Book 2 8. TWO STOUT DOORS Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
two stout doors
laura felt a soft warmth on her face and
opened her eyes into morning sunshine
mary was talking to ma by the campfire
laura ran outdoors all bare inside her
nightgown
there were no wolves to be seen only
their tracks were thick around the house
and the stable
paw came whistling up the creek road he
put his gun
on its pegs and led pat and patty to the
creek to drink as usual
he had followed the wolf track so far
that he knew they were far away now
following a herd of deer the mustang
shied at the wolves tracks and pricked
their ears nervously
and pat kept her cult close at her side
but they went willingly with paw who
knew there was nothing to fear
breakfast was ready when paul came back
from the creek they all sat by the fire
and ate fried mush and prairie chicken
hash
paw said he would make a door that very
day he wanted more than a quilt between
them and the wolves next time
i have no more nails but i’ll not keep
on waiting till i can make a trip to
independence
he said a man doesn’t need nails to
build a house or make a door
after breakfast he hitched up pat and
patty and taking his axe he went to get
timber
for the door laura helped wash the
dishes and make the beds
but that day mary minded the baby laura
helped paul make the door
mary watched but laura handed him his
tools
with the saw he saw it logs to the right
length for a door
he sawed shorter lengths for cross
pieces
then with the axe he split the logs into
slabs
and smoothed them nicely he laid the
long slabs together on the ground
and placed the shorter slabs across them
then with the auger he bored holes
through the cross
pieces into the long slabs into every
hole he drove a wooden peg
that fitted tightly that made the door
it was a good oak door solid and strong
for the hinges he cut three long straps
one hinge was to be near the top of the
door one near the bottom
and one in the middle he fastened them
first to the door
in this way he laid a little piece of
wood on the door
and bored a hole through it into the
door then he doubled one end of a strap
around the little piece of wood and with
his knife
cut round holes through the strap
he laid the little piece of wood on the
door again
with the strap doubled around it and all
the holes making one hole
then laura gave him a peg and the hammer
and he drove the peg
into the hole the peg went through the
strap
and the little piece of wood and through
the strap again
and into the door that held the strap
so that it couldn’t get loose i told you
a fella doesn’t need nails
paw said when he had fastened the three
hinges to the door
he set the door in the doorway it fitted
then he pegged strips of wood to the old
slabs
on either side of the doorway to keep
the door from swinging
outward he set the door in place again
and laura stood against it to hold it
there while paul fastened the hinges to
the door frame
but before he did this he had made the
latch on the door because of course
there must be some way to keep a door
shut
this was the way he made the latch first
he hewed a short
thick piece of oak from one side of this
in the middle he cut a wide deep notch
he pegged this stick to the inside of
the door
up and down and near the edge he put the
notched side
against the door so that the notch made
a little slot
then he hewed and whittled a longer
smaller stick
this stick was small enough to slip
easily through the slot
he slid one end of it through the slot
and he pegged the other end to the door
but he did not peg it tightly the peg
was solid and firm in the door
but the hole in the stick was larger
than the peg
the only thing that held the stick on
the door was the slot
this stick was the latch it turned
easily on the peg
and its loose end moved up and down in
the slot
and the loose end of it was long enough
to go through the slot
and across the crack between the door
and the wall
and to lie against the wall when the
door was shut
when paul and laura had hung the door in
the doorway
paul marked the spot on the wall where
the end of the latch
came over that spot he
pegged to the wall a stout piece of oak
this piece of oak was cut out at the top
so that the latch
could drop between it and the wall
now laura pushed the door shut and while
she pushed
she lifted the end of the latch as high
as it would go in the slot
then she let it fall into its place
behind the stout piece of
oak that held the latch against the wall
and the up and down strip held the latch
in its slot
against the door nobody could break in
without breaking the strong latch in two
but there must be a way to lift the
latch from the outside
so paul made the latch string he cut it
from a long strip of good leather
he tied one end to the latch between the
peg and the slot
above the latch he bored a small hole
through the door
and he pushed the end of the latch
string through the hole
laura stood outside and when the end of
the latch string came through the hole
she took hold of it and pulled she could
pull it hard enough to lift the latch
and let herself
in the door was finished
it was strong and solid made of thick
oak
with oak slabs across it all pegged
together with good stout
pegs the latch string was out if you
wanted to come in
you pulled the latch string but if you
were inside and wanted to keep anyone
out
then you pulled the latch string in
through its hole and nobody could get in
there was no door knob on that door and
there was no keyhole
and no key but it was a good door
i call that a good day’s work said paul
and i had a fine little helper he hugged
the top of laura’s head with his
hand then he gathered up his tools and
put them away
whistling and he went to take pet and
patty from their picket lines to water
the sun was setting the breeze was
cooler
and supper cooking on the fire made the
best supper smells that laura had
ever smelled there was salt
pork for supper it was the last of the
salt pork so next day paul went hunting
but the day after that he and laura made
the barn door
it was exactly like the house door
except that it had no latch
pat and patty did not understand door
latches and would not pull a latch
string in
at night so instead of a latch
paul made a hole through the door and he
put a chain through the hole
at night he would pull an end of the
chain through a crack between the logs
and the stable wall
and he would padlock the two ends of the
chain together
then nobody could get into that stable
now we’re all snug paw said
when neighbors began to come into a
country it was best to lock up your
horses at night
because where there are deer there will
be wolves and where there are horses
there will be horse thieves
that night at supper paw said to ma
now caroline as soon as we get edward’s
house up i’m gonna build you a fireplace
so you can do your cooking in the house
out of the wind and the storms
it seems like i never did see a place
with so much sunshine
but i suppose it’s bound to rain
sometime
yes charles ma said
good weather never lasts forever on this
[Music]
earth