The existence of the witch
After the Elders have placed the baby in the forest, they walk back to their town, “knowing that there surely wasn’t a witch. There never had been a witch. There were only a dangerous forest and a single road and a thin grip on a life that the Elders had enjoyed for generations.” However, little do they know that every child they have sacrificed has indeed been taken by the witch living in the forest; they just do not know she exists.
The fate of the sacrificed babies
The Elders expect the sacrificed babies to be eaten by wild animals. Ironically, after the babies are taken by the witch, their lives are richer than any of the Elders could have imagined: “And the Star Children, as they were called, grew from happy infants to kind adolescents to gracious adults. They were accomplished, generous of spirit, and successful. When they died of old age, they died rich.”
Fyrian's promise
After taking in the moon baby, the witch Xan does not allow her tiny pet dragon Fyrian to come close to the girl. Fyrian wants to change her mind by affirming that he would never hurt the baby. Ironically, just a moment later, he accidentally sneezes “a bright plume of fire onto the back of Xan’s head,” thus proving her point.
Glerk's change of mind
At first, the monster Glerk, who also lives with the witch, does “not intend to love the baby.” Ironically, after a while it is him who volunteers to carry the baby around, and he even sings her one of his favorite poems. Moreover, when the baby says his name, his “heart nearly burst in his chest” because of happiness.
The real purpose of school
Antain is usually the first one to arrive at school, and when the Grand Elder wants to take a walk with him to talk about something, he is apprehensive. Subsequently, the Grand Elder reveals the irony of the schoolhouse being a place to babysit its students instead of providing them with an education that would benefit them in the future: “There is no need to be in school in the first place. The purpose of this structure is to house and amuse those who have no futures until they are old enough to work for the benefit of the Protectorate.”
