Summary

In Chapter 20, Rumpus is limping around the forest, but he has not yet caught any food. When Maggie returns to the clearing, he hides and watches. He is drawn to the smell of red meat but remains cautious until hunger drives him out. He eats it all, then watches the girl as she sits completely still. He smells of her and notes that she is shaking because she is nervous. He walks around her. He has a flash of a memory before he was at the department store “when gentle hands had held him and fed him” (155). He lies down next to the girl, not quite touching, and she removes a mitten.

In Chapter 21, Maggie is terrified as she reaches out to touch Rumpus. She whispers his name. She knows she should be afraid of this creature – a wild predator. She is amazed...