Get out the tissues, because Rawlings is going straight for the tear ducts with this ending:
In the beginning of his sleep, he cried out, "Flag!"
It was not his own voice that called. It was a boy's voice. Somewhere beyond the sink-hole, past the magnolia, under the live oaks, a boy and a yearling ran side by side, and were gone forever. (33.156)
Psst. Here's a little secret: Flag isn't the only young creature who dies in The Yearling. That's right: this ending suggests that Jody, too, has died—at least, the boy version. In his place is Jody-the-Man, whose childhood, a.k.a. beloved boyhood pet, is now only a memory.
Great. If this is what adulthood is like, we'll just stay right here in our parents' basement.