As a child, George was expected to stay indoors after dark, but he and his brother sometimes slipped out to a persimmon tree. When they returned, Mrs. Carver waited with a jar of willow switches, yet when she moved toward him, George would open his mouth and yell until she walked away rather than listen. After she turned her back, he would sob and stuff a persimmon into his mouth, and he later remembered that those persimmons tasted awfully good.