Book 4 11. RUNAWAY Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

run away all that long

quiet afternoon they stayed in the

dugout

the cattle did not come back to the

haystacks

slowly the sun went down the western sky

soon it would be time to meet the cattle

at the big gray rock

and laura and mary wish that paul maul

would come home

again and again they went up the path to

look for the wagon

at last they sat waiting with jack on

the grassy top of their house

the lower the sun went the more

attentive jack’s ears were

often he and laura stood up to look at

the edge of the sky where the wagon had

gone

though they could see it just as well

when they were sitting down

finally jack turned one ear that way

then the other

then he looked up at laura and a waggle

went from his neck to his stuffy tail

the wagon was coming they all stood and

watched till it came out of the prairie

when laura saw the oxen and ma and

carrie on the wagon seat

she jumped up and down swinging her

sunbonnet shouting

they’re coming they’re coming

they’re coming awful fast mary said

laura was still she heard the wagon

rattling loudly

pete and bright were coming very fast

they were running

they were running away the wagon came

bumpity banging and bouncing laura saw

maud down in a corner of the wagon box

hanging onto it and hugging carrie

paw came bounding in long jumps beside

bright shouting and hitting it bright

with the goad

he was trying to turn bright back from

the creek bank

he could not do it the big oxen galloped

nearer and

nearer the steep edge bright was pushing

paul off it

they were all going over the wagon ma

and carey were going to fall down the

bank all the way down to the creek

paul shouted a terrible shout he struck

bright’s head with

all his might and bright swerved laura

ran

screaming jack jumped at bright’s nose

then the wagon ma and carrie flashed by

bright crashed against the stable and

suddenly

everything was still paul ran after the

wagon

and laura ran behind him oh

bright whoa pete paul said he held on to

the wagon box and looked at ma

we’re all right charles mars said

her face was gray and she was shaking

all over

pete was trying to go on through the

doorway into the stable but he was yoked

too bright

and bright was headed against the stable

wall

paul lifted maw and carrie out of the

wagon and mars said

don’t cry gary see we’re all right

carrie’s pink dress was torn down the

front

she snuffled against mars neck and tried

to stop crying as ma told her

oh caroline i thought you were going

over the bank pause head

i thought so too for a minute i answered

but i might have known you wouldn’t let

that happen

shaw said paw it was a good old pete

he wasn’t running away bright was

but pete was only going along he saw the

stable and wanted his supper

but laura knew that ma and carey would

have fallen down into the creek with a

wagon and oxen

if paw had not run so fast and hit

bright so hard

she crowded against ma’s hoop skirt and

hugged her tight and said

oh my oh my

so did mary there

there said ma all’s well that ends well

now girls help bring in the packages

while paul puts up the oxen

they carried all the little packages

into the dugout

they met the cattle at the gray rock and

put spartan to the stable

and laura helped milk her while mary

helped ma get supper

at supper they told how the cattle had

gotten to the haystacks

and how they had driven them away paw

said they had done exactly the right

thing

he said we knew we could depend on you

to take care of everything

didn’t we caroline they had completely

forgotten that paw always brought them

presents from town

until after supper he pushed back his

bench and looked as if he expected

something

then laura jumped on his knee and mary

sat on the other

and laura bounced and asked what did you

bring us paw

what what guess

pau said they could not guess

but laura felt something crackle in his

jumper pocket

and she pounced on it she pulled out a

paper bag

beautifully striped with tiny red and

green stripes

and in the bag were two sticks of candy

one for mary

and one for lara they were maple sugar

colored

and they were flat on one side mary

licked hers

but laura bit her stick and the outside

of it came off crumbly the inside was

hard

and clear and dark brown and it had a

rich brown

tangy taste paw said it was whorehound

candy

after the dishes were done laura and

mary each took her stick of candy

and they sat on paws knees outside the

door in the cool

dusk mo sat just inside the dugout

humming to carry in her arms

the creek was talking to itself under

the yellow willows

one by one the great stars swung low and

seemed to quiver

and flicker in the little wind laura was

snug in paw’s arm

his beard softly tickled her cheek and

the delicious

candy taste melted on her tongue

after a while she said paw

what little half pint paw’s voice asked

against her hair

i think i like wolves better than cattle

she said cattle are more useful laura

pau said she thought about that a while

then she said anyway i like wolves

better

she was not contradicting she was only

saying what she thought

well laura we’re going to have a good

team of horses before long paw said

she knew when that would be it would be

when they had a wheat crop