Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 11, Section 2 Summary

Chapter 11, Section 2 Summary

It takes Dillard some years to perfect the art of stalking muskrats. Muskrats are notoriously difficult to observe. One biologist, who was doing a study of muskrats, said sometimes weeks would go by before he would actually see a living muskrat. One time while Dillard was watching a school of bluegill, a young muskrat kit floats on its back past her hiding place on the bank. Dillard is so excited that she moves and frightens the animal. Dillard chases the kit upstream, until it disappears in some brush. Although she waits a considerable time, the muskrat never reappears. Later, Dillard finds out that if a muskrat is aware of human's presence, it will not appear. Dillard occasionally discovers a muskrat on the bank or with its head peeking above the surface of the water, but she continually hopes to see another muskrat playing on its back. She finally resigns herself...
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