The chapter opens with the boy, Nemo, leaving the house to go to the forest. He's nervous to leave, but he's glad to see the beautiful blue sky and the fireflies. He asks his friend, Rose, to come back with him, but she refuses, saying that she's been cooped up in the house for so long that she doesn't even know what to do with herself. He tells her that he'll give her a ride back to the house, even though he knows it's not safe to do so. He also tells her about the girl he used to live with, who lives in a cottage on a hill. Everyone knows that the girl stays in the cottage with a cage every summer, and everyone knows that Nemo's parents have bought her a new bird, but Rose refuses to buy a new one. She's upset that Nemo has come outside, and she begs him to go back inside with her. She asks him if there's anything she can do to get home, and he says that he can take her for a ride. She tells him that she was told that it was not safe for her to go outside, but that she didn't want to, because she'd gotten blisters walking through the woods in her shoes. She also tells him about the bug on her back, which she thinks is a bug from the bird cage. She says that if she had stayed inside, she wouldn't have gotten hurt, but if she left, she would be fine. She then tells her friend that she saw the fireflies in the forest on her first visit, and that the cage is glowing, which will help her see better. But if she leaves, she'll still be fine, she says, because