Proud to be the bearer of astonishing news, I run back. "Daddy! There’s a tree in the sitting room!" I expect my father to spring from his chair, alarmed, and rush to the sitting room. Instead, my parents laugh. They explain about Christmas trees and decorations.

Oh. Is that all? A Christmas tree is interesting, but I am disappointed. A tree slipping into the house at night had appealed to me. I want my father to charge into the sitting room to save us all from the intruder.

Based on this excerpt, the reader can reasonably infer that the narrator is