on one end of a field is a high house, and on the other end of the field, there is a low house. however, in the 2005 movie adaptation of the book, it is said that he is upset that they are sent away from home, on account of their father forced to serve the war. there were not many opportunities for big operas to be performed, so he wrote some “chamber operas” which only needed small orchestras and a small number of singers. this meant that a lot of grass grew back, but not many big trees. 