noon
Soon , however , I became again anxious , though from another cause . I had eaten nothing that day , and for an hour past had been feeling the want of food . So I grew afraid lest I should find nothing to meet my human necessities in this strange place ; but once more I comforted myself with hope and went on . Before noon , I fancied I saw a thin blue smoke rising amongst the stems of larger trees in front of me ; and soon I came to an open spot of ground in which stood a little cottage , so built that the stems of four great trees formed its corners , while their branches met and intertwined over its roof , heaping a great cloud of leaves over it , up towards the heavens . I wondered at finding a human dwelling in this neighbourhood ; and yet it did not look altogether human , though sufficiently so to encourage me to expect to find some sort of food . Seeing no door , I went round to the other side , and there I found one , wide open . A woman sat beside it , preparing some vegetables for dinner .