Book 3 4. SURPRISE Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

surprise

every day at noon the wood haulers came

down hard scrabble hill

and the boys hitched their sleds to the

bobsled’s runners

and rode away down the road but they

went only a little way

and came back in time only big bill

richie and his friends didn’t care how

soon mr course tried to punish them

one day they were gone until after

recess

when they came tramping into the

schoolhouse they all grinned

impudently at mr course he waited until

they were in their seats

then he stood up pale and said

if this occurs again i shall punish you

everybody knew what would happen next

day

when royal and almanzo reached home that

night they told

father almanzo said it wasn’t fair

mr course wasn’t big enough to fight

even one of those big boys

and they would all jump on him at once

i wish i was big enough to fight him he

said

son mr coors hired out to teach the

school

father answered the school trustees were

fair and above board with him

they told him what he was undertaking he

undertook it

it’s his job not yours

but maybe they’ll kill him almanzo said

that’s his business said father

when a man undertakes a job he has to

stick to it till he finishes it

if course is the man i think he is he’d

thank nobody for interfering

almanzo couldn’t help saying it again

it isn’t fair he can’t fight all five of

them

i wouldn’t wonder if you’d be surprised

son father said

now you boys get a hustle on these

chores can’t wait all night

so almanzo went to work and did not say

any more

all next morning while he set holding up

his primer he could not study

he was dreading what was going to happen

to mr course

when the primer class was called he

could not read the lesson

he had to stay in with the girls at

recess and he wished he could lick bill

richie

at noon he went out to play and he saw

mr richie

bill’s father coming down the hill on

his loaded bobsled

all the boys stood where they were and

watched mr richie

he was a big rough man with a loud voice

and a loud laugh

he was proud of bill because bill could

thrash school teachers and break up the

school

nobody ran to fasten a sled behind mr

richie’s bobsled

but bill and the other big boys climbed

up on his load of wood

they rode loudly talking around the bend

of the road and out of sight

the other boys did not play anymore they

stood and talked about what would happen

when mr chorus wrapped on the window

they went in

soberly and soberly sat down

that afternoon nobody knew the lessons

mr korres called up class after class

and they lined up with their toes on a

crack in the floor

but they could not answer his questions

mr course did not punish anybody

he said we will have the same lesson

again tomorrow

everybody knew that mr course would not

be there tomorrow

one of the little girls began to cry

then three or four of them put their

heads down on their desks and sobbed

almanzo had to sit still in his seat and

look at his primer

after a long time mr course called him

to the desk to see if he could read the

lesson now

almanzo knew every word of it but there

was a lump in his throat that would not

let the words

out he stood looking at the page while

mr course waited

then they heard the big boys coming

mr cors stood up and put his thin hand

gently on almanzo’s shoulder he turned

him around

and said go to your seat almanzo

the room was still everybody was waiting

the big boys came up the path and

clattered into the entry

hooting and jostling one another the

door

banged open and big bill richie

swaggered in the other big boys were

behind him

mr course looked at them and did not say

anything

bill richie laughed in his face and

still he did not speak

the big boys jostled bill and he jeered

again at mr course

then he led them all tramping loudly

down the aisle to their seats

mr course lifted the lid of his desk

and dropped one hand out of sight behind

the raised lid

he said bill richie

come up here big bill

jumped up and tore off his coat yelling

come on boys he rushed up the aisle

almanzo felt sick inside he didn’t want

to watch but he couldn’t help it

mr course stepped away from his desk his

hand

came from behind the desk lid and a long

thin black streak hissed through the air

it was a black snake ox whip 15 feet

long

mr course held the short handle loaded

with iron that could kill an ox

the thin long lash coiled around bill’s

legs and mr course

jerked bill lurched and almost fell

quick as black lightning the lash

circled and stuck and coiled again

and again mr course jerked come up here

bill richie he said

jerking bill toward him and backing away

bill could not reach him

faster and faster the lash was hissing

and crackling

coiling and jerking and more and more

quickly mr course backed away

jerking bill almost off his feet up and

down they went into the open space in

front of the desk

the lash cap coiling and tripping bill

mister course kept running backward and

striking bill’s trousers were cut

through

his shirt was slashed his arms bleeding

from the bite of the lash

it came and went hissing too fast to be

seen

bill rushed and the floor shook when the

whiplash jerked him over

backward he got up swearing and tried to

reach the teacher’s chair to throw it

the lash jerked him around he began to

bawl like a calf

he blubbered and begged the lash kept on

hissing

circling jerking bit by bit it jerked

bill to the door

mr course threw him headlong into the

entry and slammed

and locked the door turning quickly he

said

now john come on up

john was on the aisle staring he whirled

around

and tried to get away but mr coarse took

a quick step caught him with the

whiplash

and jerked him forward oh please please

please teacher john begged mr course did

not answer

he was panting and sweat trickled down

his cheek

the whiplash was coiling and hissing

jerking john to the door

mr course threw him out and slammed the

door

and turned the other big boys had got

the window open

one two three they jumped out into the

deep snow

and floundered away mr

course coiled the whip neatly and laid

it in his desk

he wiped his face with his handkerchief

straightened his collar and said

royal will you please close the window

royal tiptoed to the window and shut it

then mr course called the arithmetic

class

nobody knew the lesson all the rest of

the afternoon

no one knew a lesson and there was no

recess that afternoon everybody had

forgotten it

almanzo could hardly wait till school

was dismissed and he could rush out with

the other boys and yell

the big boys were licked mr

course had licked bill richie’s gang

from hard scrabble settlement

but almanzo did not know the best part

of it till he listened to his father

talking to mr course that night at

supper

the boys didn’t throw you out royal

tells me father said

no said mr course thanks to your black

snake whip

almanzo stopped eating he sat and looked

at father

father had known all the time

it was father’s black snake whip that

had bested big bill richie

almanzo was sure the father was the

smartest man

in the world as well as the biggest

and strongest

father was talking he said that while

the big boys were riding on mr richie’s

bobsled they had told mr richie that

they were going to thrash the teacher

that afternoon

mr richie thought it was a good joke he

was so sure the boys would do it

that he told everyone in town they had

done it

and on his way home he had stopped to

tell father that bill had thrashed mr

course and broken up the school again

almanzo thought how surprised mr richie

must have been when he got home and saw

bill