Book 4 11. RUNAWAY Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
run away all that long
quiet afternoon they stayed in the
dugout
the cattle did not come back to the
haystacks
slowly the sun went down the western sky
soon it would be time to meet the cattle
at the big gray rock
and laura and mary wish that paul maul
would come home
again and again they went up the path to
look for the wagon
at last they sat waiting with jack on
the grassy top of their house
the lower the sun went the more
attentive jack’s ears were
often he and laura stood up to look at
the edge of the sky where the wagon had
gone
though they could see it just as well
when they were sitting down
finally jack turned one ear that way
then the other
then he looked up at laura and a waggle
went from his neck to his stuffy tail
the wagon was coming they all stood and
watched till it came out of the prairie
when laura saw the oxen and ma and
carrie on the wagon seat
she jumped up and down swinging her
sunbonnet shouting
they’re coming they’re coming
they’re coming awful fast mary said
laura was still she heard the wagon
rattling loudly
pete and bright were coming very fast
they were running
they were running away the wagon came
bumpity banging and bouncing laura saw
maud down in a corner of the wagon box
hanging onto it and hugging carrie
paw came bounding in long jumps beside
bright shouting and hitting it bright
with the goad
he was trying to turn bright back from
the creek bank
he could not do it the big oxen galloped
nearer and
nearer the steep edge bright was pushing
paul off it
they were all going over the wagon ma
and carey were going to fall down the
bank all the way down to the creek
paul shouted a terrible shout he struck
bright’s head with
all his might and bright swerved laura
ran
screaming jack jumped at bright’s nose
then the wagon ma and carrie flashed by
bright crashed against the stable and
suddenly
everything was still paul ran after the
wagon
and laura ran behind him oh
bright whoa pete paul said he held on to
the wagon box and looked at ma
we’re all right charles mars said
her face was gray and she was shaking
all over
pete was trying to go on through the
doorway into the stable but he was yoked
too bright
and bright was headed against the stable
wall
paul lifted maw and carrie out of the
wagon and mars said
don’t cry gary see we’re all right
carrie’s pink dress was torn down the
front
she snuffled against mars neck and tried
to stop crying as ma told her
oh caroline i thought you were going
over the bank pause head
i thought so too for a minute i answered
but i might have known you wouldn’t let
that happen
shaw said paw it was a good old pete
he wasn’t running away bright was
but pete was only going along he saw the
stable and wanted his supper
but laura knew that ma and carey would
have fallen down into the creek with a
wagon and oxen
if paw had not run so fast and hit
bright so hard
she crowded against ma’s hoop skirt and
hugged her tight and said
oh my oh my
so did mary there
there said ma all’s well that ends well
now girls help bring in the packages
while paul puts up the oxen
they carried all the little packages
into the dugout
they met the cattle at the gray rock and
put spartan to the stable
and laura helped milk her while mary
helped ma get supper
at supper they told how the cattle had
gotten to the haystacks
and how they had driven them away paw
said they had done exactly the right
thing
he said we knew we could depend on you
to take care of everything
didn’t we caroline they had completely
forgotten that paw always brought them
presents from town
until after supper he pushed back his
bench and looked as if he expected
something
then laura jumped on his knee and mary
sat on the other
and laura bounced and asked what did you
bring us paw
what what guess
pau said they could not guess
but laura felt something crackle in his
jumper pocket
and she pounced on it she pulled out a
paper bag
beautifully striped with tiny red and
green stripes
and in the bag were two sticks of candy
one for mary
and one for lara they were maple sugar
colored
and they were flat on one side mary
licked hers
but laura bit her stick and the outside
of it came off crumbly the inside was
hard
and clear and dark brown and it had a
rich brown
tangy taste paw said it was whorehound
candy
after the dishes were done laura and
mary each took her stick of candy
and they sat on paws knees outside the
door in the cool
dusk mo sat just inside the dugout
humming to carry in her arms
the creek was talking to itself under
the yellow willows
one by one the great stars swung low and
seemed to quiver
and flicker in the little wind laura was
snug in paw’s arm
his beard softly tickled her cheek and
the delicious
candy taste melted on her tongue
after a while she said paw
what little half pint paw’s voice asked
against her hair
i think i like wolves better than cattle
she said cattle are more useful laura
pau said she thought about that a while
then she said anyway i like wolves
better
she was not contradicting she was only
saying what she thought
well laura we’re going to have a good
team of horses before long paw said
she knew when that would be it would be
when they had a wheat crop