noon
The Piper smiled . `` The shadow of a sorrow is longer than the sorrow , '' he answered . `` The shadow of one day , with you , has stretched over twenty-five years . ' T is approaching night that makes long shadows ; when life is at noon , they are short . When life is at its highest , there are no shadows at all . '' Miss Evelina sighed and leaned uneasily against the wall . `` This , I 'm thinking , '' mused the Piper , `` is the inmost truth of living -- there is always a balance which swings true .