- In the beginning, Caleb asks his sister Anna about their mother—and if it's true that she used to sing every single day. Their father used to sing, too, but he doesn't anymore. Sounds like this house used to be a house of song, but now it's a house of silence.
- Caleb begs Anna to tell him the story of how he was born, and how much his mother loved him, even though he's heard it a million times before.
- He doesn't remember his mother at all because she died right after giving birth to him, and now Anna is in charge of all the household chores. In fact, as she tells him the story of his birth, she's making bread in the kitchen. Way to multitask, Anna.
- Their father comes into the house and Caleb immediately asks him why he doesn't sing anymore. Their father—Jacob—says that he doesn't remember the old songs, but there might be a way to jog his memory.
- He explains to the children that he placed an ad in the newspaper to find a wife. This apparently isn't a weird practice; that's how their neighbor found his wife, a woman from Tennessee.
- And he's already received a response from a woman named Sarah Wheaton. She says that she's looking to move and has never been married.
- She also wants to know more about Jacob and his children, as well as their thoughts on cats—you know, since she has one.
- The children fall silent as they read the letter, but then Anna tells her father to write back to this Sarah—and to ask her if she sings.