The Yearling

Jody Baxter skips his chores to play in the woods. He finds a spring and makes a flutter-mill out of leaves and twigs before falling asleep in the sun. He spots a rainbow: “A spring of delight boiled up within him as irresistibly as the spring of the branch” (12). When Jody returns home, he finds Penny, his father, chopping wood—one of his chores. Penny isn’t angry, and they agree not to tell Jody’s mother, Ora. Full meals are scarce, but Penny, Jody, and Ora enjoy a meal together this night. Penny remarks that bears come out in April, and he hopes to harvest one. The family chases each other around the room playfully. Jody goes to bed thinking he will remember this beautiful spring day forever.

Penny wonders if he should have punished Jody for skipping his chores to play, but decides to let him enjoy his childhood. When Penny was a boy, he and his large family lived a hard life on a farm. His real name is Ezra, but a man named Lem Forrester teased him for being small and malnourished saying, “Why, you leetle ol’ penny-piece, you” (21). Penny grew up to be an honest man, once taking an injured horse back to town to return some extra change.