Part I, Running, Chapter 1 Summary

Author Gary Paulsen begins Woodsong by explaining to the reader that he thought, up until age forty, that he understood "the woods." He had seen it all from hunting and trapping to trailing and the beauty of the forests, animals, and trees. But what he had not truly understood was the violence and horror of life in the woods. The Disney version of the woods is the opposite of the reality. His experience with horror began one December morning while Paulsen was running a dog team around a large lake. Out of nowhere a doe appeared, terrified, smelling of fear (actually displaying the scent of fear that only dogs can pick up but that humans can with training). She ran incredibly quickly but was being chased by wolves, focused entirely on her. Paulsen had seen many animals...