Dessa Dean is very miserable because the dog has still not come back.  After many days of calling for the dog, one day Daddy wakes her up to come see the dog, who has finally returned and left more tracks on thier porch.  A little after Daddy leaves the dog comes back and Dessa Dean gladly welcomes her.  Then she tries out some names on her and temporarily settles for Shazahrazad but the dog soon doesn't respond to that name for long.  One day while Dessa Dean and the dog were playing a game of pinecone fetch, the dog caught a mouse and the next morning Dessa Dean found a dead rabbit in her bed. The dog could hunt again, and Dessa Dean feared she might leave because she no longer needed her.