- Polly Ann brings her son, Tom, up on stories of the past: some are about Tom's namesake, her successful uncle. Neither she nor Tom ever meets him, but he sounds pretty cool.
- Other stories are about her childhood, when she had to pick berries and sell them to the rich Armond family. It wasn't quite begging, but it didn't feel much better.
- Even as a young boy of five, Tom has chores to complete: bringing the cows in from the pasture and feeding them and the family's horse, Drew.
- When he turns eight, he's old enough to have the chore of milking the cows. Way to go, big boy.
- Tom notices how small and run-down their farm is compared to their neighbor's farm (the Masseys), and he notices how hard his mother has to work even to provide what little they have. She takes in washing, cleans other people's homes, churns butter, and gathers eggs and berries to sell.
- Looks like the present isn't that much better than the past, after all.