Summary

In Chapter 8, Dirk wandered. He thought that his knife spoke to him. As Dirk traveled, a bird spoke to him too and tried to convince him to get rid of the knife. Dirk spotted a house and a woman. Dirk watched as the woman spoke with her son. Dirk followed the woman’s grandson, who was the first child Dirk had ever seen, into the woods. Dirk threw stones at the boy in an attempt to capture his attention. The boy ran back to his family and said an evil gnome had thrown stones at him. In Chapter 9, Dirk slept in hay next to a cow. In Chapter 10, Dirk awoke to find the boy’s father looking at him. The man said Dirk was welcome to stay with them, but Dirk fled.

In Chapter 11, Dirk traveled downstream. His gnome-knife and a nearby thrush...