In this chapter, Huck asks for more time to answer his questions. He asks Huck about his family, and Huck tells him that his parents used to be very fond of each other, but as time passed, their love for each other faded away. When Huck was a child, his father would hold him close, and his mother would feed him. Huck says that his mother said that he was "the most hideous child" in the world, and that he did not deserve love. Huck tells Huck that he is different from his parents in that he chooses loyalty and love, not his genes. Huck asks Huck to wait for him so that he can crawl out of his "snail shell," and Huck promises to do so as soon as he can.