“It's frightfully cold，”said the two little mice，“otherwise it's very pleasant here.Don't you think so，you old fir tree？”
“I'm not old at all，”answered the fir tree.“There are many much older than I.”
“Where do you come from？”asked the mice，“and what do you know？”
Weren't they outrageously inquisitive？
“Tell us about the most attractive place on earth；have you ever been there？Have you ever been in the larder，where there are cheeses on the shelves，and hams hang from the ceiling，where you can dance over tallow candles，and slip in thin and come out fat？”
“I don't know that place，”replied the tree，“but I know the forest where the sun shines and the birds sing！”And it told all about its youth，and the little mice had never heard anything like it.They listened very attentively and said，“My，what a lot you must have seen！How happy you must have been！”
“I？”said the fir tree，thinking about what it had been saying.“Yes，after all，those days were rather pleasant.”Then it told them all about the Christmas Eve when it had been decorated with sweets and candles.
“Oh！”said the little mice.“How happy you've been，you old fir tree！”
“I'm not old at all，”said the fir tree.“It was only this winter that I came out of the forest；I'm in the prime of life，and I've only just stopped growing for the time being.”
“How beautifully you tell things！”said the little mice；and the next night they brought four other mice to hear the tree tell all about its life，and the more the tree told，the more clearly did it remember everything，and thought，“Those really were quite happy days.But they may return—they may return once more.Humpty-dumpty fell down the stairs and still he won the Princess！Perhaps I too may marry a Princess！”And the fir thought of a most adorable little birch that grew out in the forest—for to the fir tree that little birch was a beautiful real Princess.
“Who is Humpty-dumpty？”asked the little mice.The fir tree then told them the whole story，for it remembered every word，and the little mice were so delighted that they almost leaped to the very top of the tree.The next night many more mice came，and on Sunday even two rats appeared—but they said the story was not amusing，which made the little mice rather sad，for now they did not think much of it either.