The Yearling Chapter 1 Summary | Shmoop The Yearling Chapter 1 Summary | Shmoop

The Yearling Chapter 1 Summary

  • Jody Baxter don't wanna hoe no mo'. (Sorry for the bad grammar, but you'd better get used to it—The Yearling is chock full of it!)
  • Anyway, like we said, Jody's sick of doing his farm chores, and decides to run off to see if he can find a bee tree, instead. What is this, Winnie the Pooh?
  • He takes off through the forest until he finds a hidden spring.
  • He plays around in it for a while before he remembers that he's been wanting to build a flutter-mill. A family friend, Oliver, had made them for him before.
  • Okay, what in the world is a flutter-mill? Check this out.
  • As he watches it turn, he falls asleep on the bank.
  • He wakes up as a light drizzle begins, but when it clears, it's so beautiful that he can't contain himself, and spins around in circles till he falls over. Oh, c'mon, you know you did it too, when you were little.
  • Jody heads back home, and finds his Pa, Penny Baxter, doing his chores for him. Uh-oh…
  • He feels bad, but his Pa understands what it's like to be young, and doesn't tell his Ma he was goofing off. Phew!
  • They eat dinner, and Jody lets it slip that he built a flutter-mill…but luckily, his Ma's not mad.
  • It's been such a perfect day that Jody remembers it his whole life long. Dude, flutter-mills rock.