Back in the village, Alyce is adamant about people calling her "Alyce" and not Beetle. She thinks better of herself and, consequently, acts better. She saves Will, a bully from the village who has always picked on her, from drowning in the river and later helps him deliver twin calves. Alyce finds a homeless boy sleeping in the barn near Will's cow and calves. She feeds him, helps him name himself (giving him a bit of self-respect), and sends him to the manor to find work.
As time passes, the villagers begin to accept Alyce and ask her advice. She earns their respect when she successfully delivers a baby in the mid-wife's absence. For possibly the first time in her life, Alyce feels pride and smiles. Although Alyce is happy about her accomplishment, the midwife is not. The midwife is angry because she doesn't want competition from Alyce. The midwife is even more upset when a woman in labor asks for Alyce and not for her. When Alyce realizes she can't deliver the baby because it is a difficult birth and she doesn't know what to do, she has to call for the midwife to come to deliver the baby. She is totally humiliated. Feeling like a failure, Alyce takes Purr and runs away.
Alyce is depressed. She doesn't think she can return to the village. She and Purr arrive at an inn situated at a crossroads. Alyce trades her labor for food and shelter. While working at the inn, Alyce is taught by one of the patrons of the inn to read, and she learns what she wants in her life. What she really wants is to be the midwife's apprentice. A self-respecting Alyce returns to the midwife in the village and asks to be her apprentice once again, vowing never to give up.
