Book 4 31. SURPRISE Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

surprise that was another mild winter

without much snow

it was still grasshopper weather but

chill winds blew

the sky was gray and the best place for

little girls was in the cozy house

paul was gone outdoors all day he hauled

logs and chopped them into wood for the

stove

he followed frozen plum creek far

upstream where nobody lived

and set traps along the banks for

muskrat and otter and mink

every morning laura and mary studied

their books and worked sums on the slate

every afternoon ma heard their lessons

she said they were good little scholars

and she was sure that when they went to

school again

they would find they had kept up with

their classes

every sunday they went to sunday school

laura saw nellie olsen showing off her

fur cape

she remembered what nellie had said

about paw and she

burned hot inside she knew that hot

feeling was wicked

she knew she must forgive nellie or she

would never be an angel

she thought hard about the pictures of

beautiful angels in the big paper

covered bible at home

but they wore long white nightgowns not

one of them wore a fur

cape one happy sunday was the sunday

when the reverend alden

came from eastern minnesota to preach in

this western church

he preached for a long time while laura

looked at his soft blue eyes and

watched his beard wagging she hoped he

would speak to her after church and he

did

here are my little country girls mary

and laura

he said he remembered their names

laura was wearing her new dress that day

the skirt was long enough

and the sleeves were long too they made

her coat sleeves look shorter than ever

but the red braid on the cuffs was

pretty

what a pretty new dress laura

the reverend alden said laura

almost forgave nelly olsen that day

then came sundays when the reverend

alden

stayed at his own far church and in

sunday school

nellie olson turned up her nose at lara

and

flounced her shoulders under the fur

cape

hot wickedness boiled up in laura again

one afternoon ma said there would be no

lessons

because they must all get ready to go to

town that night

laura and mary were astonished but we

never go to town at night mary said

there must always be a first time said

ma

but why must there be ma laura asked

why are we going to town at night it’s a

surprise

said ma now no more questions we must

all take baths

and be our very nicest

in the middle of the week ma brought in

the wash tub

and heated water for mary’s bath then

again

for laura’s bath and again for carries

there had never been such scrubbing and

scampering

such a changing to fresh drawers and

petticoats

such brushing of shoes and braiding of

hair and tying on of hair ribbons

there had never been such a wondering

supper was early after supper

paul bathed in the bedroom laura and

mary put on their new dresses

they knew better than to ask any more

questions but they wondered and

whispered together

the wagon box was full of clean hay

paw put mary and laura in it and wrapped

blankets around them

he climbed to the seat beside ma and

drove away toward town

the stars were small and frosty in the

dark sky

the horse’s feet clippity-clopped and

the wagon rattled over the hard ground

paw heard something else he said pulling

up the reins

sam and david stopped there was nothing

but

vast dark coldness and stillness pricked

by the stars

then the stillness blossomed into the

loveliest

sound two clear notes sounded

and sounded again and again

no one moved only sam and david tinkled

their bits together and breathed

those two notes went on full and loud

soft and low they seemed to be the stars

singing

too soon mom murmured we’d better be

getting on charles

and the wagon rattled on still through

its rattling

laura could hear those swaying notes

oh paw what is it she asked and paul

said it’s the new church bell laura

it was for this that paw had worn his

old patched boots

the town seemed asleep the stores were

dark as paw drove passed them

then laura exclaimed oh look at the

church

how pretty the church is

the church was full of light light

spilled out of

all its windows and ran out into the

darkness from the door when it opened to

let someone

in laura almost jumped out from under

the blankets before she remembered that

she must never stand up in the wagon

when the horses were going

paul drove to the church steps and

helped them all out

he told them to go in but they waited in

the cold until he had covered sam and

david with their blankets

then he came and they all went into the

church together

laura’s mouth fell open and her eyes

stretched to look at what she saw

she held mary’s hand tightly and they

followed ma and paw

they sat down then laura could look with

all her might

standing in front of the crowded benches

was a tree

laura decided it must be a tree she

could see its trunk and branches

but she had never before seen such a

tree

where leaves would be in summer there

were clusters and streamers of thin

green paper thick among them

hung little sacks made of pink mosquito

bar

laura was almost sure she could see

candy in them

from the branches hung packages wrapped

in colored paper

red packages and pink packages and

yellow packages

all tied with colored string silk

scarves were draped among them

red mittens hung by the cord that would

go around your neck and keep them from

being lost if you were wearing them

a pair of new shoes hung by their heels

from a branch

lavish strings of white popcorn were

looped all over this

under the tree and leaning against it

were all kinds of things

laura saw a crinkly bright washboard

a wooden tub a churn and dasher

a sled made of new boards a shovel

a long-handled pitchfork

laura was too excited to speak she

squeezed mary’s hand tighter

and tighter and she looked up at ma

wanting so much to know what this was

ma smiled down at her and answered this

is a christmas tree girls

do you think it’s pretty they could not

answer

they nodded while they kept on looking

at that wonderful tree

they were hardly even surprised to know

that this was christmas

though they had not expected christmas

yet because there was not enough snow

just then laura saw the most wonderful

thing of

all from a far branch of that tree hung

a little fur cape and a muff to match

the reverend alden was there he preached

about christmas

but laura was looking at that tree and

she could not hear what he said

everyone stood up to sing and laura

stood up

but she could not sing not a sound would

come out of her throat

in the whole world there couldn’t be a

store so

wonderful to look at as that tree

after the singing mr tower and mr beedle

began

taking things off it and reading out

names

mrs tower and miss beadle brought those

things down past the benches

and gave them to the person whose name

was on them

everything on that tree was a christmas

present for somebody

when laura knew that the lamps and

people

and voices and even the tree began to

whirl

they whirled faster noisier and more

excited

someone gave her a pink mosquito bar bag

it did have candy in it

and a big popcorn ball mary had one

too so did carrie every girl and boy had

one

then mary had a pair of blue mittens

then laura had a red pair ma opened a

big

package and there was a warm big brown

and red plaid shawl for her

paw got a woolly muffler then carrie had

a rag doll

with a china head she screamed for joy

through the laughing and talking and

rustling of papers

mr beatle and mr tower went on shouting

names

the little fur cape and muff still hung

on the tree

and laura wanted them she wanted to look

at them as long as she could

she wanted to know who got them they

could not be for nelly olsen who already

had a fur cape

laura did not expect anything more but

to marry came a pretty little booklet

with bible pictures in it

from mrs tower mr tower was taking the

little fur cape and the muff from the

tree

he read a name but laura could not hear

it through all the joyful noise

she lost sight of the cape and muff

among all the people

they were gone now then to carry came a

cunning little brown spotted white chyna

dog

but carrie’s arms and her eyes were full

of her doll

so lara held and stroked and laughed

over the sleek little dog

merry christmas laura miss beadle said

and in laura’s hand she put a beautiful

little box

it was made of snow white gleaming china

on its top stood a wee gold colored

teapot

and a gold colored tiny cup in a gold

colored saucer

the top of the box lifted off inside

was a nice place to keep a breast pen if

someday laura had a breast pen

ma said it was a jewel box

there had never been such a christmas as

this

it was such a large rich christmas the

whole

church full of christmas there was so

many lamps

so many people so much noise and

laughter

and so many happiness is in it

laura felt full and bursting as if that

whole big rich christmas were inside her

and her mittens and her beautiful jewel

box

with the wee gold cup and saucer and

teapot

and her candy and her popcorn ball

and suddenly someone said these are for

you

laura mrs tower stood smiling

holding out the little fur cape and muff

for me laura said

for me then everything else vanished

well with both arms she hugged the soft

furs to her

she hugged them tighter and tighter

trying to believe they were

really hers that silky soft little brown

fur

cape and the muff all around her

christmas went on but laura knew only

the softness of those furs

people were going home carrie was

standing on the bench while ma

fastened her coat and hide her hood more

snuggly ma was saying

thank you so much for the show brother

alden

it is just what i needed paul said

and thank you for the muffler it will

feel good when i come to town in the

cold the reverend alden sat down on the

bench and asked

and does mary’s coat fit

laura had not noticed mary’s coat until

then

mary had on a new dark blue coat

it was long and its sleeves came down to

mary’s wrists

mary buttoned it up and it fitted

and how does this little girl like her

furs

the reverend alden smiled he drew laura

between his knees

he laid the fur cape around her

shoulders and fastened it at the throat

he put the cord of the muff around her

neck and her hands went inside the silky

muff

there the reverend alden said now my

little country girls will be warm when

they come to sunday school

what do you say laura ma asked but the

reverend alden said

there’s no need the way her eyes are

shining is enough

laura could not speak the golden brown

fur cuddled her neck and softly hugged

her shoulders

down her front it hid the threadbare

fastenings of her coat

the muff came far up her wrists and hid

the shortness of her coat sleeves

she’s a little brown bird with red

trimmings the reverend alton said

then laura laughed it was true

her hair and her coat her dress and the

wonderful furs were brown

her hood and mittens and the braid on

her dress were red

i’ll tell my church people back east

about our little brown bird

said the reverend alden you see when i

told them about our church out here

they said they must send a box for the

christmas tree

they all gave things they had the little

girls who sent your furs in mary’s coat

needed larger ones thank you sir

said laura and please sir

tell them thank you too for when she

could speak

her manners were as nice as mary’s

then they all said good night and merry

christmas to the reverend alden

mary was so beautiful in her christmas

coat

carrie was so pretty on paw’s arm

paw and ma were smiling so happily

and laura was all gladness

mr and mrs olsen were going home too

mr olsen’s arms were full of things and

so were nellie’s and willie’s

no wickedness boiled up in laura now she

only felt

a little bit of mean gladness

merry christmas nelly laura said

nelly stared while laura walked quietly

on

with her hands snuggled deep in the soft

muff

her cape was prettier than nellie’s and

nellie

had no muff