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Ulape would have laughed at me, and others would have laughed, too - my father most of all. Yes this is the way I felt about the animals who had become my friends and those who were not, but in time could be. If Ulape and my father had come back and laughed, and all the others had come back and laughed, still I wouldhave felt the same way, for animals and birds are like people, too, though they do not talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.

This quotation comes from the end of chapter 24. The chapter describes a spring and summer during which many of the animals Karana has become friends with start families. Karana's vow never to kill another animal or bird marks the development of her own moral code, which is different from that of her people. That Karana's morals are uniquely hers is expressed by her mention of her people in her declaration of her decision. Karana knows that her people (especially Chowig, her father and Ulape, her sister) would find her new ethical standard ridiculous, but Karana nevertheless espouses them, and explains her reasoning for the reader to understand.

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