Very few grown-up people understand houses. Only children understandthem properly, and, if I understand them just a little, it is becauseI knew Sym. Sym and his wife, Emily Ann, lived in the Little RedHouse. It was built on a rather big mountain, and there were no otherhouses near it. At one time, long ago, the mountain had been coveredall over with a great forest; but men had cut the trees down, all butone big Blue-gum, which grew near the Little Red House. The Blue-gumand the Little Red House were great friends, and often had long talkstogether. The Blue-gum was a very old tree--over a hundred yearsold--and he was proud of it, and often used to tell of the time, longago, when blackfellows hunted 'possums in his branches. That wasbefore the white men came to the mountain, and before there were anyhouses near it.