The days passed. Autumn was coming and there were red and yellow leaves on the threes. Luna and Midar remained indoors all the time. Under no circumstances were they allowed to go into the forest. They had to be satisfied with looking through the window and Luna wondered whether Hilonina would ever be the same country again as the land she knew.

They were not unoccupied even though there were no books to read. Luna learnt how to crochet and sew and Midar tried to carve wooden ladles, but he was not very successful and often cut his fingers. They also became good friends with the farmer's youngest son. There were always soldiers in the village and a couple of times they came up to the farmhouse and looked through the window, but they must have thought that the children belonged to the farmer and went away. Luna and Midar were very frightened when they saw them.