Chapter 1 Summary

Ben MacDonald is following a mouse. He often follows mice, ground squirrels, snowshoe rabbits and insects imitating their movements and the noises they make. He even follows birds, if they will stay on the ground long enough. Even odder than Ben's following the mouse is the animal's reaction. The mouse seems to realize that he is being followed, yet is not alarmed and tolerates the boy. As the rodent hops along the barn floor, sniffs delicately and twitches its ears, Ben crouches and does the same. When the mouse makes a high-pitched chirring sound, Ben repeats it almost perfectly.

Suddenly a voice interrupts the game. It is his father, calling Ben brusquely to come out of the dim barn. At the sound of his father's voice, the mouse runs away. Ben reluctantly stands up and walks toward his father. His mother is waiting...