Godliness, Part 4 Summary

David has a life-changing experience at the age of fifteen. Jesse has bought a long strip of black swampland for a low price, but he expends a large sum of money to improve it. Some neighbors laugh and hope Jesse will lose money, but Jesse makes an incredible profit. In the fall of that year, David spends all of his time that he is not in school outdoors. He gathers nuts, and once he kills a squirrel, which he cooks and eats with tremendous pride. David makes himself a slingshot, which he always carries with him. He thinks of his impending manhood, but in the interim he embraces his youth.

One day, Jesse tells David to come with him, since they have something important to do in the woods. Jesse takes a lamb that has been born out of season from...