This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the father, who tells his son that they are in the middle of a wheat harvest. He tells him that the valley is "lost to the world" and that he is the best thief in the world. He asks his son if he has ever let him down, and he says that he cant wait to meet his son at his age. The father then asks where his son is. He says that his son has gone off to the wheat fields to get fat like his father, and that the workers will be able to catch him if he reaches the land. He then tells the father that the meat is spoiled, but that young meat is one of the "rarests" that makes it so tasty. He warns his son not to eat the spoiled meat, but to look elsewhere for a happy story.