- Stanley wakes up the next morning and finds that he and Zero are lying in a flower-filled meadow at the base of the Big Thumb. Whoa.
- Zero is still very sick.
- Stanley walks to the Big Thumb formation and touches it. He thinks about going back down the mountain to get the shovel and the jars, but he doesn't think he can make it.
- Zero, lying on his side in pain, says he has to tell Stanley something. Weakly, he makes his confession: "I took your shoes." (39.20).
- At first, Stanley doesn't understand, but then Zero explains that he was the one who stole Clyde Livingston's shoes from the shelter.
- This doesn't make any sense, and Stanley just figures that Zero is delirious.
- As Zero drifts off to sleep, sensitive Stanley sings him the lullaby his father used to sing to him when he was young.