his wife appeared on the front porch of the house as they reached the dirt road . the feeling i had from before was coming back to me . `` i do n't even know if you ever did . she was what she was , and nothing toad says can change that . mrs. elf beamed at him , and again i wondered at the possible species relationship elves and pixies might have had , broken when the elves went underground . nick shook his head , grateful that was what had upset the bear . 