The Yearling is set in the days following the Civil War. Former Confederate solider Penny Baxter (Gregory Peck) moves to the scrub country of Florida with his wife, Orry (Jane Wyman) and their only surviving child, Jody (Claude Jarman, Jr.), where they clear the land and plant their crops. Penny is a warm and loving father, but Orry, having lost her other children to illness, is afraid to show affection to Jody in case he dies, too. Jody helps out on the farm and enjoys wandering in the woods. He also becomes an animal lover, which his mother doesn't understand.

While trying to find some missing hogs, Penny is bitten by a rattlesnake. In order to get the poison out before Penny dies, Jody must shoot a female deer and use her heart and liver to draw out the poison. Penny is so grateful to his son for saving his life that he lets him adopt the deer's fawn, which Jody names Flag. Although Jody loves Flag, the deer becomes a problem on the farm because he keeps eating and destroying the crops. When the Baxters are in danger of losing their crop, Jody has to let his pet go.

By Lorraine LoBianco