Chapter 1 Summary

In Chapters 1 and 2, Jessie wakes up to her mother's stirring. Again, her mother has been called out late in the night to take care of the village's sick children. Her mother is known as a midwife and people would rather get help from her than from Dr. Fister. Ma tries to help people get better, since Dr. Fister has stopped passing out pills that actually cure diseases. Jessie goes with Ma to the Bentons, but waits outside because Ma does not want her to take ill. While waiting for Ma, Jessie thinks about the wild animals in the woods and that she is not afraid of them. She also is not afraid of the scary, haunted trees, and the black boxes that are on top of trees. Once, she tried to climb a tree to look at the black box that followed her...