Questionable String.valueOf implementation

My obsession with Strings continues. I just came across an inexplicable anomaly in the java.lang.String class.

   int[] numbers = null;

   System.out.println(String.valueOf(numbers)); 



   char[] characters = null;

   System.out.println(String.valueOf(characters));

These two String.valueOf() method calls display different behavior. The former displays a "null" string. The latter, being rather quixotic, throws a NullPointerException. If there's a good reason for this divergence (I have a hunch there is), it isn't immediately apparent. Can someone please shed some light?

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