These densely foliaged trees are known as Oon[a:]mos[a:] tûl[a:]. In your language this would signify burr-berry. They seldom grow to a greater height than thirty feet. Yes, they do resemble chestnut trees, but the burrs contain berries, not nuts, and they now are fully ripened. Certainly it could not harm you to taste the fruit, but through its extreme acidity and astringency it is very unpalatable. We now will examine these pretty shrubs whose dark green, glossy foliage renders them quite attractive. The fruit has a luscious appearance but is unfit for human food. Its Ento name is Gûfon litz[a:], which I shall translate into Bitter sweet. Once Inez was curious enough to taste this fruit and very much to her discomfiture. As you are aware, your sister was a still born child, consequently her mortal education has been acquired under such difficulties as you, in your present state, little comprehend. Being of an inquiring turn of mind she investigates for herself, at times gaining information at some cost, which makes it all the more valuable. Inez--De L'Ester, I owe you thanks for regarding my overweening curiosity so leniently. I confess that I am of a very inquiring turn of mind, but since largely through this means I acquire necessary mortal experiences which, through my premature return to the spirit side, were denied me, I feel assured that your forbearance will condone what may amount to a fault. De L'Ester--Inez, dear friend, I did not mean that my brusquerie should occasion you even a passing thought. Pardon me if I may have caused you a suggestion of pain. Inez--Pardon is not a word that should pass between two such close friends as are we. There, I offer you my hand with my heart in it and thus the fancied wound is healed. Medium--De L'Ester, George, what a strange looking animal is emerging from that cleft in the mountain. What an ungainly, ugly creature and what vicious looking eyes it has. De L'Ester--Really, the creature is as much a surprise to us as to you. As none of us have seen its like on Ento, we must conclude that it belongs to a nearly extinct species. That it is of the marsupial family is apparent. Its structural formation, hair and other characteristics are those of your American opossum, but its size is much greater than that of those creatures. I should say that it is quite two feet in height, four in length, and its weight not under one hundred pounds. As it comes this way sniffing, grunting and rooting under the leaves for the fallen fruit of the Oonamosa tûl[a:], it impresses one with the idea that it is an ill-tempered, pugnacious animal. When our Ento spirit friends join us we may learn its name, habits and so on. [Illustration: HINIFRO ENOR[A:]]