Chapter 1 Summary

Young Caleb asks his older sister, Anna, what life was like when Mama was alive. For the hundredth time, Anna tells him that Mama used to sing around the house, and so did Papa. Caleb remarks that Papa doesn't sing anymore. Caleb asks Anna what he looked like when he was born, and she tells him that Mama thought he was beautiful. Anna, who loves her little brother, doesn't tell him that she hadn't liked him, at first, because their Mama had died after giving birth to Caleb. It had taken Anna three whole days to love Caleb. In the end, his tiny smile had won her over. Caleb begs Anna to remember the songs Mama used to sing, so that he might have a way to remember her. Tears spring to Anna's eyes, but before they can fall, Papa enters and wraps...