Chapter 18: Trouble Begins

On November 23, Sam admires his new wardrobe, which includes rabbit fur mittens and squirrel-lined moccasins. Frightful is also growing a new plumage, as it changed during the autumn. Sam gives himself a haircut then decides to walk into town, ostensibly to visit the library though he knew it was Sunday and the library is closed. He goes to the drugstore to read a comic book and strikes a conversation with a boy his age, who he dubs "Mr. Jacket" based on his attire. Mr. Jacket calls Sam "Daniel Boone" and takes note of Sam's New York City accent. Sam invites the other boy to visit Gribley farm if he can find it. Leaving the drug store, Sam wanders around town and helps a mother whose little boy runs outside with no shoes. He passes by the house of the old strawberry lady but does not drop in. Returning home to his tree, Sam realizes he has forgotten to stack up a big woodpile for the coming winter.

Notes:
Sam's visit to the town of Delhi again emphasizes how he craves human company more than at the beginning of his adventure in the woods. His encounter with Mr. Jacket ' later revealed to be named Tom Sidler ' seems antagonistic, but only in the mild way of boys who first encounter one another. Unlike The Baron Weasel, whose friendship is very much suspect, Mr. Jacket's interest comes across as genuine, and bears out later in the story.

Chapter 19: I Pile Up Wood and Go on with Winter

Sam states he is almost at the point where he began his story, the snowstorm. The morning after he realizes he needs wood, he starts chopping down dead trees and makes several big stacks of wood. He decides that if he uses up a pile, he could tunnel through the snow to the next pile. As the days pass and he watches the sky, he realizes he is cutting and piling wood because he is scared and nervous. When the snowstorm, it was almost a relief.

After the storm, Sam found that The Baron Weasel loved the snow. He would go out with Frightful and The Baron, and discovered that though the creek was frozen, he could ice fish and even find plants under the snow. On the walk home every afternoon, Sam would send Frightful out to hunt, and took great pleasure in her beauty and grace as she did so. Sam had a good deal of time to cook and after dinner would sometimes write or make new things out of deer hide. One night he ran into his notes about piling wood and laughed, since he walks on the snow to get wood instead of tunneling.

Notes:
While increasingly experienced about surviving in the forest, Sam still makes mistakes and ' as a narrator ' is still willing to point them out and berate himself for not being properly planned. In this case, it is not only forgetting to have wood ready, but also the belief that he would have to tunnel through the snow to get at the wood piles after a storm.