Book 2 8. TWO STOUT DOORS Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

two stout doors

laura felt a soft warmth on her face and

opened her eyes into morning sunshine

mary was talking to ma by the campfire

laura ran outdoors all bare inside her

nightgown

there were no wolves to be seen only

their tracks were thick around the house

and the stable

paw came whistling up the creek road he

put his gun

on its pegs and led pat and patty to the

creek to drink as usual

he had followed the wolf track so far

that he knew they were far away now

following a herd of deer the mustang

shied at the wolves tracks and pricked

their ears nervously

and pat kept her cult close at her side

but they went willingly with paw who

knew there was nothing to fear

breakfast was ready when paul came back

from the creek they all sat by the fire

and ate fried mush and prairie chicken

hash

paw said he would make a door that very

day he wanted more than a quilt between

them and the wolves next time

i have no more nails but i’ll not keep

on waiting till i can make a trip to

independence

he said a man doesn’t need nails to

build a house or make a door

after breakfast he hitched up pat and

patty and taking his axe he went to get

timber

for the door laura helped wash the

dishes and make the beds

but that day mary minded the baby laura

helped paul make the door

mary watched but laura handed him his

tools

with the saw he saw it logs to the right

length for a door

he sawed shorter lengths for cross

pieces

then with the axe he split the logs into

slabs

and smoothed them nicely he laid the

long slabs together on the ground

and placed the shorter slabs across them

then with the auger he bored holes

through the cross

pieces into the long slabs into every

hole he drove a wooden peg

that fitted tightly that made the door

it was a good oak door solid and strong

for the hinges he cut three long straps

one hinge was to be near the top of the

door one near the bottom

and one in the middle he fastened them

first to the door

in this way he laid a little piece of

wood on the door

and bored a hole through it into the

door then he doubled one end of a strap

around the little piece of wood and with

his knife

cut round holes through the strap

he laid the little piece of wood on the

door again

with the strap doubled around it and all

the holes making one hole

then laura gave him a peg and the hammer

and he drove the peg

into the hole the peg went through the

strap

and the little piece of wood and through

the strap again

and into the door that held the strap

so that it couldn’t get loose i told you

a fella doesn’t need nails

paw said when he had fastened the three

hinges to the door

he set the door in the doorway it fitted

then he pegged strips of wood to the old

slabs

on either side of the doorway to keep

the door from swinging

outward he set the door in place again

and laura stood against it to hold it

there while paul fastened the hinges to

the door frame

but before he did this he had made the

latch on the door because of course

there must be some way to keep a door

shut

this was the way he made the latch first

he hewed a short

thick piece of oak from one side of this

in the middle he cut a wide deep notch

he pegged this stick to the inside of

the door

up and down and near the edge he put the

notched side

against the door so that the notch made

a little slot

then he hewed and whittled a longer

smaller stick

this stick was small enough to slip

easily through the slot

he slid one end of it through the slot

and he pegged the other end to the door

but he did not peg it tightly the peg

was solid and firm in the door

but the hole in the stick was larger

than the peg

the only thing that held the stick on

the door was the slot

this stick was the latch it turned

easily on the peg

and its loose end moved up and down in

the slot

and the loose end of it was long enough

to go through the slot

and across the crack between the door

and the wall

and to lie against the wall when the

door was shut

when paul and laura had hung the door in

the doorway

paul marked the spot on the wall where

the end of the latch

came over that spot he

pegged to the wall a stout piece of oak

this piece of oak was cut out at the top

so that the latch

could drop between it and the wall

now laura pushed the door shut and while

she pushed

she lifted the end of the latch as high

as it would go in the slot

then she let it fall into its place

behind the stout piece of

oak that held the latch against the wall

and the up and down strip held the latch

in its slot

against the door nobody could break in

without breaking the strong latch in two

but there must be a way to lift the

latch from the outside

so paul made the latch string he cut it

from a long strip of good leather

he tied one end to the latch between the

peg and the slot

above the latch he bored a small hole

through the door

and he pushed the end of the latch

string through the hole

laura stood outside and when the end of

the latch string came through the hole

she took hold of it and pulled she could

pull it hard enough to lift the latch

and let herself

in the door was finished

it was strong and solid made of thick

oak

with oak slabs across it all pegged

together with good stout

pegs the latch string was out if you

wanted to come in

you pulled the latch string but if you

were inside and wanted to keep anyone

out

then you pulled the latch string in

through its hole and nobody could get in

there was no door knob on that door and

there was no keyhole

and no key but it was a good door

i call that a good day’s work said paul

and i had a fine little helper he hugged

the top of laura’s head with his

hand then he gathered up his tools and

put them away

whistling and he went to take pet and

patty from their picket lines to water

the sun was setting the breeze was

cooler

and supper cooking on the fire made the

best supper smells that laura had

ever smelled there was salt

pork for supper it was the last of the

salt pork so next day paul went hunting

but the day after that he and laura made

the barn door

it was exactly like the house door

except that it had no latch

pat and patty did not understand door

latches and would not pull a latch

string in

at night so instead of a latch

paul made a hole through the door and he

put a chain through the hole

at night he would pull an end of the

chain through a crack between the logs

and the stable wall

and he would padlock the two ends of the

chain together

then nobody could get into that stable

now we’re all snug paw said

when neighbors began to come into a

country it was best to lock up your

horses at night

because where there are deer there will

be wolves and where there are horses

there will be horse thieves

that night at supper paw said to ma

now caroline as soon as we get edward’s

house up i’m gonna build you a fireplace

so you can do your cooking in the house

out of the wind and the storms

it seems like i never did see a place

with so much sunshine

but i suppose it’s bound to rain

sometime

yes charles ma said

good weather never lasts forever on this

[Music]

earth