midnight
When he moved them they _ crackled _ . `` It must be my joints , '' he said to himself . `` I 'm afraid this wetting has given me rheumatism . '' So he started home at once -- though it was only midnight . But the further he went , the worse he felt -- and the harder it was to fly . `` I 'll have to rest a while , '' he said to himself at last . So he alighted on a limb ; for he was more tired than he had ever been in all his life .