THE DEER IN THE WOOD Little House in the Big Woods By Laura Ingalls Wilder

the deer in the wood

the grass was dry and withered and the

cows must be taken out of the woods

and kept in the barn to be fed all the

bright colored leaves became dull brown

when the cold fall

rains began there was no more plain

under the trees

but paul was in the house when it rained

and he began again to play the fiddle

after supper

then the rain stopped the weather grew

colder

in the early mornings everything

sparkled with frost

the days were growing short and a little

fire burned all day in the cook stove to

keep the house warm

winter was not far away the attic and

the cellar were full of good things once

more

and laura and mary had started to make

patchwork

quilts everything was beginning to be

snug and cozy again one night when he

came in from doing the chores

paul said that after supper he would go

to his deer lick

and watch for a deer there had been no

fresh meat in the little house in spring

but now the fawns were grown up and paul

would go hunting again

paw had made a deer lick in an open

place in the woods

with trees nearby in which he could sit

to watch it

a deer lick was a place where the deer

came to get salt

when they found a salty place in the

ground they came there to lick it

and that was called a deer lick paw had

made one by sprinkling salt over the

ground

after supper paul took his gun and went

into the woods

and laura and mary went to sleep without

any stories or music

as soon as they woke in the morning they

ran to the window

but there was no deer hanging in the

trees paul had never

before gone out to get a deer and come

home without one

laura and mary did not know what to

think

all day paul was busy banking the little

house in the barn with dead leaves and

straw

held down by stones to keep out the cold

the weather grew colder all day and that

night

there was once more a fire on the hearth

and the windows were shut

tight and chinked for the winter after

supper

paul took laura on his knee while mary

sat

close in her little chair and paul said

now i’ll tell you why you had no fresh

meat to eat today

when i went out to the deer lick i

climbed up

into a big oak tree i found a place on a

branch where i was comfortable and could

watch the deer lick

i was near enough to shoot any animal

that came to it

and my gun was loaded and ready on my

knee

there i sat and waited for the moon to

rise and light the clearing

i was a little tired from chopping wood

all day yesterday and i must have fallen

asleep

for i found myself opening my eyes

the big round moon was just rising

i could see it between the bare branches

of the trees low in the sky

and right against it i saw a deer

standing

his head was up and he was listening

his great branching horn stood out above

his head

he was dark against the moon it was a

perfect shot but he was so

beautiful he looked so strong and free

and

wild that i couldn’t kill him

i sat there and looked at him

until he bounded away into the dark

woods

then i remembered that ma and my little

girls were waiting for me to bring home

some good fresh venison

i made up my mind that next time i would

shoot

after a while a big bear came lumbering

out into the open

he was so fat from feasting on berries

and roots and

grubs all summer that he was nearly as

large as

two bears his head swayed from side to

side

as he went on all fours across the clear

space in the moonlight

until he came to a rotten log he smelled

it

and listened then he parted apart

and sniffed among the broken pieces

eating up the fat

white grubs then he stood up on his hind

legs

perfectly still looking all around him

he seemed to be suspicious that

something was wrong

he was trying to see or smell what it

was

he was a perfect mark to shoot at but i

was so much

interested in watching him and the woods

were so

peaceful in the moonlight that i forgot

all about my gun

i did not even think of shooting him

until he was waddling away into the

woods

well this will never do i thought i’ll

never get any meat this way

i settled myself in the tree and waited

again

this time i was determined to shoot the

next game i saw

the moon had risen higher and the

moonlight was bright in the little open

place

all around it the shadows were dark

among the trees

after a long while a doe and her

yearling fawn came

stepping daintily out of the shadows

they were not afraid at all

they walked over to the place where i’d

sprinkled the salt

and they both licked up a little of it

then they raised their heads

and looked at each other the fawns

stepped over and stood beside the doe

they stood there together looking at the

woods in the moonlight

their large eyes were shining and soft

i just sat there looking at them until

they walked away among the shadows

then i climbed down out of the tree and

came home

laura whispered in his ear i’m glad

you didn’t shoot them mary said

we can eat bread and butter paul lifted

mary up

out of her chair and hugged them both

together

you’re my good girls he said

and now it’s bedtime run along while i

get my fiddle

when laura and mary had said their

prayers and were tucked snugly under the

trundle bed’s covers

paul was sitting in the fire light with

the fiddle

ma had blown out the lamp because she

did not need its light

on the other side of the hearth she was

swaying gently in her rocking chair

and her knitting needles flashed in and

out above the sock she was knitting

the long winter evenings of fire light

and music had come again

[Music]

wailed while paul was singing oh

susannah

don’t you cry for me i’m going to

california the gold

then paul began to play again the song

about old grimes

but he did not sing the words he’d sung

when ma was making cheese

these words were different paul’s strong

sweet voice was softly singing

shall

[Music]

to hold shall

old acquaintance be

forgot and the days

[Music]

shall

[Music]

when the fiddle had stopped singing

laura called out softly

what are days of old laying sein paw

they are the days of a long time ago

laura

paul said go to sleep now

but laura lay awake a little while

listening to pause fiddle softly playing

into the lonely sound of the wind and

the big woods

she looked at paul sitting on the bench

by the hearth

the fire light gleaming on his brown

hair and beard and

glistening on the honey brown fiddle she

looked at ma

gently rocking and knitting she thought

to herself

this is now she was glad that the cozy

house

and paw and ma and the fire light

and the music were now

they could not be forgotten she thought

because now is now it can never be

a long time ago