"Now you know how the farmers had it in the past when the corn was finished in the spring", said Luna.

"It is just as well that you get used to being hungry. If Smirgul becomes the ruler over Hilonien there may not be much food at all in the future", she said.

They found their way into a beautiful birch forest. Birch bark could be used for so much but none of the trees had been touched, which meant that people seldom went into the forest and they would soon understand why.

The ground was covered with autumn leaves and in some places it was wet and slippery. Midar tried to balance on a fallen tree trunk, but it was so slippery that he fell off and wet the seat of his trousers.

They climbed up moss covered crags where the moss was just as green and fine as in the summer, but otherwise there wasn't much to remind them of that season. The birch trees had shed all their leaves and their branches sprawled against the background of the sky.

"I long for the spring", said Luna.

"I hope it won't be long before the trees are in bud". However, they both knew that the long cold winter came first.