i was sleeping in a hollow tree for the night , but the lightnin ' toppled it , cracked it like an egg it did and smashed it like a twig , and the rain got down my neck , and it threatened to get into my baggage , and there 's things in there must be kept dry as dust , and i 'd kept it safe as houses on all my travelings here , though it was wet as ... '' `` water ? ''