Summary

In Chapter 11, John is exhausted, but he continues on after the doe through the day. By noon, John has trouble determining what is real and what is not real. At one point, he thinks he sees light around the head of the doe as she stops to look back at him. The does is also exhausted. She vomits blood and recently-eaten bark because she is stressed. She begins to fall more frequently, getting up more and more slowly until she no longer gets up at all. John comes upon the doe, touches her, and knows he does not have to kill her. He falls down beside her and sleeps until the afternoon. When he wakes up, the doe is gone. He now wishes to rush home and tell his grandpa about this.

In Chapter 12, as John gets home after dark, he has decided not...