24

• The narrator decides to live until spring and believes to have more nuts than the squirrels on Gribley's land combined.

The Start of Hunting Season

• The hunting season begins with a rifle shot, which the narrator had forgotten about.
• Concealing from hunters proves to be a challenge.
• To avoid hunters the narrator stays hidden the first day of hunting season.
• The narrator spends the time in hiding whittling a fork and working on rabbit-skin winter underwear.
• The narrator spends the time cracking lots of walnuts.
• On the second day of hunting sseason the narrator tidies up the campsite to resemble a forest floor.
• By the third day, hunters camp near the gorge, and more are found near the north stream when the narrator attempts to move.
• Frightful and the narrator are in need of exercise by the end of the first week of hunting season.

Close Encounter

• While heading to Miss Turner's library, a shot goes off, scaring Frightful away.
• The narrator hides in a tree, observing a hunter tracking a deer toward the old Gribley farm.
• From the tree, the narrator sees the deer fall dead in a patch of ferns after jumping a stone fence.
• The narrator worries the hunter will find a new jacket lying in the ferns.

Frightful's Intervention

• Frightful distracts the hunter by screaming from a maple sapling, drawing him away from the deer.
• After waiting, the narrator retrieves the deer, covers it with stones and ferns, and later brings it home after dark.
• The narrator uses birch bark to write notes to avoid rushing to get the deer too soon.
• The narrator anticipates getting more deer hide and venison due to lost game on the mountain.
• Two more deer were acquired in the same way before the hunting season concluded.

Preparing the Deer

• The narrator spends time scraping and preparing the first deer.
• The narrator is afraid to light a fire and cook the meat for fear of being spotted.
• The narrator eats smoked venison, nuts, and hawthorne berries.
• Hawthorne berries taste similar to apples only smaller and drier with large seeds, found on bushes with red shiny thorns.
• As hunters leave, the narrator and Frightful enjoy more freedom to roam.
• The air temperature gets cold enough to preserve the venison, so the narrator doesn't smoke the last two deer.
• About two weeks after the first shot, the narrator cooks a steak and eats it with fried puffballs, wild onions, and wild carrots.

Using Hunters Effectively

• The hunters are regarded as friends if used correctly.
• The narrator suggests observing hunters from the trees to spot and hide their kills.
• Tree tops are ideal as hunters generally look down, to the left, right, and straight ahead.
• The narrator recalls getting a third deer this way.

Preparing for Winter

• The narrator faces challenges tanning hides because the water in the oak stump freezes at night.
• The narrator begins wearing rabbit-fur underwear in the morning due to the cold.
• One deerskin is insufficient to cover the narrator fully, so another is partially sewn to it.
• A rectangle with a hole is cut in the third hide for the head to be made as a jacket.

The hunting season begins, posing challenges for the narrator. To avoid hunters, the narrator stays hidden, passing time whittling and preparing for winter. Encounters with hunters lead to hiding and a close call separates the narrator from Frightful.