A Day's Wait Summary

"A Day's Wait" is the story of a sick boy named Schatz. In the beginning of the story, Schatz and his father are in Schatz's room and Schatz repeatedly tells his father that he doesn't have to stay with him. Schatz's father then goes out for a while and hunts. When he returns, he finds that Schatz has told no one to come into to his room for fear of them catching what he has. When Schatz's father comes into the room, Schatz quickly asks him when he will die, and explains that his fever is one hundred two degrees, and that people can't live with a fever of fourty-four degrees. Schatz's father explains to his son that there are two types of thermometer and that he will be fine. The story ends with Schatz crying, which can be taken as either him being happy he isn't going to die, or as some form of disappointment because he had prepared himself for death.