Green Meadow Stories · Chapter
What Farmer Brown’s Boy Did with Shadow explained
Farmer Brown's boy struggles with what to do with Shadow the Weasel, whom he caught in a trap.
What happens
Farmer Brown's boy struggles with what to do with Shadow the Weasel, whom he caught in a trap. After considering keeping him caged or killing him, he decides to release Shadow far away in the Old Pasture. Meanwhile, other forest creatures taunt the imprisoned Shadow, unaware that he will soon be free.
Themes in this chapter
Wisdom and Heedlessness
Shadow the Weasel shows wisdom by staying silent and storing up grievances, while the other animals act heedlessly by taunting him without considering the consequences.
Kindness and Gratitude
Farmer Brown's boy shows kindness by choosing to release Shadow rather than kill him, recognizing Shadow's place in nature.
Characters to notice
- Shadow the Weasel
Shadow is a prisoner in a cage, taunted by other animals, but remains silent and vengeful. He is eventually released by Farmer Brown's boy in the Old Pasture.
- Happy Jack Squirrel
Happy Jack watches Farmer Brown's boy take Shadow away and returns to find the cage empty, questioning what happened.
- Farmer Brown
Farmer Brown's boy is the one who trapped Shadow and ultimately decides to release him rather than kill or imprison him.
- Sammy Jay
Sammy Jay is mentioned as an example of someone whose unruly tongue gets him into trouble, similar to the animals taunting Shadow.
- Chatterer the Red Squirrel
Chatterer is mentioned alongside Sammy Jay as having a troublesome tongue.
Key passages
“Ribble, dibble, dibble, dab! Some people have the gift of gab! Some people have no tongues at all To trip them up and make them fall.”
Some people talk too much, and their words cause trouble.
Opening rhyme about the dangers of careless speech.
“If it wasn’t for unruly, careless, mean tongues, the Great World would be a million times better to live in, a million times happier.”
Harsh and thoughtless words cause much of the world's unhappiness.
Reflection on the harm caused by unkind speech.
“He just turned his back on them. But all the time he was storing up in his mind all these hateful things, and he meant, if ever he got free again, to make life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to make him more miserable than he already felt.”
Shadow ignored the taunts but secretly planned revenge if he ever escaped.
Shadow's silent but vengeful response to being teased.
“Then he remembered that after all Shadow was one of Old Mother Nature’s little people, and that he must serve some purpose in Mother Nature’s great plan.”
Farmer Brown's boy realized that even Shadow has a role in nature.
Moral reasoning behind the decision to release Shadow.