Book 4 24. GOING TO CHURCH Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

going to church

it was saturday night and paul sat on

the doorstep

smoking his after supper pipe laura and

mary sat

close on either side of him ma with

carrie on her lap

rocked gently to and fro just inside the

doorway

the winds were still the stars hung low

and bright

the dark sky was deep beyond the stars

and plum creek talked softly to itself

they told me in town this afternoon that

there will be preaching in the new

church tomorrow

said paw i met the home missionary

reverend alden

and he wanted us to be sure to come i

told him we would

oh charles ma exclaimed

we haven’t been to church for so long

laura and mary had never seen a church

but they knew from ma’s voice that going

to church must be better than a party

after a while ma said i’m so glad i

finished my new dress

you will look sweet as a posey in it pau

told her

we must start early next morning was a

hurry

breakfast was a hurry work was a hurry

and ma

hurried about dressing herself and

carrie she called up the ladder in a

hurrying voice

come on down girls i’ll tie your ribbons

they hurried down

then they stood and stared at ma she was

perfectly

beautiful in her new dress it was black

and white calico

a narrow stripe of white then a wider

stripe of black lines and white lines no

wider than threads

up the front it was buttoned with black

buttons

and the skirt was pulled back and lifted

up to puffs and shorings behind

crocheted lace edged the little stand-up

collar

crocheted lace spread out in a bow on

ma’s breast

and the gold breast pin held the collar

and the bow

ma’s face was lovely her cheeks were

flushed

and her eyes were bright she turned

laura and mary around

and quickly tied the ribbons on their

braids then she took

carrie’s hand they all went out on the

doorstep

and ma locked the door carrie looked

like one of the little angel birds in

the bible

her dress and her tiny sun bonnet were

white and all trimmed with lace

her eyes were big and solemn her golden

curls

hung by her cheeks and peeped from under

the bonnet behind

then laura saw her own pink ribbons on

mary’s braids

she clapped her hand over her mouth

before a word came out

she scrooged and looked down her own

back

mary’s blue ribbons were on her braids

she and mary looked at each other and

did not say a word

ma in a hurry had made a mistake they

hoped she would not

notice laura was so tired of pink

and mary was so tired of blue but mary

had to wear blue because her hair was

golden

and laura had to wear pink because her

hair was brown

paul came driving the wagon from the

stable he had brushed sam and david till

they shone in the morning sunshine

they stepped proudly tossing their heads

and their manes and tails

rippled there was a clean blanket on the

wagon seat and another spread on the

bottom of the wagon box

paul carefully helped mark climb up over

the wheel

he lifted carrie to mars lap then he

tossed laura into the wagon box and her

braids flew out

oh dear ma exclaimed i put the wrong

ribbons on laura’s hair

it’ll never be noticed on a trotting

horse said paw

so lara knew she could wear the blue

ribbons

sitting beside mary on the clean blanket

in the wagon bottom

she pulled her braids over her shoulder

so did mary

and they smiled at each other laura

could see the blue whenever she looked

down

and mary could see the pink paw was

whistling

and when sam and david started he began

to sing

oh every sunday morning my wife is by my

side

i’m waiting for the wagon and we’ll all

take a ride

charles ma said softly to remind him

that this was sunday

then they all sang together there

is a happy land far

far away

where saints in glory stand

bright bright as day

plum creek came out from the willow

shadows and spread

wide and flat and twinkling in the

sunshine

sam and david trotted through the

sparkling shallows

glittering drops flew up and waves

splashed from the wheels

then they were away on the endless

prairie

the wagon rolled softly along the road

that hardly made a mark on the green

grasses

birds sang their morning songs bees

hummed great yellow bumblebees went

bumbling from flower to flower and big

grasshoppers flew whirring up and away

too soon they came to town

the blacksmith shop was shut and still

the doors of the stores were closed

a few dressed up men and women with

their dressed up children

walked along the edges of dusty main

street

they were all going toward the church

the church was a new building not far

from the schoolhouse

par drove toward it through the prairie

grasses

it was like the schoolhouse except that

on its roof

was a tiny room with no walls and

nothing in it

what’s that laura asked

don’t point laura said ma it’s a belfry

paw stopped the wagon against the high

porch of the church

he helped ma out of the wagon but laura

and mary just stepped over the side of

the wagon box

they all waited there while paul drove

into the shade of the church

unhitched sam and david and tied them to

the wagon box

people were coming through the grass

climbing the steps and going into the

church

there was a solemn low rustling

inside it at last paul came

he took carry on his arm and walked with

ma into the church

laura and mary walked softly close

behind them

they all sat in a row on a long bench

church was exactly like a schoolhouse

except that it had a strange

large hollow feeling every little noise

was loud against the new bored walls

a tall thin man stood up behind the tall

desk on the platform

his clothes were black and his big

cravat was black

and his hair and the beard that went

around his face were dark

his voice was gentle and kind

all the heads bowed down the man’s voice

talked to god for a long time while

laura sat perfectly still

and looked at the blue ribbons on her

braids

suddenly right beside her a voice said

come with me laura almost jumped out of

her skin

a pretty lady stood there smiling out of

soft blue eyes

the lady said again come with me little

girls

we’re going to have a sunday school

class

ma nodded at them so laura and mary slid

down from the bench

they had not known there was going to be

school on sunday

the lady led them to a corner all the

girls from school were there

looking questions at one another the

lady pulled benches around to make a

square pen

she sat down and took laura and christy

beside her

when the others were settled on the

square of benches the lady said her name

was mrs tower and she asked their names

then she said now i’m going to tell you

a story laura was very pleased

but mrs tower began it is all about

a little baby born long ago in egypt

his name was moses so laura did not

listen anymore

she knew all about moses in the

bulrushes even

kerry knew that after the story

mrs tower smiled more than ever and said

now we’ll all learn a bible verse won’t

that be nice

yes ma’am they all said she told a bible

verse to each girl in turn

they were to remember the verses and

repeat them to her next sunday

that was their sunday school lesson

when it was laura’s turn mrs tower

cuddled her and smiled almost as warm

and sweet as ma

she said my very littlest girl must have

a very small lesson

it will be the shortest verse in the

bible

then laura knew what it was but mrs

tower’s eyes smiled and she said

it is just two words she said them and

asked

now do you think you can remember that

for a whole week

laura was surprised at mrs tower why

she remembered long bible verses and

whole songs

but she did not want to hurt mrs tower’s

feelings

so she said yes ma’am

that’s my little girl mrs tower said

but laura was mars little girl

i’ll tell you again to help you remember

just

two words said mrs tower

now can you say them after me laura

squirmed

try mrs tower urged her

laura’s head bowed lower and she

whispered the verse

that’s right mrs tower said

now will you do your best to remember

and tell me next sunday

laura nodded after that

everyone stood up they all opened their

mouths and tried to sing

jerusalem the golden not many of them

knew the words or the tune

miserable squiggles went up laura’s

backbone and the insides of her ears

crinkled she was glad when they all sat

down

again then the tall thin man stood up

and talked

laura thought he never would stop

talking

she looked through the open windows at

butterflies going where they pleased

she watched the grasses blowing in the

wind

she listened to the wind whining thin

along the edges of the roof

she looked at the blue hair ribbons she

looked at each of her fingernails and

admired how the fingers of her hands

would fit together

she stuck her fingers out straight so

they looked like the corner of a log

house she looked at the underneath of

shingles overhead

her legs ached from dangling still

at last everyone stood up and tried

again to sing

when that was over there was no more

they could go home

the tall thin man was standing by the

door

he was the reverend alden he shook ma’s

hand

and he shook paw’s hand and they talked

then he bent down and he shook laura’s

hand

his teeth smiled in his dark beard his

eyes were warm and blue

he asked did you like sunday school

laura

suddenly laura did like it she said

yes sir then you must come every sunday

he said

we’ll expect you and laura knew he

really

would expect her he would not forget

on the way home paul said well caroline

it’s pleasant to be with a crowd of

people all trying to do the right thing

same as we are yes

charles mars said thankfully it will be

a pleasure to look forward to

all week pod turned on the seat

and asked how do you girls like the

first time you ever went to church

they can’t sing said laura

pau’s great laugh rang out

then he explained there was nobody to

pitch the hymn with a tuning fork

nowadays charles said ma people have

hymn books

well maybe we’ll be able to afford some

someday

paul said after that they went to sunday

school

every sunday three or four sundays they

went to sunday school

and then again the reverend alden was

there and that was a church sunday

the reverend alden lived at his real

church in the east

he could not travel all the way to this

church every sunday

this was his home missionary church in

the west

there were no more long dull tiresome

sundays

because there was always sunday school

to go to and to talk about afterward

the best sundays were the sundays when

the reverend alden was there

he always remembered laura and she

remembered him between times

he called laura and mary his little

country girls

then one sunday while pau and ma and

mary and laura were all sitting at the

dinner table

talking about that day sunday school

paul said

if i’m going to keep on going out among

dressed up folks

i must get a pair of new boots look

he stretched out his foot his mended

boot

was cracked clear across the toes

they all looked at his red knitted sock

showing through that gaping slit

the edges of leather were thin and

curling back between little cracks

paw said it won’t hold another patch

oh i wanted you to get boots charles ma

said

and you brought home that calico for my

dress

paul made up his mind i’ll get me a new

pair when i go to town next saturday

they will cost three dollars but will

make out somehow

till i harvest the wheat all that week

paul was making hay

he had helped put up mr nelson’s hay and

earned the use of mr nelson’s fine quick

mowing machine

he said it was wonderful weather for

making hay

he had never known such a dry sunny

summer

laura hated to go to school she wanted

to be out in the hay field with paul

watching the marvelous machine with its

long knives snickety-snicking behind the

wheels

cutting through great swaths of grass

saturday morning she went to the field

on the wagon and helped paul bring in

the last load of hay

they looked at the wheat field standing

up taller than laura

above the moan land its level top was

rough with

wheat heads bent with weight of ripening

wheat

they picked three long fat ones and took

them to the house to show ma

when that crop was harvested paul said

they’d be out of debt

and have more money than they knew what

to do with he’d have a buggy

maul would have a silk dress they’d all

have new

shoes and eat beef every sunday

after dinner he put on a clean shirt and

took three dollars out of the fiddle box

he was going to town to get his new

boots

he walked because the horses had been

working all that week and he left them

at home to rest

it was late that afternoon when paul

came walking home

laura saw him on the knoll and she and

jack ran

up from the old crabs home in the creek

and into the house behind him

ma turned around from the stove where

she was taking the saturday baking of

bread out of the oven

where are your boots charles she asked

well caroline paul said i saw brother

alden

and he told me he couldn’t raise money

enough to put a bell in the belfry

the folks in town had all given every

cent they could

and he lacked just three dollars so i

gave him the money

oh charles was all ma said paul looked

down at his cracked boot

i’ll patch it he said i can make it hold

together somehow

and do you know we’ll hear that church

bell ringing

clear out here ma turned quickly back to

the stove

and laura went quietly out and sat down

on the step

her throat hurt her she did so want par

to have good new boots

never mind caroline she heard pau saying

it’s not long to wait till i harvest the

wheat