Book 6 22. COLD AND DARK Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

cold and dark

that blizzard seemed never to end it

paused sometimes

only to roar again quickly and more

furiously out of the northwest

three days and nights of yelling shrill

winds

and roaring fury beat at the dark cold

house and

ceaselessly scoured it with ice sand

then the sun shone out from morning till

noon perhaps

and the dark anger of winds and icy snow

came again

sometimes in the night half awake and

cold

laura half dreamed that the roof was

scoured thin

horribly the great blizzard large as the

sky

bent over it and scoured with an

enormous invisible cloth

round and round on the paper-thin roof

till a hole wore through

and squealing chuckling laughing a deep

ha-ha

the blizzard whirled in barely in time

to save herself

laura jumped awake then she did not dare

sleep again

she lay still and small in the dark and

all around her the black darkness of

night

that had always been restful and kind to

her

was now a horror she had never been

afraid of the dark

i am not afraid of the dark she said to

herself

over and over but she felt that the dark

would catch her with claws and teeth if

it could hear her move or breathe

inside the walls under the roof where

the nails were clumps of frost

even under the covers where she huddled

the dark was

crouched and listening daytimes were not

so bad as the nights

the dark was thinner then and ordinary

things were in it

a dark twilight filled the kitchen and

the lean too

mary and carrie took turns at the coffee

mill that must never stop grinding

ma made the bread and swept and cleaned

and fed the fire

in the lean two laura and paw twisted

hay till their cold hands could not hold

the hay to twist it

and must be warmed at the stove

the hay fire could not keep the cold out

of the kitchen

but close to the stove the air was warm

mary’s place was in front of the oven

with grace in her lap

carey stood behind the stovepipe and

mars chair was on the other side of the

stove

paw and laura leaned over the

stovehearth into the warmth that rose

upward

their hands were red and swollen the

skin was cold

and covered with cuts made by the sharp

sloohy

the hay was cutting away the cloth of

their coats on the left side and along

the underneath of their left coat

sleeves

ma patched the warm places but the hay

cut away the patches

for breakfast there was brown bread ma

toasted it

crisp and hot in the oven and she let

them dip it in their tea

it was thoughtful of you charles to lay

in such a supply of tea

she said there was still plenty of tea

and there was still sugar for

it for the second meal of the day

she boiled 12 potatoes in their jackets

little grace needed only one the others

had two apiece

and ma insisted that paw take the extra

one they’re not big potatoes charles she

argued and you must keep up your

strength

anyway eat it to save it we don’t want

it do we girls

no ma they all said no thank you part

truly i don’t want it

this was true they were not really

hungry

paul was hungry his eyes looked eagerly

at the brown bread and the steaming

potatoes when he came from struggling

along the clothesline in the storm

but the others were only tired tired of

the winds and the cold

and the dark tired of brown bread and

potatoes

tired and listless and dull

every day laura found time to study a

little

when enough hay was twisted to last for

an hour

she sat down by mary between the stove

and the table

and opened the school books but she felt

dull

and stupid she could not remember

history

and she leaned her head on her hand and

looked at a problem on her slate without

seeing how to solve it or wanting to

come come girls we must not mope ma said

straighten up laura and carrie do your

lessons briskly and then we’ll have an

entertainment

houma kerry asked get your lessons first

said ma when study time was over

ma took the independent fifth reader now

she said let’s see how much you can

repeat from memory

you first mary what shall it be

the speech of regulus said mary now turn

the leaves until she found it

and mary began ye doubtless thought for

ye judge of roman virtue by your own

that i would break my plighted oath

rather than returning

brook your vengeance mary could repeat

the whole of that splendid defiance

here in your capital do i defy you have

i not conquered your armies

fired your towns and dragged your

generals at my chariot wheels since

first my youthful arms could wield a

spear

the kitchen seemed to grow larger and

warmer

the blizzard winds were not as strong as

those words

you did that perfectly mary mark praised

her

now laura old tubal kane

laura began and the verses lifted her to

her feet

you had to stand up and let your voice

ring out with the hammer strokes of

tubal cane

old tubal kane was a man of might in the

days when the earth was young

by the fierce red light of his furnace

bright

the strokes of his hammer rung paw came

in before laura reached the end

go on go on he said that warms me as

much as the fire

so laura went on while pau got out of

his coat that was white and stiff with

snow driven into it

and leaned over the fire to melt the

snow frozen in his eyebrows

and saying hurrah for tubal kane our

stunt good friend is he

and for the plowshare and the plow to

him our prey shall be

but while oppression lifts its head on a

tyrant would-be lord

though we may thank him for the plow we

will not forget the sword

you remembered every word correctly

laura ma said shutting the book

carrie and grace shall have their turns

tomorrow

it was time then to twist more hay but

while laura shivered and twisted the

sharp stuff in the cold

she thought of more verses tomorrow

afternoon was something to look forward

to

the fifth reader was full of beautiful

speeches and poems and she wanted to

remember perfectly as many of them

as mary remembered the blizzard stopped

sometimes

the whirling wind straightened out and

steadied the air cleared above blowing

snow

and paw set out to haul hay

then laura and ma worked quickly to do

the washing and hang it out in the cold

to freeze dry

no one knew how soon the blizzard would

come again

at any moment the cloud might rise and

come faster than any horses could run

paul was not safe out on the prairie

away from the town

sometimes the blizzard stopped for half

a day sometimes the sun shone from

morning to sunset

and the blizzard came back with the dark

on such days paul hauled

three loads of hay until he came back

and put david in the stable

laura and ma worked hard and silently

looking often at the sky and listening

to the wind

and carey silently watched the northwest

through the peephole that she made on

the window

paul often said that he could not have

managed without david

he is such a good horse pause said i did

not know a horse could be so good and

patient

when david fell through the snow he

always stood still

until paul shoveled him out then quickly

and patiently he hauled the sled around

the hole

and went on until he fell through the

snow crust again

i wish i had some oats or corn to give

him pau said

when the roaring and shrieking winds

came back and the scouring snow

whirled again paul said well there’s hay

enough to last a while

thanks to david the clothes line

was there to guide him to the stable and

back there was hay

and still some wheat and potatoes and

while the storm winds blew

paul was safe at home and in the

afternoons

mary and laura and carrie recited even

grace knew

mary’s little lamb and bo peep has lost

her sheep

laura liked to see grace’s blue eyes and

carries shine with excitement when she

told them

listen my children and you shall hear of

the midnight ride of paul revere

on the 18th of april in 75

hardly a man is now alive who remembers

that famous day and year

she and carrie both love to repeat in

concert

the swans nest little ellie sits alone

mid the beaches of a meadow by a stream

side on the grass

and the trees are showering down doubles

of their leaves in

shadow on her shining hair and face

the air was warm and quiet there the

grass was warm in the sunshine the clear

water saying it song to itself

and the leaves softly murmured the

meadows insects

drowsily hummed while they were there

with little ellie

laura and carrie almost forgot the cold

they hardly heard the winds and the

whirling hard snows scouring the walls

one still morning laura came downstairs

to find maul looking surprised and paul

laughing go look out the back door he

told laura

she ran through the lean-to and opened

the back door

there was a rough low tunnel going into

shadows in gray white snow

its walls and its floor were snow and

its snow

roof solidly filled the top of the

doorway

i had to go from my way to the stable

this morning paw explained

but what did you do with the snow laura

asked

oh i made the tunnel as low as i could

get through

i dug the snow out and pushed the back

of me and up through a hole that i

blocked with the last of it

there’s nothing like snow for keeping

out the wind paul rejoiced

as long as the snow bank stands i can do

my chores and comfort how deep is the

snow

ma wanted to know i can’t say it’s piled

up considerably deeper than the lean two

roof paw

answered you don’t mean to say this

house is buried in snow

ma exclaimed a good thing if it is paul

replied you notice the kitchen is warmer

than it has been this winter

laura ran upstairs she scratched a

peephole on the window and put her eyes

to it

she could hardly believe them main

street was level with her eyes

across the glittering snow she could see

the blank square top of hawthorne’s

false front sticking up like a short

piece of solid board fence

she heard a gay shout and then she saw

horses hooves trotting rapidly before

her eyes

eight grey hoofs with slender brown

ankles swiftly bending and straightening

passed quickly by and then a long sled

with two pairs of boots standing on it

she crouched down to look upward to the

peephole but the sled was gone

she saw only the sky sharp with sunlight

that stabbed her

eyes she ran down to the warm kitchen to

tell what she had seen

the wilder boy’s paw said they’re

hauling hay

how do you know paw laura asked him i

only saw the horse’s feet and the boots

there’s no one in town but those two in

me that dares go out of town said paw

folks are afraid a blizzard will come up

those wilder boys are hauling in all

their slough hay from big slough and

selling it for three dollars a load to

burn

three dollars ma exclaimed yes

and fair enough for the risk they take

they’re making a good thing out of it

wish i could but they’ve got coal to

burn

i’ll be glad if we have enough hay to

last us through i wasn’t counting on it

for our winter’s fuel

they went by as high as the houses laura

exclaimed

she was still excited it was strange to

see horses hooves and a sled

and boots in front of your eyes as a

little animal

a gopher for instance might see them

it’s a wonder they don’t sink in the

drifts

ma said oh no paul was wolfing his toast

and drinking his tea rapidly

they won’t sink these winds pack the

snow as hard as a rock

david’s shoes don’t even make tracks on

it the only troubles

where the grass is lodged and loose

underneath

he got into his wraps in a hurry those

boys have got the start of me this

morning

i was digging the tunnel now i’ve got to

dig david out of the stable

got to haul hay while the sun shines he

joked as he shut the door behind

him he’s feeling chipper because he’s

got that tunnel said ma

it’s a blessing he can do the chores in

some comfort out of the wind

that day they could not watch the sky

from the kitchen window

so little cold came through the snow

that laura led mary

into the lean-to and taught her how to

twist hay

mary had wanted to learn but the lean-to

had been too cold

it took her some time because she could

not see how laura twisted and held the

strands and tucked in the ends

but at last she did it well they stopped

to warm themselves only a few times

while they twisted the whole day’s

supply of haysticks

then the kitchen was so warm that they

need not crowd around the stove

the house was very still the only sounds

were the little sounds of ma

and mary rocking the slate pencil on the

slate

the tea kettle’s pleasant hum and their

own low voices speaking

what a blessing this deep snow drift is

ma said

but they could not watch the sky

watching it did no good

if the low gray cloud was swiftly rising

they could not stop it

they could not help paw he would see the

cloud and reach shelter as quickly as he

could

laura thought this many times but just

the same she hurried upstairs through

the cold to peep from the window

ma and carrie looked at her quickly when

she came down

and she always answered them out loud so

that mary would know

the sky’s clear and not a thing is

stirring but millions of glitters on the

snow i don’t believe there’s a breath of

wind

that afternoon paul dragged haye through

the tunnel to cram the lean too

full he had dug the tunnel past the

stable door so that david could get out

and beyond the stable he had turned the

tunnel at an angle to check the winds

that might blow into it

i never saw such weather he said it must

be all of 40 degrees below zero and not

a breath of air stirring

the whole world seems frozen solid

i hope this cold holds going through

that tunnel is no chore at all to do the

chores

next day was exactly the same the

stillness

and the dusk and the warmth seemed to be

a changeless dream

going on forever the same like the

clocks ticking

laura jumped in her chair when the clock

cleared its throat before it struck

don’t be so nervous laura ma murmured as

if she were half asleep

they did not recite that day they did

not do anything

they just sat the night was still

too but morning woke them with a

howling fury the winds had come again

and the lashing whirl of snow

well the tunnel’s going fast paw said

when he came into breakfast

his eyebrows were frozen white with snow

again and his wraps were stiff with it

cold was pressing the warmth back again

to the stove

i did hope my tunnel would last through

one of these onslaughts anyway

gosh dang this blizzard it only lets go

long enough to spit on its hands

don’t swear charles ma snapped at him

she clapped her hand to her mouth in

horror oh charles i’m sorry

she apologized i didn’t mean to snap at

you

but this wind blowing and blowing her

voice

died away and she stood listening

i know caroline paul answered i know

just how it makes you feel it tires you

out

i’ll tell you what after breakfast we’ll

read for a while about livingston’s

africa

it’s too bad i’ve burned so much hay

this morning charles mars said

i’ve had to burn more trying to get the

place warm

never mind there’s no trick to twist

more paul replied

i’ll help pa laura offered we’ve got all

day for it

paul said everything is snug at the

stable till night we’ll twist hay first

then we’ll read

grace began to whimper my feet’s cold

for shame grace a big girl like you go

warm your feet

laura told her come sit on my lap and

warn them

mary said feeling her way to her rocking

chair before the oven

after laura and paul had twisted a great

pile of hay sticks and stacked them by

the stove

carrie brought paw his big green book

please read about the lion’s paw she

asked him we can play the wind as lions

roaring

i’m afraid i’ll have to have a light

caroline paul said

this print is small ma lighted the

button lamp and set it by him

now he said this is a jungle night in

africa

the flickering light here is from our

campfire wild animals are all around us

yowling and squealing and roaring

lions and tigers and hyenas and i guess

a hippopotamus or two

they won’t come anywhere near us because

they’re afraid of the fire

you hear big leaves rasping too and

queer birds squawking it’s a thick

black hot night with big stars overhead

now i’m going to read what happens he

began to read

laura tried to listen but she felt

stupid and numb

paw’s voice slid away into the ceaseless

noises of the storm

she felt that the blizzard must stop

before she could do anything before she

could even listen or think

but it would never stop it had been

blowing forever

she was tired she was tired of the cold

and the dark

tired of brown bread and potatoes tired

of twisting hay and grinding wheat

filling the stove and washing dishes and

making beds and going to sleep and

waking up

she was tired of the blizzard winds

there was no tune in them anymore

only a confusion of sound beating on her

ears

paw she spoke suddenly interrupting his

reading

won’t you play the fiddle paul looked at

her in surprise

then he laid down the book why yes laura

he said if you want to hear the fiddle

i’ll play it

he opened and shut his hands and rubbed

the fingers while laura brought the

fiddle box from its warm shelter on the

floor behind the stove

paul rosened the bow tucked a fiddle

under his chin

and touched the strings he looked at

laura

play bonnie dune laura said and pop

played and sang

how can ye bloom

fresh and fair but

every note from the fiddle was a very

little wrong

pause fingers were clumsy the music

dragged and a fiddle string snapped

my fingers are too stiff and thick from

being out in the cold so much i

i can’t play pause spoke as if he were

ashamed

he laid the fiddle in its box put it

away laura

until some other time he said i wish

you’d help me anyway charles

ma said she took the coffee mill from

mary and emptied the ground wheat from

its little drawer

she filled the small hopper with kernels

and handed the mill to paw

i’ll need another grinding to make the

bread for dinner she told him

ma took the covered dish of souring from

its warm place under the stove

she stirred it briskly then measured two

cupfuls into a pan

added salt and salaratus and the flower

that mary and carrie had ground

then she took the mill from paw and

added the flower he had made

that’s just enough she said thank you

charles

i’d better be doing the chores now

before it gets too dark paul said

i’ll have a hot meal ready and waiting

by the time you come in

ma reminded him he put on his wraps and

went out into the storm

lara listened to the winds while she

stared at the blank window without

seeing it

the worst thing that had happened was

that paw could not play the fiddle

if she had not asked him to play he

might not have known that he could not

do it

ma with carrie crowded him beside her

sat in her rocking chair by the stove

opposite mary she held grace in her arms

and rocked slowly

softly singing to her i will sing you a

song

of that beautiful land the far away home

of the soul where no storms

ever beat on that glittering strand

while the years of eternity roll

the wailing hymn blended with the whale

of the winds

while nights settled down deepening the

dusk

of whirling snow