Book 6 18. MERRY CHRISTMAS Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

merry christmas

the blizzard stopped at last after three

days of its ceaseless noise

the stillness rang in laura’s ears

paul hurried away to get a load of hay

and when he came back he put david in

the stable

the sun was still glittering on the snow

there was no cloud in the northwest

and laura wondered why he stopped

hauling hay

what’s wrong charles ma asked quietly

when paul

came in paul answered

gilbert made it to preston and back he’s

brought the mail

it was as if christmas had happened

unexpectedly

ma hoped for the church paper laura and

mary and carrie hope that reverend alden

had sent them something to read

sometimes he did grace was excited

because they were excited

it was hard to wait for paul to come

back from the post office

he was gone a long time as moss said it

did no good to be impatient

every man in town was at the post office

and paul must wait his turn

when at last he came his hands were full

ma reached eagerly for the church papers

and laura and carrie both tried to take

the bundle of youth’s companions

there were newspapers too here here

paul lev don’t mob a fella and that’s

not the whole of it

guess what i got a letter

oh paw did you get a letter laura cried

who is it from ma asked you’ve got the

advances caroline paul replied

and laura and carrie you’ve got the

youth’s companions

i’ve got the intro ocean and the pioneer

press

mary gets the letter mary’s face

shone she felt the letter’s size and

thickness

a big fat letter please read it ma

so ma opened the letter and read it

aloud

the letter was from reverend alden he

was sorry that he had not been able to

come back and help organize a church

last spring

but he had been sent farther north he

hoped to be with him when spring came

again

the children of the sunday school in

minnesota were sending a bundle of

youth’s companions to the girls

and would send another bundle next year

his church had shipped them a christmas

barrel and he hoped the clothing would

fit

as his own christmas gift and some

slight return for their hospitality to

him and to reverend stewart last winter

at silver lake

he had put in a christmas turkey he

wished them all a merry christmas

and a happy new year there was a little

silence when ma had finished reading

then she said we have this good letter

anyway

gilbert brought word that they’re

putting on a double work crew and two

snow plows at the tracy cut

part told them we may get the barrel by

christmas

it’s only a few days ma said a lot can

be done in a few days said paw

if this spell of clear weather holds out

no reason they can’t get the train

through

oh i hope the christmas barrel comes

kerry said

the hotels have shut down paw told ma

the news

they’ve been burning lumber and now

banker ruth has bought out the lumber

yard down to the last shingle

we couldn’t afford to burn lumber anyway

said ma

but charles we are almost out of coal

we’ll burn hay paw answered cheerfully

hey

ma said and laura asked how can we burn

hay

paw she thought of how quickly the

prairie fire swept through dry grass

flame licks through the light thin stems

and is gone before the frail ashes can

fall

how could a room be kept warm by a fire

so quickly burning out when even the

steady glow of hard coal could not keep

out the cold

we will have to contrive paul told her

we’ll manage it

needs must when the devil drives

likely the train will get through in

time ma said

paul put on his cap again and asmr to

make dinner a little late

he had time to haul another load of hay

if he hustled

he went out and ma said come girls put

the bundle of youth’s companions away

we must get out the washing while the

weather’s clear so we can

all that day laura and carrie and mary

looked forward to the youth’s companions

and often they spoke of them

but the bright day was short they

stirred and punched the clothes

boiling on the stove they lifted them on

the broom handle into the tub where ma

soaped and rubbed them laura rinsed them

gary stirred the bluing bag in the

second rinse water until it was blue

enough

lara made the boiled starch and when for

the last time

maul went out into the cold to hang the

freezing wash on the line

paw had come for dinner then they washed

the dishes

they scrubbed the floor and blacked the

stove and washed the inside of the

windowpanes

ma brought in the frozen dry clothes and

they sorted them and sprinkled them and

rolled them tightly ready for ironing

twilight had come it was too late to

read that day

and after supper there was no lamplight

because they must save the last of the

kerosene

work comes before pleasure ma always

said

she smiled her gentle smile for laura

and carrie and said now

my girls have helped me do a good day’s

work

and they were rewarded tomorrow we’ll

read a story

carrie said happily tomorrow we have to

do the ironing

laura reminded her yes and we should air

the bedding and give the upstairs a

thorough cleaning in this good weather

said ma

paul came in and heard them tomorrow i’m

going to work on the railroad he said

mr woodworth had word to put at work on

the tracks all the men he could get

the superintendent at the tracy cup was

driving the work there and shovel gangs

were shoveling eastward from huron

if muscle and willpower can do it we’ll

have a train through by christmas

paul declared that night he came back

from work with a broad smile on his sun

red face

good news he called out the work train

will come through

sometime tomorrow the regular train will

come next

day after tomorrow probably oh good

goody goody laura and carrie exclaimed

together

and moss said that is good news indeed

what is wrong with your eyes charles his

eyes were red and puffed

he answered cheerfully shoveling snow in

the sunshine is hard on eyes

some of the men are snow blind fix me up

a little weak salt water will you

caroline

and i’ll bathe them after i do the

chores

when he had gone to the stable ma

dropped into a chair near mary

i’m afraid girls this will be a poor

christmas she said

but with these awful storms and trying

to keep warm we’ve had no time to plan

for it

maybe the christmas barrel carrie began

we mustn’t count on it said mary

we could wait for christmas till it

comes laura suggested

oh but and she picked up grace who was

listening wide-eyed

can’t santa claus come grace asked

and her lower lip began to tremble

laura hugged her and looked over her

golden head at ma

ma said firmly santa claus

always comes to good little girl’s grace

but girls she went on i have an

idea what do you think of saving my

church papers and your bundle of youth’s

companions to open

on christmas day after a moment

mary said i think it is a good idea it

will help us to learn

self-denial i don’t want to laura said

nobody does said mary but it’s good for

us

sometimes laura did not even want to be

good

but after another silent moment she said

well

if you and mary want to ma i will

it will give us something to look

forward to for christmas

what do you say about it carrie ma asked

and in a small voice

carrie said i will tuma

that’s my good girls ma approved them

she went on we can find a little

something in the stores for

and she glanced at grace but you older

girls know

paul hasn’t been able to get any work

for wages this year

we can’t spare money for presents but we

can have a happy christmas just the same

i’ll try to contrive something extra for

dinner and then we’ll all open our

papers and read them

and when it’s too dark to read pau will

play the fiddle

we haven’t much flower left ma lara said

the storekeepers are asking 25 cents a

pound for flowers so pause waiting for

the train ma replied

there’s nothing to make a pie anyway and

no butter or eggs for a cake and no more

sugar in town

but we’ll think of something for

christmas dinner

laura set thinking she was making a

little picture

frame of cross stitch and wools on thin

silver colored cardboard

up the sides and across the top she had

made a pattern of small blue flowers and

green leaves

now she was outlining the picture

opening in blue

while she put the tiny needle through

the perforations in the cardboard and

drew the fine

colored wool carefully after it she was

thinking how wistfully carrie had looked

at the beautiful thing

she decided to give it to carrie for

christmas

someday perhaps she could make another

for herself

how fortunate it was that she had

finished knitting the lace for her

petticoat

she would give that to mary and tomorrow

she would give the cardboard hair

receiver that she had already

embroidered to match the picture frame

mark could hang it on the corner of her

looking glass

and when she combed her hair she would

put the combings in it to use later

in the hair switch she was making but

what can we do for paw

she asked i declare i don’t know more

worried i can’t think of a thing

i’ve got some pennies carrie said

there’s my college money mary began but

ma said no mary we won’t touch that

i have 10 cents laura said thoughtfully

how many pennies have you carry i have

five

carrie told her we’d need 25 to get pau

a pair of suspenders laura said

he needs a new pair i have a dime

said ma so that is settled laura you and

carrie had better go and buy them as

soon as pau has gone to work tomorrow

morning

next day when their morning work was

done laura and carrie crossed the snowy

street to mr harthorn store

mr harthorn was there alone and the

shelves were bare

on both long walls there were only a few

pairs of men’s boots and women’s shoes

and some bolts of calico

the bean barrel was empty the cracker

barrel was empty

the little brine in the bottom of the

pork barrel had no pork in it

the long flat cod fish box held only a

little salt scattered on its bottom

the dried apple box and the dried

blackberry box

were empty i’m sold out of groceries

till the train gets here mr harthorn

said

i was expecting a bill of groceries when

the train stopped

some pretty handkerchiefs combs and

hairpins and two pairs of suspenders

were in the showcase

laura and carrie looked at the

suspenders they were plain

dull gray shall i do them up for you

mr harthorne asked laura did not like to

say no but she looked at carrie and saw

that carrie hoped she would

no thank you mr harthorn laura said we

will not take them now

out in the glittering cold again she

said to carrie

let’s go to loftus’s store and see if we

can’t find prettier ones

they bent their heads against the strong

cold wind and struggled along the icy

path on the store porches till they

reached the other dry goods and

groceries

that store was bare and echoing too

every barrel and box was empty and where

the canned goods had been there were

only two

flat cans of oysters i’m expecting a

stock of groceries when the train

comes tomorrow mr loftus told them it

won’t get here any too soon either

in his showcase was a pair of blue

suspenders with small

red flowers beautifully machine woven

along them

and bright brass buckles laura had never

seen such pretty suspenders they were

just right for paw

how much are they she asked almost sure

that they would cost too much

but the price was 25 cents

lara gave mr loftus her own two five

cent pieces

carrie’s five pennies and maw’s thin

silver ten cent piece

she took the slim package and the wind

blew her and carrie

breathlessly home at bedtime that night

no one spoke of hanging up stockings

grace was too young to know about

hanging stockings on christmas eve and

no one else

expected a present but they had never

been so eager for christmas day

because the tracks were clear now and

the train would come tomorrow

lara’s first thought in the morning was

the train

is coming today the window was not

frosted

the sky was clear the snowy prairie was

turning rosy in early sunshine

the train would surely come and joyfully

laura thought about her christmas

surprises

she slid out of bed without waking mary

and quickly pulled on her dress in the

cold

she opened the box where she kept her

own things she took out the roll of

knitted lace already wrapped carefully

in tissue paper

then she found the prettiest card she

had ever been given in sunday school and

she took the little embroidered picture

frame

and the cardboard hair receiver with

these in her hands

she hurried tiptoe downstairs ma looked

up in surprise

the table was set and ma was putting on

each plate

a little package wrapped in red and

white striped paper

merry christmas ma laura whispered

oh what are they christmas presents

mar whispered whatever have you got

there

laura only smiled she put her packages

at mars plate and mary’s

then she slipped the sunday school card

into the embroidered frame

for carrie she whispered she and ma

looked at it it was beautiful

then ma found a piece of tissue paper to

wrap it in

carrie and grace and mary were already

clambering down the stairs calling merry

christmas

merry christmas ooh carrie squealed

i thought we were waiting for christmas

till the christmas barrel came on the

train oh

look look what is it mary asked

there are presents at every plate on the

table carrie told her

no no grace mustn’t touch ma said we

will all wait for paw

so grace ran around the table looking

but not touching

paw came with the milk and moss strained

it then paw stepped into the lean-to and

came back grinning broadly

he handed ma the two cans of oysters

from

loftus’s store charles ma said

make us an oyster soup for christmas

dinner caroline

paul told her i got some milk from ellen

not much

and it’s the last she’s as good as dry

but maybe you can make it do i’ll thin

it out with water said ma we’ll have

oyster soup for christmas dinner

then paul saw the table laura and carrie

laughed aloud shouting merry christmas

merry christmas paw

and laura told mary pass surprised

her for santa claus pausing out the old

fella made it in if the train didn’t

they all sat down at their places and ma

gently held back grace’s hands

paw opens his first grace she said

paul picked up his package now what can

this be

and who gave it to me he untied the

string

unfolded the paper and held up the new

red flowered suspenders

he exclaimed now how am i ever going to

wear my coat

these are too fine to cover up he looked

around at all the faces

all of you did this he said well i’ll be

proud to wear them

not yet grace ma said mary is next

mary unwrapped the yards of fine knitted

lace

she fingered it lovingly and her face

was shining with delight

i’ll save it to wear when i go to

college she said

it’s another thing to help me to go it

will be so pretty on a white petticoat

carrie was looking at her present the

picture was of the good shepherd in his

blue and white robes holding in his arms

a snow

white lamb the silvery cardboard

embroidered in blue flowers made a

perfect

frame for it oh how lovely

how lovely carrie whispered

ma said the hair receiver was just what

she had been needing

then grace tore the paper from her gift

and gave a

gurgle of joy two little flat wood men

stood on a platform between two flat red

posts

their hands held onto two strings

twisted tightly together

above their heads they wore peaked red

caps and blue coats with gold buttons

their trousers were red and green

stripes

their boots were black with turned up

toes

ma gently pressed the bottoms of the

posts inward

one of the men somersaulted up and the

other swung into his place

then the first came down while the

second went up and they nodded their

heads and jerked their arms and

swung their legs dancing and

somersaulting

oh look oh look grace shouted

she could never have enough of watching

the funny little men dancing

the small striped packages at each place

held christmas candy

wherever did you get candy paw laura

wondered

i got it some time ago it was the last

bit of sugar in town said paw

some folks said they’d use it for sugar

but i made sure of our christmas candy

oh what a

lovely christmas carries side laura

thought so too

whatever happened they could always have

a merry christmas

and the sun was shining the sky was blue

the railroad tracks were clear

and the train was coming the train had

come through the tracy cut that morning

sometime that day they would hear its

whistle

and see it stopping by the depot

at noon ma was making the oyster soup

laura was setting the table carrie and

grace were playing with a jumping jack

ma tasted the soup and set the kettle

back on the stove

the oysters are ready she said and

stooping she looked at the slices

of bread toasting in the oven and the

bread is toasted

whatever is paul doing he’s bringing in

hay

said laura pa open the door

behind him the lean-to was almost full

of slough hay

he asked is the oyster soup ready

i’m taking it up ma replied i’m glad the

train is coming this is the last of the

coal

then she looked a paw and asked what is

wrong charles

paul said slowly there is a cloud in the

northwest

oh not another blizzard mark cried

i’m afraid so paul answered but it

needn’t spoil our dinner

he drew his chair up to the table i’ve

packed plenty of hay into the stable and

filled the lean to

now for our oyster soup

the sun kept on shining while they ate

the hot soup was good even though the

milk was mostly

water paw crumbled the toast into his

soup plate

this toasted bread is every bit as good

as crackers he told ma

i don’t know but better laura enjoyed

the good soup

but she could not stop thinking of that

dark cloud coming up

she could not stop listening for the

wind that she knew would soon come

it came with a shriek the windows

rattled and the house

shook she must be a daisy paw said

he went to the window but he could not

see out snow came on the wind from the

sky

snow rose from the hard drifts as the

wind cut them away

it all met in the whirling air and

swirled madly

the sky the sunshine the town were gone

lost in that blinding dance of snow

the house was alone again laura thought

the train can’t come now come girls mo

said we’ll get these dishes out of the

way and then we’ll open our papers and

have a cozy afternoon

is there coal enough more laura asked

paul looked at the fire

it will last till supper time he said

and then will burn hay

frost was freezing up the window panes

and the room was cold near the walls

near the stove the light was too dim for

reading

when the dishes were washed and put away

moss set the lamp on the red checked

tablecloth

and lighted it there was only a little

kerosene in the bowl where the wick

coiled but it gave a warm and cheery

light

laura opened the bundle of youth’s

companions and she and carrie looked

eagerly at the wealth of

stories printed on the smooth white

paper

you girls choose a story ma said and i

will read it out loud so we can all

enjoy it together

so close together between the stove and

the bright table they listened to mars

reading the story in her soft clear

voice

the story took them all far away from

the stormy cold and dark

when she had finished that one ma read a

second

and a third that was enough for one day

they must save some for another time

aren’t you glad we saved those wonderful

stories for christmas day mary sighed

happily

and they were the whole afternoon had

gone so quickly

already it was chore time when paul came

back from the stable

he stayed sometime in the lean-to and

came in at last with his arms full of

sticks

here is your breakfast fuel caroline he

said laying his arm full down by

the stove good hard sticks of hay

i guess they will burn all right sticks

of hay

laura exclaimed that’s right laura

paul spread his hands in the warmth

above the stove

i’m glad that haze in the lean-to i

couldn’t carry it in through the wind

that’s blowing now

unless i brought it in one bale at a

time in my teeth

the hay was in sticks paw had somehow

twisted and knotted it tightly till each

stick was almost as hard as wood

sticks of hay ma left what won’t you

think of

next trust you charles to find a way

you were good at that yourself paul

smiled at her

for supper there were hot boiled

potatoes and a slice of bread apiece

with salt that was the last baking of

bread

but there were still beans in the sack

and a few turnips

there was still hot tea with sugar and

grace had her cup of

cambric tea made with hot water because

there was no more milk

while they were eating the lamp began to

flicker

with all its might the flame pulled

itself up

drawing the last drop of kerosene up the

wick

then it fainted down and desperately

tried again

ma leaned over and blew it out the dark

came

in loud with the roar and the shrieking

of the storm

the fire is dying anyway so we may as

well go to bed

moss said gently christmas day

was over laura lay in bed

and listened to the winds blowing louder

and

louder they sounded like the pack of

wolves

howling around the little house on the

prairie long ago when she was small

and paul had carried her in his arms

and there was the deeper howl of the

great buffalo wolf that she and carrie

had met on the bank of silver lake

she started trembling when she heard the

scream of the panther in the creek bed

in indian territory

but she knew it was only the wind now

she heard the indian war hoops when the

indians were dancing their war dances

all through the horrible nights by the

verdigris river

the war hoops died away and she heard

crowds of people muttering

then shrieking and fleeing screaming

away from

fierce yells chasing them but she knew

she heard only the voices of the

blizzard winds she pulled the bed covers

over her head

and covered her ears tightly to shut out

the sounds

but still she heard them

[Music]

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