one came near him; and when at last somebody did come, it was only to
push away some large boxes in a corner. So the tree was completely
hidden from sight as if it had never existed.

"It is winter now," thought the tree; "the ground is hard and covered
with snow, so that people cannot plant me. I shall be sheltered here,
I dare say, until spring comes. How thoughtful and kind everybody is
to me! Still, I wish this place were not so dark and so dreadfully
lonely, with not even a little hare to look at. How pleasant it was
out in the forest while the snow lay on the ground, when the hare
would run by, yes, and jump over me too, although I did not like it
then. Oh! it is terribly lonely here."

"Squeak, squeak," said a little mouse, creeping cautiously towards the
tree; then came another, and they both sniffed at the fir tree, and
crept in and out between the branches.

"Oh, it is very cold here," said the little mouse. "If it were not, we
would be very comfortable here, wouldn't we, old fir tree?"

"I am not old," said the fir tree. "There are many who are older than
I am."

"Where do you come from?" asked the mice, who were full of curiosity;
"and what do you know? Have you seen the most beautiful places in the
world, and can you tell us all about them? And have you been in the
storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelf and hams hang from the
ceiling? One can run about on tallow candles there; one can go in thin
and come out fat."