Book 4 13. A MERRY CHRISTMAS Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

a merry christmas

next morning snow was in the air

hard bits of snow were leaping and

whirling in the howling wind

laura could not go out to play in the

stable spot and pete

and bright stood all day long eating the

hay

and straw in the dugout paul mended his

boots

while ma read to him again the story

called milbank

mary sowed and laura played with

charlotte

she could let carrie hold charlotte but

carrie was too little to play with paper

dolls

she might tear one that afternoon when

carrie was asleep

ma beckoned mary and laura her face was

shining with a secret

they put their heads close to hers and

she told them

they could make a button string for

carrie’s christmas

they climbed onto their bed and they

turned their backs to carrie

and spread their laps wide ma brought

them her button box

the box was almost full ma had saved

buttons

since she was smaller than laura and she

had buttons her mother had saved when

her mother was a little girl

there were blue buttons and red buttons

silvery

and goldy buttons curved in buttons with

tiny raised castles and bridges and

trees on them

and twinkling jet buttons painted china

buttons

striped buttons buttons like juicy

blackberries

and even one tiny doghead button

laura squealed when she saw it shh

ma shushed her but carrie did not wake

up

ma gave them all those buttons to make a

button string for carrie

after that laura did not mind staying in

the dugout

when she saw the outdoors the wind was

driving

snow drifts across the bare frozen land

the creek was ice

and the willow tops rattled in the

dugout

she and mary had their secret they

played gently with carrie and gave her

everything she wanted

they cuddled her and sang to her and got

her to sleep whenever they could

then they worked on the button string

mary had one end of the string and laura

had the other

they picked out the buttons they wanted

and strung them on the string

they held the string out and looked at

it and took off some buttons

and put on others sometimes they took

every button off and started again

they were going to make the most

beautiful button string

in the world one day ma

told them that this was the day before

christmas they must finish the button

string that day

they could not get carried asleep she

ran and shouted

climbed on benches and jumped off and

skipped and sang

she did not get tired mary told her to

sit still like a little lady but she

wouldn’t

laura let her hold charlotte and she

jount charlotte up and down and flung

her against the wall

finally ma cuddled her and sang

laura and mary were perfectly still

lower and lower more sang and carrie’s

eyes

blinked till they shut when softly moss

stopped singing

carrie’s eyes popped open and she

shouted

more more more but at last

she fell asleep then quickly quickly

laura and mary finished the button

string

ma tied the ends together for them it

was done

they could not change one button more

it was a beautiful button string

that evening after supper when carrie

was sound asleep

ma hung her clean little pair of

stockings from the table edge

laura and mary in their nightgowns slid

the button string into one stocking

then that was all mary and laura were

going to bed when paw asked them

aren’t you girls going to hang your

stockings

but i thought laura said i thought santa

claus

was going to bring his horses maybe he

will

said paw but little girls always hang up

their stockings on christmas eve don’t

they

laura did not know what to think neither

did mary

ma took two clean stockings out of the

clothes box

and paw helped hang them beside carries

laura and mary said their prayers and

went to sleep

wondering in the morning

laura heard the fire crackling she

opened one eye the least bit

and saw a lamplight and a bulge in her

christmas stocking

she yelled and jumped out of bed mary

came running too and carrie woke up

in laura’s stocking and in mary’s

stocking there were little paper

packages just alike

in the packages was candy

laura had six pieces and mary had six

they had never seen such beautiful candy

it was too beautiful to eat some pieces

were like ribbons

bent in waves some were short bits of

round stick candy and on their flat ends

were colored flowers that went all the

way through

some were perfectly round and striped

in one of kerry’s stockings were four

pieces of that beautiful candy

in the other was the button string

carrie’s eyes and her mouth were

perfectly round when she saw it

then she squealed and grabbed it and

squealed again

she sat on paw’s knee looking at her

candy and her button string

and wriggling and laughing with joy

then it was time for paw to do the

chores he said

do you suppose there’s anything for us

in the stable and ma

said dress as fast as you can girls and

you can go to the stable and see what

paul finds

it was winter so they had to put on

stockings and shoes

but ma helped them button up the shoes

and she pinned their shawls under their

chins

they ran out into the cold everything

was gray

except a long red streak in the eastern

sky

its red light shone on the patches of

gray white snow

snow was caught on the dead grass on the

walls and roof of the stable and it was

red

paws stood waiting in the stable door he

laughed when he saw laura and mary

and he stepped outside to let them go in

there standing in pete’s and bright’s

places

were two horses they were larger than

pet and patty

and they were a soft red brown color

shining like silk

their manes and tails were black their

eyes were bright and gentle

they put their velvety noses down to

laura and nibbled softly at her hand

and breathed warm on it well

flutter budget said paw and mary

how do you girls like your christmas

very much paw

said mary but laura could only say

oh paw paw’s eyes shone deep and he

asked

who wants to ride the christmas horses

to water

laura could hardly wait while he lifted

mary up

and showed her how to hold on to the

mane and told her not to be afraid

then paw’s strong hand swung laura up

she sat on the horse’s big gentle back

and felt its aliveness carrying her

all outdoors was glittering now with

sunshine on snow and frost

paul went ahead leading the horses and

carrying his

axe to break the ice in the creek so

they could drink

the horses lifted their heads and took

deep breaths and

whooshed the cold out of their noses

their velvety ears pricked forward

then back and forward again

laura held to her horse’s mane and

clapped her shoes

together and laughed paw and the horses

and mary and laura were all happy in the

gay

cold christmas morning