In Chapter 1, the narrator introduces Sam Beaver, a good natured, curious 11-year-old boy who is camping with his father in the western Canadian wilderness, comfortable independently exploring the area around the camp with only a compass to guide him. On these vacations, in the woods, Sam enjoys life away from the busy world, school, and the “problem of what to be when he grew up” (4). 

Coming back to the camp after a hike, Sam debates whether to tell his father he has just seen two Trumpeter Swans, the largest birds Sam has ever seen, nesting in a swampy pond a mile and a half east of their campsite. Both are protecting their nest, with the female swan sitting on her eggs and the male cob gliding back and forth on guard. Although the swans fill Sam with wonder, Sam likes to keep some things private and appreciates the time he spends alone in the woods. 

When he sees his father at lunch, Sam tells him about a muskrat and some blackbirds he saw, but chooses not to mention the swan and the cob. Sam’s father is a genial man, and while he reminds Sam to watch out for dangers in the woods and marshes, he allows his son the freedom to explore the area.