Summary

On Christmas Eve, a young girl is adamant about going into the woods to visit her grandmother. She is convinced "the wild beasts cannot harm her" (145). She has added her knife to the basket her mother packed with liquor, cheese, and jam. She dresses in the blood red cloak her granny made her, and dons her wooden shoes. Her granny is a "two hours' trudge" through the woods, and lives alone (145). As the youngest child in her family, the girl is still uninhibited. Most children "in this savage country" lose their innocence young (145). Most "work hard and grow wise" rapidly (145).

This little girl has just reached puberty. Her breasts are filling in, and her hair and face are pale. Still a virgin, she is "a closed system," and does yet know fear (146).

If the girl's father were home, he would forbid her to...