Into the Wild/Chapter 1

Below contains in-depth information for chapter one of Into the Wild. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 1 (of 25)

Page Numbers: 7-19

Chapter description

Rusty scents prey, ready to hunt it. He sees a mouse, crouches and jumps, but misses. He tries again, but misses once more. He finally has it in his claws, but a loud noise startles him, allowing the mouse to escape. The sound continues as he turns around. He then awakes from his dream of hunting, realizing the sound was his food being poured into his bowl. He recalls the dream as he lies in his bed; it is the third time the dream has reoccurred. Rusty then gets up, eats some of the bland food and makes his dirt in the garden. He sits atop one of the fence posts, ignoring his owners calling him inside; instead he looks out into the forest, wondering what is out there.

Smudge, one of Rusty's kittypet friends then calls out to Rusty, telling him not to go into the woods. Rusty says that he is just going for a look, but Smudge tells him it's dangerous. Smudge then goes on to tell Rusty about another of their kittypet friends, Henry, who is said to have gone into the woods. Smudge says that Henry told him that wildcats live in the forest, and that they eat bones. Rusty ignores his friend's advice and heads into the forest. He sees a mouse and starts to hunt it, but becomes distracted by a strange animal's tail in front of him. He then gets ambushed by another animal, and Rusty decides that he would rather fight than run away. The creature then stops, and Rusty realizes it is a cat. He introduces himself, naming himself Graypaw.

Graypaw and Rusty then have a conversation, in which Graypaw tells Rusty about his Clan, ThunderClan. He uses words that are unfamiliar to Rusty, such as 'intruder' and 'Clan'. Rusty is confused as to why Graypaw would want to live in the forest, and suggests that he becomes a kittypet. Graypaw is shocked at the suggestion, but then realizes that Rusty has never eaten a mouse, and he thinks that Rusty would not understand why being a warrior is so important to him. Graypaw then tells Rusty to run, as some of the other cats from his Clan are coming. It is too late, however. Graypaw introduces the other cats as Bluestar, the leader of ThunderClan, and Lionheart, his mentor. Bluestar reveals that they had been watching the two young cats fight, and was impressed by Rusty's hunting and fighting abilities. Lionheart then reminds her that Rusty is a kittypet, and that they should send him home. Rusty tells them that he has only come to hunt a mouse or two, sure that there is enough for all the cats in the forest. Bluestar then becomes enraged, telling him that there is never enough. Lionheart and Bluestar then advance on Rusty, and Rusty thinks that they may be about to finish him off.

Characters

Major

Minor

Mentioned

Important events

• Rusty meets the forest cats for the first time.^[3]

Notes and references