DANCE AT GRANDPAS Little House in the Big Woods By Laura Ingalls Wilder

dance at grandpa’s

monday morning everybody got up early in

a hurry to get started to grandpa’s

paul wanted to be there to help with the

work of gathering

and boiling the sap ma would help

grandma and the ants make good things to

eat for all the people who were coming

to the dance

breakfast was eaten and the dishes

washed and the beds made by lamplight

pa packed his fiddle carefully in its

box and put it in the big sled

that was already waiting at the gate the

air was cold and frosty

and the light was gray when laura and

mary and ma

with baby carry were tucked in snug and

warm under the robes on the straw in the

bottom of the sled

the horses shook their heads and pranced

making the sleigh bells ring merrily and

away they went

on the road through the big woods to

grandpa’s

the snow was damp and smooth in the road

so the sled slipped quickly over it and

the big trees seemed to be hurrying by

on either side after a while

there was sunshine in the woods and the

air

sparkled the long streaks of yellow

light

lay between the shadows of the tree

trunks and the snow

was colored faintly pink all the shadows

were thin

and blue and every little curve of snow

drifts

and every little track in the snow had a

shadow

paw showed laura the tracks of the wild

creatures and the snow at the sides of

the road the small

leaping tracks of cottontail rabbits the

tiny tracks of field mice

and the feather stitching tracks of

snowbirds

there were larger tracks like dogs

tracks

where foxes had run and there were the

tracks of a deer that had bounded away

into the woods

the air was growing warmer already and

paw said

the snow wouldn’t last long it did not

seem long

until they were sweeping into the

clearing at grandpa’s house

all the sleigh bells jingling grandma

came to the door and stood there smiling

calling to them to come in

she said that grandpa and uncle george

were already at work out in the maple

woods

so paul went to help them while laura

and mary

and ma with baby carrie in her arms went

into grandma’s house and took off their

wraps

laura loved grandma’s house it was much

larger than their house at home

there was one great big room and then

there was a little room that belonged to

uncle george

and there was another room for the ants

aunt dosia

and aunt ruby and then there was the

kitchen with a

big cook stove it was fun to run the

whole length of the big room from the

large fireplace at one end

all the way to grandma’s bed under the

window in the other end

the floor was made of wide thick slabs

that grandpa had hewed from the logs

with his axe

the floor was smoothed all over

and scrubbed clean and white and the big

bed under the window was soft with

feathers the day seemed very short while

laura and mary played in the big room

and ma helped grandma and the ants in

the kitchen

the men had taken their dinners to the

maple woods

so for dinner they did not set the table

but ate cold venison sandwiches and

drank milk

but for supper grandma made hasty

pudding

she stood by the stove sifting the

yellow cornmeal from her fingers

into a kettle of boiling salted water

she stirred the water all the time with

a big wooden spoon

and sifted in the meal until the kettle

was full

of a thick yellow bubbling mass then she

set it on the back of the stove where it

would cook

slowly it smelled good

the whole house smelled good with the

sweet and spicy smells from the

kitchen and the smell of the hickory

logs burning with clear bright flames in

the fireplace

and the smell of a clove apple beside

grandma’s mending basket on the table

the sunshine came in through the

sparkling window panes and everything

was

large and spacious and clean

at suppertime paw and grandpa came from

the woods

each hat on his shoulders a wooden yoke

that grandpa

had made it was cut to fit around their

necks in the back

and hollowed out to fit over their

shoulders

from each end hung a chain with a hook

and on each hook hung a big wooden

bucket full of hot

maple syrup paw and grandpa had brought

the syrup from the big cattle in the

woods

they steadied the buckets with their

hands but the weight

hung from the yolks on their shoulders

grandma made room for a huge brass

kettle on the stove

paw and grandpa poured the syrup into

the brass kettle

and it was so large that it held all the

syrup from the four big buckets

then uncle george came with a smaller

bucket of syrup

and everybody ate the hot hasty pudding

with maple syrup

for supper uncle george was home from

the army

he wore his blue army coat with the

brass buttons

and he had bold merry blue eyes

he was big and broad and he walked with

a swagger

laura looked at him all the time she was

eating her hasty pudding

because she’d heard paul say to ma that

he was

wild george is wild

since he came back from the war paul had

said

shaking his head as if he was sorry but

it couldn’t be helped

uncle george had run away to be a

drummer boy in the army when he was

14 years old laura had never seen a wild

man before

she did not know whether she was afraid

of uncle george or not

when supper was over uncle george went

outside the door

and blew his army bugle long and loud

it made a lovely ringing sound far

away through the big woods the woods

were dark and silent

and the trees stood still as though they

were listening

then from very far away the sound

came back thin and clear

and small like a little bugle answering

the big one

listen uncle george said isn’t that

pretty

laura looked at him but she did not say

anything

and when uncle george stopped blowing

the bugle she ran

into the house ma and grandma cleared

away the dishes and washed them and

swept the hearth

while aunt dosha and aunt ruby made

themselves pretty in their room

laura sat on their bed and watched them

comb out their long hair

and part it carefully they parted it

from their foreheads to the napes of

their necks

and then they parted it across from ear

to ear

they braided their back hair in long

braids

and then they did the braids up

carefully in big knots

they had washed their hands and faces

and scrubbed them well with soap

at the wash basin on the bench in the

kitchen they had used

store soap not the slimy soft dark brown

soap that grandma made and kept in a big

jar to use for common every day

they fussed for a long time with their

front hair

holding up the lamp and looking at their

hair and the little looking glass that

hung on the log

wall they brushed it so smooth on each

side of the straight white

part that it shone like silk in the lamp

light

the little puff on each side shown two

and the ends were coiled and twisted

neatly under the big knot

in the back then they pulled on their

beautiful white stockings that they had

knit a fine cotton thread

in lacy open work patterns and they

buttoned up their best shoes

they helped each other with their

corsets aunt dosha pulled as hard as she

could on aunt ruby’s corset strings

and then aunt dosha hung onto the foot

of the bed while aunt ruby pulled on

hers

said breathless pull harder

so aunt ruby braced her feet and pulled

harder

aunt dosia kept measuring her waist with

her hands and at last she gasped

i guess that’s the best you can do

she said caroline says charles could

span her waist with his hands when they

were married

caroline was laura’s ma and when she

heard this

lara felt proud then aunt ruby

and aunt dosha put on their flannel

petticoats

and their plain petticoats and their

stiff

starched white petticoats with knitted

lace all around the flounces and they

put on their beautiful dresses

aunt docia’s dress was a sprigged print

dark blue with sprigs of red flowers and

green

leaves thick upon it the basque was

buttoned down the front with black

buttons which looked

so exactly like juicy big blackberries

that

laura wanted to taste them aunt ruby’s

dress

was wine colored calico covered all over

with a feathery pattern

in lighter wine color it buttoned

with gold colored buttons and every

button

had a little castle and a tree carved on

it

and dosha’s pretty white collar was

fastened in front with a large round

cameo pin

which had a lady’s head on it but aunt

ruby pinned her collar

with a red rose made of sealing wax

she had made it herself on the head of a

darning needle

which had a broken eye so it couldn’t be

used as a needle anymore

they looked lovely sailing over the

floor so

smoothly with their large round skirts

their little waists rose up tight and

slender in the middle

and their cheeks were red and their eyes

bright under the wings of

shining sleek hair ma was beautiful

too and heard dark green delaying with

the little leaves that looked like

strawberries scattered over it

the skirt was ruffled and flounced and

draped

and trimmed with knots of dark green

ribbon

and nestling at her throat was a gold

pin

the pin was flat as long and as wide as

laura’s two biggest fingers

and it was carved all over and scalloped

on the edges

ma looked so rich and fine that laura

was afraid to

touch her people had begun to come

they were coming on foot through the

snowy woods with their lanterns and they

were driving up to the door in sleds and

in wagons

sleigh bells were jingling all the time

the big room filled with tall boots and

swishing skirts and

ever so many babies were lying in rows

on grandma’s bed

uncle james and aunt libby had come with

their little girl

whose name was laura ingalls too the two

lauras leaned on the bed and looked at

the babies

and the other lara said her baby was

prettier than baby carrie

she is not either laura said carrie’s

the prettiest baby

in the whole world no she isn’t

the other laura said yes she is

no she isn’t ma came sailing over in her

fine delane

and said severely laura so neither laura

said anything more

uncle george was blowing his bugle it

made a loud

ringing sound in the big room and uncle

george

joked and laughed and danced blowing the

bugle

then paw took his fiddle out of its box

and began to play

and all the couples stood in squares on

the floor and began to dance when paul

called the figures

grand right and left paul called out and

all the

skirts began to swirl and all the boots

began to stamp

the circles went round and round all the

skirts going one way and all the boots

going the other way

and hands clasping and parting high up

in the air

swing your partner’s paw called and each

gent bow to the lady on the left

they all did as paul said laura watched

ma’s skirt swaying and her little waist

bending and her dark head bowing and she

thought ma

was the loveliest dancer in the world

the fiddle was singing oh you buffalo

gals aren’t you coming up tonight aren’t

you coming out tonight aren’t you coming

out tonight oh you buffalo gals aren’t

you coming out tonight to

dance by the light of the moon the

little circles

and the big circles went round and round

and the skirts swirled and the boots

stamped and the partners

bowed and separated and met and bowed

again

in the kitchen grandma was all by

herself

stirring the boiling syrup in the big

brass kettle

she stirred in time to the music by the

back door was a pail of clean snow

and sometimes grandma took a spoonful of

syrup from the kettle

and poured it on some of the snow in a

saucer

lara watched the dancers again paul was

playing

the irish washerwoman now he called

dosie ladies docido come down heavy on

your heel and toe

laura could not keep her feet still

uncle george looked at her and laughed

then he caught it by the hand and did a

little dance with her in the corner

she liked uncle george everybody was

laughing over by the kitchen door

they were dragging grandma in from the

kitchen grandma’s dress was beautiful

too a dark blue calico with autumn

colored

leaves scattered over it her cheeks were

pink from laughing and she was shaking

her head

the wooden spoon was in her hand i can’t

leave the syrup

she said but paul began to play the

arkansas traveler

and everybody began to clap in time to

the music

so grandma bowed to them all and did a

few steps by herself

she could dance as prettily as any of

them

the clapping almost drowned the music of

paw’s fiddle

suddenly uncle george did a pigeon wing

and bowing low before grandma he began

to jig

grandma tossed her spoon to somebody she

put her hands on her hips and faced

uncle george and

everybody shouted grandma was jigging

laura clapped her hands in time to the

music with all the other clapping hands

the fiddle saying is it had never sung

before

grandma’s eyes were snapping and her

cheeks were red and

underneath her skirts her heels were

clicking as fast as the thumping of

uncle george’s boots

everybody was excited uncle george kept

on jigging

and grandma kept on facing him jigging

too the fiddle did not stop

uncle george began to breathe loudly and

he wiped sweat off his forehead

grandma’s eyes twinkled you can’t beat

her george

somebody shouted uncle george jigged

faster

he jigged twice as fast as he’d been

jigging

so did grandma everybody cheered again

all the women were laughing and clapping

their hands and all the men were teasing

george

george did not care but he did not have

breath enough to laugh

he was jigging paw’s blue eyes were

snapping and

sparking he was standing up watching

george and grandma and the bow

danced over the fiddle strings laura

jumped up and down

and squealed and clapped her hands

grandma kept on jigging

her hands were on her hips and her chin

was up and she was smiling

george kept on jigging but his boots did

not thump as loudly as they had thumped

it first

grandma’s heels kept on

clickity-clacking daily

a drop of sweat dripped off george’s

forehead and shone on his cheek

all at once he threw up both arms and

gasped

i’m beat he stopped jigging

everybody made a terrific noise shouting

and yelling and stamping cheering

grandma

grandma jig just a little minute more

then she stopped

she laughed and gasps her eyes sparkled

just like paws when he laughed

george was laughing too and wiping his

forehead on his sleeve

suddenly grandma stopped laughing she

turned and ran as fast as she could into

the kitchen

the fiddle had stopped playing all the

women were talking at once and all the

men teasing george

but everybody was still for a minute

when grandma looked like that

then she came to the door between the

kitchen and the big room and said

the syrup is waxing come and help

yourselves

then everybody began to talk and laugh

again

they all hurried to the kitchen for

plates and outdoors to fill the plates

with snow

the kitchen door was open and the cold

air came in

outdoors the stars were frosty in the

sky

and the air nipped laura’s cheeks and

nose her breath was like smoke

she and the other lara and all the other

children scooped up

clean snow with their plates then they

went back into the crowded kitchen

grandma stood by the brass kettle and

with the big wooden spoon

she poured hot syrup on each plate of

snow

it cooled into soft candy and as fast as

it cooled

they ate it they could eat all they

wanted

from maple sugar never hurt anybody

there was plenty of syrup in the kettle

and plenty of snow outdoors as soon as

they ate one plate full

they filled their plates with snow again

and grandma poured more syrup on it

when they had eaten the soft maple candy

until they could eat no more of it

then they helped themselves from the

long table loaded with

pumpkin pies and dried berry pies

and cookies and cakes it was salt rising

bread too

and cold boiled pork and pickles

ooh how sour the pickles were

they all ate till they could hold no

more

and then they began to dance again but

grandma watched the syrup in the kettle

many times she took a little bit of it

out into a saucer

and stirred it round and round then she

shook her head and poured the syrup back

into the kettle

the other room was loud and merry with

the music of the fiddle and the noise of

the dancing

at last as grandma stirred the syrup in

the saucer

turned into little grains like sand and

grandma

called quick girls it’s raining

aunt ruby and aunt dosia and ma left the

dance and came running

they set out pans big pans and little

pans

and as fast as grandma could fill them

with syrup they set out more

they set the filled ones away to cool

into maple sugar

then grandma said now bring the patty

pans for the children

there was a patty pan or at least a

broken cup or a saucer

for every little girl and boy they all

watched anxiously while grandma ladled

out the syrup

perhaps it would not be enough then

somebody would have to be unselfish and

polite

there was just enough syrup to go round

the last scrapings of the brass kettle

exactly filled the very last patty pan

nobody was left out the fiddling and the

dancing went

on and on laura and the other lara stood

around and watched the dancers

then they sat down on the floor in a

corner and watched

the dancing was so pretty and the music

so gay

that laura knew she could never get

tired of it

all the beautiful skirts went swirling

by

and the boots went stamping and the

fiddle kept on singing

gaily then laura woke up and she was

lying across the foot of grandma’s bed

it was morning ma and grandma

and baby carrie were in the bed paw and

grandpa

were sleeping rolled up in blankets on

the floor by the fireplace

mary was nowhere in sight she was

sleeping with aunt docia and aunt ruby

in their bed

soon everybody was getting up there were

pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast

and then paul brought the horses and

sled to the door

he helped ma and carrie in while grandpa

picked up

mary and uncle george picked up laura

and they tossed them over the edge of

the sled into the straw paw tucked in

the robes around them

and grandpa and grandma and uncle george

stood calling

goodbye goodbye as they rode away into

the big woods

going home the sun was

warm and the trotting horses threw up

bits of muddy snow with their hooves

behind the sled laura could see their

footprints

and every footprint had gone through the

thin snow into the

mud before night paw said

we’ll see the last of the sugar snow