Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary

Mick is spending a typical Sunday with her two younger brothers, Ralph and Bubber. She has a lot of responsibility for a girl of her age, and pulling them in a wagon around the neighborhood seems to be a normal routine. She doesn't mind watching them, but her main interest this morning is climbing to the top of the roof of a nearby house under construction. All the kids in the neighborhood have written graffiti on the walls inside. Mick wants to top them. She wants to stand on the highest point of the roof and sing. She manages to climb to the top, but she is afraid of the height and can't squeak out a note. She climbs down and compensates for her defeat by kicking around inside with her dreams while her brothers bake in the hot sun outside...