Then she went, leaving me feeling smaller than ever I felt in my life,
before or since--even smaller than when I walked into the presence of
old Zikali the Wise. Why, I wondered, had she first made a fool of me,
and then thrown away the fruits of my folly? To this hour I cannot quite
answer the question, though I believe the explanation to be that she did
really care for me, and was anxious not to involve me in trouble and her
plottings; also she may have been wise enough to see that our natures
were as oil and water and would never blend.