"With the trees, the opposite happened with people: these were, the older, the smaller they seemed to become." This suggests that as trees grew older, they appeared larger and more impressive, while people seemed to diminish in size or importance with age. It highlights a contrast between natural growth and human perception of aging.

"With the trees, it worked backwards." This phrase emphasizes that the typical expectations of growth and aging are turned around in this context, illustrating a world where age affects perception differently, perhaps making older trees seem bigger while older people seem smaller or less significant.