Chapter 7 toggles between Stanley’s first day digging a hole and the history of the curse placed on his family because of his great-great-grandfather.

On his first day out on the dry lake, Stanley struggles to dig his hole. His start is slow, and he gets blisters on his fingers quickly, making the digging painful. Everyone else can dig much faster than Stanley, and when Mr. Sir comes to fill up their water canteens, he warns Stanley to hurry up so that he isn’t digging during the hottest part of the day. Magnet tells Stanley that the first hole is the hardest. Soon after, Zero finishes his: “He looked down at his perfectly dug hole, spat in it, then turned and headed back to the camp compound” (37). One by one, the other boys finish and return while Stanley continues to struggle with his hole. When Stanley finally finishes, he feels a sense of pride.

Stanley’s great-great-grandfather Elya Yelnats is responsible for the curse on the Yelnats family. Elya wanted to marry Myra Menke, a beautiful girl in his village, but so did Igor Barkov, the pig farmer. Elya went to see Madame Zeroni about his problem. She tells him that Myra is silly and not a good choice for a wife.