Book 4 24. GOING TO CHURCH Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
going to church
it was saturday night and paul sat on
the doorstep
smoking his after supper pipe laura and
mary sat
close on either side of him ma with
carrie on her lap
rocked gently to and fro just inside the
doorway
the winds were still the stars hung low
and bright
the dark sky was deep beyond the stars
and plum creek talked softly to itself
they told me in town this afternoon that
there will be preaching in the new
church tomorrow
said paw i met the home missionary
reverend alden
and he wanted us to be sure to come i
told him we would
oh charles ma exclaimed
we haven’t been to church for so long
laura and mary had never seen a church
but they knew from ma’s voice that going
to church must be better than a party
after a while ma said i’m so glad i
finished my new dress
you will look sweet as a posey in it pau
told her
we must start early next morning was a
hurry
breakfast was a hurry work was a hurry
and ma
hurried about dressing herself and
carrie she called up the ladder in a
hurrying voice
come on down girls i’ll tie your ribbons
they hurried down
then they stood and stared at ma she was
perfectly
beautiful in her new dress it was black
and white calico
a narrow stripe of white then a wider
stripe of black lines and white lines no
wider than threads
up the front it was buttoned with black
buttons
and the skirt was pulled back and lifted
up to puffs and shorings behind
crocheted lace edged the little stand-up
collar
crocheted lace spread out in a bow on
ma’s breast
and the gold breast pin held the collar
and the bow
ma’s face was lovely her cheeks were
flushed
and her eyes were bright she turned
laura and mary around
and quickly tied the ribbons on their
braids then she took
carrie’s hand they all went out on the
doorstep
and ma locked the door carrie looked
like one of the little angel birds in
the bible
her dress and her tiny sun bonnet were
white and all trimmed with lace
her eyes were big and solemn her golden
curls
hung by her cheeks and peeped from under
the bonnet behind
then laura saw her own pink ribbons on
mary’s braids
she clapped her hand over her mouth
before a word came out
she scrooged and looked down her own
back
mary’s blue ribbons were on her braids
she and mary looked at each other and
did not say a word
ma in a hurry had made a mistake they
hoped she would not
notice laura was so tired of pink
and mary was so tired of blue but mary
had to wear blue because her hair was
golden
and laura had to wear pink because her
hair was brown
paul came driving the wagon from the
stable he had brushed sam and david till
they shone in the morning sunshine
they stepped proudly tossing their heads
and their manes and tails
rippled there was a clean blanket on the
wagon seat and another spread on the
bottom of the wagon box
paul carefully helped mark climb up over
the wheel
he lifted carrie to mars lap then he
tossed laura into the wagon box and her
braids flew out
oh dear ma exclaimed i put the wrong
ribbons on laura’s hair
it’ll never be noticed on a trotting
horse said paw
so lara knew she could wear the blue
ribbons
sitting beside mary on the clean blanket
in the wagon bottom
she pulled her braids over her shoulder
so did mary
and they smiled at each other laura
could see the blue whenever she looked
down
and mary could see the pink paw was
whistling
and when sam and david started he began
to sing
oh every sunday morning my wife is by my
side
i’m waiting for the wagon and we’ll all
take a ride
charles ma said softly to remind him
that this was sunday
then they all sang together there
is a happy land far
far away
where saints in glory stand
bright bright as day
plum creek came out from the willow
shadows and spread
wide and flat and twinkling in the
sunshine
sam and david trotted through the
sparkling shallows
glittering drops flew up and waves
splashed from the wheels
then they were away on the endless
prairie
the wagon rolled softly along the road
that hardly made a mark on the green
grasses
birds sang their morning songs bees
hummed great yellow bumblebees went
bumbling from flower to flower and big
grasshoppers flew whirring up and away
too soon they came to town
the blacksmith shop was shut and still
the doors of the stores were closed
a few dressed up men and women with
their dressed up children
walked along the edges of dusty main
street
they were all going toward the church
the church was a new building not far
from the schoolhouse
par drove toward it through the prairie
grasses
it was like the schoolhouse except that
on its roof
was a tiny room with no walls and
nothing in it
what’s that laura asked
don’t point laura said ma it’s a belfry
paw stopped the wagon against the high
porch of the church
he helped ma out of the wagon but laura
and mary just stepped over the side of
the wagon box
they all waited there while paul drove
into the shade of the church
unhitched sam and david and tied them to
the wagon box
people were coming through the grass
climbing the steps and going into the
church
there was a solemn low rustling
inside it at last paul came
he took carry on his arm and walked with
ma into the church
laura and mary walked softly close
behind them
they all sat in a row on a long bench
church was exactly like a schoolhouse
except that it had a strange
large hollow feeling every little noise
was loud against the new bored walls
a tall thin man stood up behind the tall
desk on the platform
his clothes were black and his big
cravat was black
and his hair and the beard that went
around his face were dark
his voice was gentle and kind
all the heads bowed down the man’s voice
talked to god for a long time while
laura sat perfectly still
and looked at the blue ribbons on her
braids
suddenly right beside her a voice said
come with me laura almost jumped out of
her skin
a pretty lady stood there smiling out of
soft blue eyes
the lady said again come with me little
girls
we’re going to have a sunday school
class
ma nodded at them so laura and mary slid
down from the bench
they had not known there was going to be
school on sunday
the lady led them to a corner all the
girls from school were there
looking questions at one another the
lady pulled benches around to make a
square pen
she sat down and took laura and christy
beside her
when the others were settled on the
square of benches the lady said her name
was mrs tower and she asked their names
then she said now i’m going to tell you
a story laura was very pleased
but mrs tower began it is all about
a little baby born long ago in egypt
his name was moses so laura did not
listen anymore
she knew all about moses in the
bulrushes even
kerry knew that after the story
mrs tower smiled more than ever and said
now we’ll all learn a bible verse won’t
that be nice
yes ma’am they all said she told a bible
verse to each girl in turn
they were to remember the verses and
repeat them to her next sunday
that was their sunday school lesson
when it was laura’s turn mrs tower
cuddled her and smiled almost as warm
and sweet as ma
she said my very littlest girl must have
a very small lesson
it will be the shortest verse in the
bible
then laura knew what it was but mrs
tower’s eyes smiled and she said
it is just two words she said them and
asked
now do you think you can remember that
for a whole week
laura was surprised at mrs tower why
she remembered long bible verses and
whole songs
but she did not want to hurt mrs tower’s
feelings
so she said yes ma’am
that’s my little girl mrs tower said
but laura was mars little girl
i’ll tell you again to help you remember
just
two words said mrs tower
now can you say them after me laura
squirmed
try mrs tower urged her
laura’s head bowed lower and she
whispered the verse
that’s right mrs tower said
now will you do your best to remember
and tell me next sunday
laura nodded after that
everyone stood up they all opened their
mouths and tried to sing
jerusalem the golden not many of them
knew the words or the tune
miserable squiggles went up laura’s
backbone and the insides of her ears
crinkled she was glad when they all sat
down
again then the tall thin man stood up
and talked
laura thought he never would stop
talking
she looked through the open windows at
butterflies going where they pleased
she watched the grasses blowing in the
wind
she listened to the wind whining thin
along the edges of the roof
she looked at the blue hair ribbons she
looked at each of her fingernails and
admired how the fingers of her hands
would fit together
she stuck her fingers out straight so
they looked like the corner of a log
house she looked at the underneath of
shingles overhead
her legs ached from dangling still
at last everyone stood up and tried
again to sing
when that was over there was no more
they could go home
the tall thin man was standing by the
door
he was the reverend alden he shook ma’s
hand
and he shook paw’s hand and they talked
then he bent down and he shook laura’s
hand
his teeth smiled in his dark beard his
eyes were warm and blue
he asked did you like sunday school
laura
suddenly laura did like it she said
yes sir then you must come every sunday
he said
we’ll expect you and laura knew he
really
would expect her he would not forget
on the way home paul said well caroline
it’s pleasant to be with a crowd of
people all trying to do the right thing
same as we are yes
charles mars said thankfully it will be
a pleasure to look forward to
all week pod turned on the seat
and asked how do you girls like the
first time you ever went to church
they can’t sing said laura
pau’s great laugh rang out
then he explained there was nobody to
pitch the hymn with a tuning fork
nowadays charles said ma people have
hymn books
well maybe we’ll be able to afford some
someday
paul said after that they went to sunday
school
every sunday three or four sundays they
went to sunday school
and then again the reverend alden was
there and that was a church sunday
the reverend alden lived at his real
church in the east
he could not travel all the way to this
church every sunday
this was his home missionary church in
the west
there were no more long dull tiresome
sundays
because there was always sunday school
to go to and to talk about afterward
the best sundays were the sundays when
the reverend alden was there
he always remembered laura and she
remembered him between times
he called laura and mary his little
country girls
then one sunday while pau and ma and
mary and laura were all sitting at the
dinner table
talking about that day sunday school
paul said
if i’m going to keep on going out among
dressed up folks
i must get a pair of new boots look
he stretched out his foot his mended
boot
was cracked clear across the toes
they all looked at his red knitted sock
showing through that gaping slit
the edges of leather were thin and
curling back between little cracks
paw said it won’t hold another patch
oh i wanted you to get boots charles ma
said
and you brought home that calico for my
dress
paul made up his mind i’ll get me a new
pair when i go to town next saturday
they will cost three dollars but will
make out somehow
till i harvest the wheat all that week
paul was making hay
he had helped put up mr nelson’s hay and
earned the use of mr nelson’s fine quick
mowing machine
he said it was wonderful weather for
making hay
he had never known such a dry sunny
summer
laura hated to go to school she wanted
to be out in the hay field with paul
watching the marvelous machine with its
long knives snickety-snicking behind the
wheels
cutting through great swaths of grass
saturday morning she went to the field
on the wagon and helped paul bring in
the last load of hay
they looked at the wheat field standing
up taller than laura
above the moan land its level top was
rough with
wheat heads bent with weight of ripening
wheat
they picked three long fat ones and took
them to the house to show ma
when that crop was harvested paul said
they’d be out of debt
and have more money than they knew what
to do with he’d have a buggy
maul would have a silk dress they’d all
have new
shoes and eat beef every sunday
after dinner he put on a clean shirt and
took three dollars out of the fiddle box
he was going to town to get his new
boots
he walked because the horses had been
working all that week and he left them
at home to rest
it was late that afternoon when paul
came walking home
laura saw him on the knoll and she and
jack ran
up from the old crabs home in the creek
and into the house behind him
ma turned around from the stove where
she was taking the saturday baking of
bread out of the oven
where are your boots charles she asked
well caroline paul said i saw brother
alden
and he told me he couldn’t raise money
enough to put a bell in the belfry
the folks in town had all given every
cent they could
and he lacked just three dollars so i
gave him the money
oh charles was all ma said paul looked
down at his cracked boot
i’ll patch it he said i can make it hold
together somehow
and do you know we’ll hear that church
bell ringing
clear out here ma turned quickly back to
the stove
and laura went quietly out and sat down
on the step
her throat hurt her she did so want par
to have good new boots
never mind caroline she heard pau saying
it’s not long to wait till i harvest the
wheat