Beah and his companions experience hunger and thirst the likes of which none of them had encountered before. They scavenge abandoned farms and even stooped to assaulting a little boy who had two boiled ears of corn to himself. The boy’s parents, rather than confronting the young men, instead give them each an ear of corn; Beah assumes pity saved them from punishment. Beah feels guilty about their pillage, but accepts that they had no other option.