Study Material of This is Jody’s Fawn (Summary, Character Sketch and Word Meanings) Honeydew

Character Sketch

• Jody: He is a small young boy. He felt bad for fawn which is alone in the forest without his mother.

• Ezra Baxter (Penny): Father of Jody. He was bitten by a rattle snake in his hand. He killed a doe and used its heart and liver to cure himself. He allowed his son Jody to bring the fawn back home and raise it.

• Ora Baxter: Mother of Jody. She also agreed to bring the fawn at house and raise it.

• Mill – Wheel and Dec Wilson: Forester, who helped Jody in finding fawn in the forest.

Terms and Meanings from the Chapter

• Drift back to – go back to
• Close shave – narrow escape
• Kept your head – stayed calm in your situation
• Hemmed in - caught in a situation where one can’t say ’no’.
• Acorns – small brown nuts
• Sidled back – walked back quietly
• Gasped – breathed heavily
• Mounted – riding an animal
• Endure – suffer
• Makes a bearing - acts as a compass and helps to identify directions.
• Buzzard - a large bird like the vulture that eats the flesh of dead animals.
• Carrcass – dead body of animal
• Adjacent – tree
• Carrion – the decaying flesh of dead animals
• Parted – moved
• Quivering – shivering
• Delirious – extremely excited
• Convulsion – shiver
• Sleek – smooth and shiny
• Hoist – pull up higher
• Light-headed – unable to think clearly
• Romp – play
• Balked – was unwilling (to do something)
• Wobbled – move
• Gurgle - make a hollow bubbling sound

Summary of the Chapter

Jody's father, Mr. Baxter, had been bitten by a rattle snake. He killed a doe and used its heart and liver to suck out the venom from his wound. The next morning he felt much better but his son, Jody, felt bad to have left the doe's fawn all alone in the forest. He went to his father and reasoned with him the need to bring the fawn to the safety of their home. His father allowed him to go on a search for the fawn. Jody's mother though gave her consent, feared for her son's safety in the forest. Doc Wilson and Mill-wheel also approved considering that they had already left the fawn motherless.

Jody went with Mill-wheel on his horse assuring his mother to reach home by dinner. After sometime they reached closer to the place where his father was bitten. Jody wanted go on further all alone because he didn't want Mill-wheel to see his disappointment if they failed in finding the fawn. Contrarily, if he found the fawn, he wanted to experience the joy of it all alone as he felt that their meeting would be intense, full of emotion and thus, personal. Thus, assuring Mill-wheel of his knowledge of directions and his ability to take care of himself, he move on.

When Jody reached the spot where his father was bitten, he found buzzards hovering over the carcass of the dead doe. He also found footprints of cats and for a moment he feared for the life of the fawn. After an intense search he finally found the fawn behind a bush. Jody noticed that the fawn was shivering and was distrustful. He tried to calm the fawn and tried to establish some kind of understanding with him.

However, though the fawn allowed the proximity of Jody, he did not move. Jody then decided to carry the fawn all the way home. He first patted the fawn and then lightly lifted him. He went around the area where his father was bitten and where lay the carcass of the fawn's mother, fearing that the scent of his mother would make the fawn restless. He had to stop often for breaks as himself being little he was severely struggling with the weight of the fawn and the vines and bushes that lay on his path. Though, Jody's arms had started hurting, he carried on his journey. He even managed to win the fawn's trust, who gradually grew willing to follow him.

After a point, Jody felt such a grand connection with the fawn that all the struggle and pain he was going through no longer mattered. By and by they reached their destination. The fawn refused to go upstairs, probably sensing the presence of his mother's killer, but Jody carried him to his father who expressed joy at seeing the fawn. Later, Jody lovingly fed him milk in the kitchen and enjoyed the fawn's trust and love for him.

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