Chapter 1 Summary

The introduction speaks of the story of a pearl, how it was found and lost again. It speaks of Kino the fisherman, his wife Juana and their baby Coyotito. In addition, like all stories told many times, it only has good and bad, black and white and good and evil, nothing in between.

Kino -a young pearl fisherman- wakes to a new day before the sun rises. First, he hears the roosters singing, the pigs looking for food and the birds among the cactus. Then he opens his eyes and sees the light at the door, the box suspended from the ceiling holding his infant child Coyotito and his wife Juana lying beside him, eyes open. Then he listens to the music inside his head. His people were once great song creators, and this one, sweet and clear he calls the Song of...