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Sophia, at eighteen years old, loves her father more than any other living being. This is why Tom chooses to direct his plea on Black George's behalf to Sophia. The narrator steps back in time to describe the relationship between the neighboring households—they have lived pleasantly enough as neighbors, and Tom, Sophia, and Blifil were playmates as children. Tom's gregariousness appealed more to little Sophia than Blifil's cautious solemnity. In their early youth, Tom presented Sophia with a bird that he had stolen from a nest and trained to sing. Sophia christened the bird "little Tommy" and became so attached to it that feeding and playing with the bird was her greatest pastime. One day in the garden Blifil persuades Sophia to let him hold little Tommy for a moment. On acquiring the bird, Blifil quickly removes the string from the bird's leg and releases it. Beckoned by Sophia's screams, Tom runs to them and climbs the tree where the bird has perched itself. The branch breaks and Tom tumbles into the canal below. When the adults arrive at the scene, Blifil confesses that it is his fault and explains that he cannot stand to see anything not have its liberty. Tom and Blifil are sent home, Sophia retires to her chamber, and the adults return to their alcohol.