- Rob gets home late that night, and the first thing he tells Papa is that Pinky won a blue ribbon at the fair. He is one proud owner.
- The Tanners compliment Rob on his good manners and thank him for his help.
- Pinky and the other animals will stay at the fair for a few more days.
- Mama tells Rob he'd better get to bed or he won't be able to do his chores tomorrow. This makes Rob realize that Papa must have done all his chores today, so Rob thanks Papa. Man, does this family ever bicker?
- The family goes into the house, and Rob tells them all about the fair while they sit and eat Mama's blackberry pie.
- Rob doesn't mention that he got sick on the judge's shoe, though. Smart kid.
- Rob goes to bed.
- In the middle of the night, he's awakened by a noise in the hen coop, but he's so tired that he goes right back to sleep.
- In the morning, Rob finds out that one of the hens has been attacked and killed by a weasel.
- Papa has caught the weasel in a sack, but he isn't quite sure what to do with it.
- Rob tells Papa that Mrs. Bascom's hired man, Ira Long, has a terrier, a type of dog often used to control rats and weasels.
- Papa tells Rob to run and ask Long if he'd like to "try his dog" (11.59) on the weasel. Rob comes back with Ira Long and his dog, whose name is Hussy.
- Rob asks Papa why people "weasel" dogs, and Papa tells him that it will make the dog recognize a weasel and always "hate weasels until her last breath" (11.71).
- We don't know about you, but we are learning so much from this book.
- Rob runs to get a barrel, and Ira puts Hussy into it. Hussy is shaking, whether from excitement or fear is unclear.
- Papa dumps the weasel out of the sack into the barrel, and Rob jams the lid on top.
- Sounds of fighting come from inside the barrel.
- Rob, who had thought the fight was going to be exciting, finds that he hates what's going on and feels ashamed to be a part of it.
- He notices that Papa looks unhappy, too.Ugh.
- Finally, the noises stop. Then the dog starts to cry, and the men take the lid off the barrel.
- The weasel is dead, and the dog is nearly dead too.
- Ira Long pulls the dog out of the barrel, and she bites him on the hand.
- She is mutilated and suffering horribly.
- Rob tells Mr. Long to kill the dog, saying that she's hurt so badly that she needs to be put out of her misery.
- Papa says that Rob is right, and he goes to get his gun.
- He shoots Hussy, and then swears "by the Book of Shaker and all that's holy" (11.95) that he will never again weasel a dog.
- Rob digs a little grave for Hussy and buries her.
- Well that was a tough one to stomach, that's for sure.