Chapter 20: I Learn About Birds and People

Sam and Frightful settle down to living in snow, and the boy does not become lonely despite earlier fears about the "long winter months ahead". He names chickadees living right outside his tree home after people he knew from his Third Avenue neighborhood in New York: Mr. Bracket, Mrs. O'Brien, Mrs. Callaway, and Mrs. Federio. He notes similarity between the birds and their human namesakes, including Mr. Bracket enjoying doing nothing on a bad day ' a trait shared by Frightful and Sam.

As Christmas approaches, Sam anticipates the return of Bando, preparing food and a gift of deer-hide moccasins with rabbit fur lining. Bando arrives the afternoon of Christmas Eve, just when Sam had given up hope of his return. Bando is impressed with the improvements Sam has made to his home, then shares a trio of newspaper clippings about a wild boy suspected living in the Catskills wilderness. Sam asks Bando if he'd been talking to anyone, but Bando assures him not. Sam then realizes it's the fire warden and the old lady, who are named Jim Handy and Mrs. Thomas Fielder, according to the clippings. Others mentioned in the articles are hunters who say the wild boy stole their deer ' which makes Sam scoff ' and residents of Delhi who saw the boy and think he is crazy. However, there is no solid evidence, and Jim Handy says that he found no trace of a camp on his second visit to the area ' which surprises Sam, as he wasn't aware of a second visit.

That first night, Sam prepares a large meal and the two play music on the willow whistles made last visit. The next day, Christmas Day, Sam gives Bando his present, and he wears them. Over breakfast, Sam hears his father shouting for him in the distance and runs out to greet him. Dad is delighted to find Sam, mentioning his notoriety in the papers and how he spoke with Mrs. Fielder to figure out where Sam was camped. Sam introduces Bando to his Dad, asks about his family back in New York, and the three settle down for a large feast., followed again by music. The next morning, while the two adults slept, Sam prepared breakfast. Dad is initially wary of Frightful but warms to her upon learning how good a provider she is. Bando stays several days after Christmas, and when he leaves promises to misdirect thew New York papers if they get too close. Dad stays several days longer but leaves on New Year's Day, saying he promised Sam's mother he'd only stay for Christmas. He decides to take another route so that others cannot backtrack him, and praises Sam for doing well. Sam notes this was the last time he would see Dad for a long time.

Notes:
The presence of both Bando and Sam's Dad reinforces the idea that Sam needs father figures in his life, strong males who will encourage his unusual ambition instead of stifling it. While one would have initially assumed Bando becomes a replacement father figure for Sam, the arrival of his actual Dad on Christmas shows that isn't really the case, that Sam's Dad is as supportive of Sam's adventure in the wild as Bando. This foreshadows the way Sam's family will join him at the Gribley Farm by the end of the book.

Chapter 21: I Have a Good Look at Winter and Find Spring in the Snow

Winter becomes more serious after Christmas, but Sam remains in excellent condition and makes snowshoe to better travel the woods. Sam finds that living close to the weather makes him more sensitive to the signs of nature. After being caught outside in a blizzard one afternoon, he always heads home when snowstorms loom near. The birds and animals become reliable weather bulletins, especially Barometer, a nuthatch who lived in a tree near Sam's home. Sam becomes aware of all the activity around him, including a mouse that sneaks into his house. He also appreciates animals that conserve energy, such as a cardinal he once observes staying warm. On January 8, Sam encounters a great horned owl, whose presence convinces him that the Gribley farm is a beautiful place.

One day, Sam tries to build an igloo but the drab, damp weather convinced him to go home. He hears something at his door and realizes it's the mouse; he tries to help it in but finds the door iced over. Sam opens the door throughout the night to keep from getting iced in, but by morning it does not work. He finally makes his way outside and sees trees exploding because of the ice. No thawing occurs that day, and Sam decides that if his tree home explodes, he'd rather be inside it. The next morning, Sam hears Barometer go hunting, as well as the dripping of trees as they began to thaw. While the mountain was a mess of broken trees and dead animals, Sam reminds himself this had been happening for thousands of years. Worries about The Baron Weasel are set aside as it eats the dead animals left from the ice storm.

As January comes to a close, Sam feels tired and wakes one morning to a nosebleed. That same day, Frightful brings back a rabbit and as Sam cleans it, he has a strong urge to eat the liver. The next week, he eats a good deal of liver and discovers it has vitamin C, which he was missing due to the winter. Sam tries to make up for any vitamin deficiency, including sitting in the sun for vitamin D. He takes to feeding the deer, climbing up trees to cut down tender limbs for them. Then one night they all disappeared, as the Spring thaw begins to set in and they can forage for themselves. Sam is moved to tears by this realization. He also notices that the great horned owls have eggs, which he takes as another sign of an imminent spring.

Notes:
Two more incidents show how Sam must continue to learn from his experiences: his getting caught outside during a snowstorm, and his illness due to vitamin deficiency. (Oddly enough, a lack of vitamin C was also a problem for seafarers, which was the choice Sam's great-grandfather chose over the farm.) In the case of the vitamin C, it's interesting that Sam places a heavy emphasis on how he finds an inchoate need to eat liver but cannot place why. That is, it isn't a rational decision but an instinctual one which saves him ' which may show how Sam is more in tune with nature than before.