Summary

In Chapter 53, Percy sat outside on the back porch, and the narrator joined him. They watched Gloria.

In Chapter 54, the narrator was cleaning a house when a germ of an idea came to her mind, though she could not quite determine what the idea was. When she returned home, there was a hawk on the back porch. She scared it away by shaking her cleaning supplies and then entered the coop, telling Gloria she was safe.

In Chapter 55, the narrator describes Gloria pecking around the garden and explains that chickens have sharp claws and are carnivorous. They sometimes prey on baby mice and birds.

In Chapter 56, the narrator went to Helen's house, the interior of which is shaped like a spiral. Johnson plays in the inner part of the spiral and his crib is kept in the kitchen. The narrator thought Helen looked...