Wolves Have Borne Away the Tender Lambkin (Metaphor)
The day after Sam and Bill kidnap Johnny, Sam leaves their cave hideout to get a view of the surrounding countryside. He hopes to see the citizens of Summit desperately searching the area, but instead sees a single farmer plowing his field. Sam says, "Perhaps it has not yet been discovered that the wolves have borne away the tender lambkin from the fold." In this metaphor, Sam likens himself and Bill to wolves and Johnny to a lamb they have stolen. To suit Sam's narrative, his comparison ascribes vicious, predatory qualities to the kidnappers and a vulnerable innocence to Johnny.
Fastened Himself As Tight As A Leech (Simile)
At the end of the story, when the kidnappers return Johnny to his father, Johnny "fasten[s] himself as tight as a leech to Bill’s leg." In this simile, Sam emphasizes the intensity of Johnny's attachment to Bill by comparing Johnny to a leech, a parasitic worm that attaches itself to humans' and animals' skin to suck their blood.
Flat As A Flannel-Cake (Simile)
At the beginning of the story, Sam describes how he and Bill came to stage their kidnapping in an Alabaman town called Summit, which he says is "as flat as a flannel-cake." In this simile, Sam underlines the flat terrain of the town by likening it to a flannel cake, a type of sugar-free pancake.
