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As Winnie tries to fall asleep, she can't decide whether or not to believe the Tucks' story. Would you have believed it? Why or why not?

This is ultimately a matter of personal opinion, but I will reflect on the text and provide you with my thoughts on the matter.


After Winnie meets Jesse in the woods outside Treegap and watches him drinking from the spring, she is kidnapped by Mae Tuck and the boys and brought back to the Tucks' house. Mae tells Winnie the story of how the Tucks discovered the spring and the consequences they faced after drinking from it. Although they initially didn't notice anything funny about the water (aside from its odd taste), they realized something was terribly wrong after Jesse fell out of a tree, landed on his head, and didn't have the slightest injury. Over and over again the Tucks received what should have been fatal injuries, but were left unscathed. After their appearances remain the same for year after year, they finally come to understand that the water they had consumed at the spring had left them immortal.


When Winnie hears this story, she thinks it is ridiculous, and had I been in Winnie's position, I would have been inclined to agree with her! As a young girl who has seen very little of the world outside of Treegap, this claim would seem impossible. I would likely have thought that the Tucks were crazy and were trying to keep me calm so that I did not run off in the middle of the night after having been kidnapped. This story seems like the type of preposterous lie that a sociopath would perpetuate in order to develop the trust of his or her victim. That being said, I may also have been so curious about the story that I would have stuck around to see if any of it was true... which is exactly what Winnie does! 

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