantly. “An’ how come’t ain’t no sky, when it’s right up dar, plain ez de han’ fo’ yo’ face? Dat what I’d like ter know.”
“Why, the moon is thousands of miles away,” said Buster John, “and some of the stars are millions and millions of miles farther than the moon.”