Chapter 11 Summary

Chapter eleven begins by describing the accomplished huntsman and fisherman Cosimo has become since his time in the trees began. He and his dog spend long hours patiently waiting out various creatures and he becomes more and more attuned to their rhythms as he lives so close to them. The family, however, still thinks of him and pines for him as their very own. For a long time, he walks along the trees to accompany the family to mass, and sits on a tree at the end of the family row, the sacristans leaving the window open so he can hear. He stops joining them after a while, though, and the window is closed to keep out the cold.

A particularly poignant evening is the night the family celebrates Battista's engagement with a grand affair. Everyone celebrates boisterously, but every member of the...