Book 5 1. UNEXPECTED VISITOR Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
[Music]
harper children’s audio presents
by the shores of silver lake by laura
ingalls wilder read by cherry jones
unexpected visitor
laura was washing the dishes one morning
when old jack
lying in the sunshine on the doorstep
growled to tell her that someone was
coming
she looked out and saw a buggy crossing
the gravelly forward of plum creek
ma she said it’s a strange woman coming
ma
sighed she was ashamed of the untidy
house
and so was laura but ma was too weak
and laura was too tired and they were
too sad to care very much
mary and carrie and baby grace and ma
had all had scarlet fever
the nelsons across the creek had had it
too so there had been no one to help
paul and laura
the doctor had to come every day pog did
not know how he could pay the bill
far worst of all the fever had settled
in mary’s eyes
and mary was blind she was able to sit
up now
wrapped in quilts and ma’s old hickory
rocking chair
all that long time week after week when
she could still see a little
but less every day she had never cried
now she could not see even the brightest
light anymore
she was still patient and brave
her beautiful golden hair was gone paw
had shaved it close because of the fever
and her poor shorn head looked like a
boy’s
her blue eyes were still beautiful but
they did not know what was before them
and mary herself could never look
through them again to tell laura what
she was thinking without saying a word
who can it be at this hour in the
morning mary wondered
turning her ear toward the sound of the
buggy
it’s a strange woman alone in a buggy
she’s wearing a brown sun bonnet
and driving a bay horse laura answered
paw had said that she must be eyes for
mary
can you think of anything for dinner ma
asked
she meant for a company dinner if the
woman stayed till dinner time
there was bread and molasses and
potatoes
that was all this was spring time too
early for garden vegetables
the cow was dry and the hens had not yet
begun to lay their summer eggs
only a few small fish were left in plum
creek
even the little cottontail rabbits had
been hunted until they were scarce
pod did not like a country so old and
worn out that the hunting was poor
he wanted to go west for two years he
had wanted to go west
and take a homestead but ma did not want
to leave the settled country
and there was no money pie had made only
two poor wheat crops since the
grasshoppers came
he had barely been able to keep out of
debt and now there was the doctor’s bill
laura answered moss stoutly what’s good
enough for us
is good enough for anybody the buggy
stopped
and the strange woman sat in it looking
at laura
and ma in the doorway she was a pretty
woman
in her neat brown print dress and
sunbonnet
laura felt ashamed of her own bare feet
and limp dress and
uncombed braids then ma said slowly
why dosia
i wondered if you’d know me the woman
said
a good deal of water has gone under the
bridge since you folks left wisconsin
she was the pretty aunt docilla who had
worn the dress with buttons that looked
like blackberries
long ago at the sugaring off dance at
grandpa’s house in the big woods of
wisconsin
she was married now she had married a
widower with two children
her husband was a contractor working on
the new railroad in the west
aunt docea was driving alone in the
buggy all the way from wisconsin to the
railroad camps in dakota territory
she had come by to see if paul would go
with her her husband
uncle hai wanted a good man to be store
keeper
book keeper and time keeper and paul
could have the job
it pays fifty dollars a month charles
she said
a kind of tightness smoothed out of
paw’s thin cheeks
and his blue eyes lighted up he said
slowly
seems like i can draw a good pay while
i’m looking for that homestead caroline
ma still did not want to go west she
looked around the kitchen at carrie and
at laura standing there with grace in
her arms
charles i don’t know she said
it does seem providential fifty dollars
a month
but we’re settled here we’ve got the
farm
listen to reason caroline paul pleaded
we can get 160 acres out west just by
living on it
and the lands as good as this or better
if uncle sam’s willing to give us a farm
in place of the one he drove us off of
in indian territory
i say let’s take it the hunting’s good
in the west
a man can get all the meat he wants
lara wanted so much to go that she could
hardly keep from speaking
how could we go now ma asked with mary
not strong enough to travel
now that’s so said paul that’s a fact
then he asked aunt dorcia
the job wouldn’t wait no aunt torcia
said
no charles hi is in need of a man right
now
you have to take it or leave it it’s
fifty dollars a month caroline said paw
and a homestead it seemed a long time
before ma
said gently well charles
you must do as you think best
i’ll take it dosia paul got up and
clapped on his hat
where there’s a will there’s a way i’ll
go see nelson
laura was so excited that she could
hardly do the housework properly
aunt docea helped and while they worked
she told the news from wisconsin
her sister aunt ruby was married and had
two boys and a beautiful little baby
girl named
dolly vardon uncle george was a
lumberjack
logging on the mississippi uncle henry’s
folks were all well
and charlie was turning out better than
had been expected
considering how uncle henry had spared
the rod and spoiled that child
grandpa and grandma were still living in
the old place their big log
house they could afford a frame house
now
but grandpa declared that good sound oak
logs made better walls than
thin sod boards even black susan the cat
that laura and mary had left behind when
they rode away from their little log
house in the woods
was still living there the little log
house had changed hands several times
and now it was a corn crib but nothing
would persuade that cat to live anywhere
else
she went right on living in the corn
crib sleek
and plump from rats she caught and there
was hardly a family in
all that country that didn’t have one of
her kittens
they were all good mousers big eared and
long tailed like black susan
dinner was ready in the swept neat house
when paw came back
he had sold the farm nelson was paying
200
cash for it and paul was jubilant
that’ll square up all we owe and leave a
little something over
he said how’s that caroline
i hope it’s for the best charles ma
replied
but how wait till i tell you
i’ve got it all figured out paul told
her
i’ll go on with docea tomorrow morning
you and the girl stay here till mary
gets well and strong
say a couple of months nelson’s agreed
to haul our stuff to the depot
and you’ll all come out on the train
laura stared at him so did carrie and ma
mary said on the train
they had never thought of traveling on
the train
laura knew of course the people did
travel on trains
the trains were often wrecked and the
people killed
she was not exactly afraid but she was
excited
carrie’s eyes were big and scared in her
peaked little face
they had seen the train rushing across
the prairie with
long rolling puffs of black smoke
streaming back from the engine
they heard its roar and its wild clear
whistle
horses ran away if the driver could not
hold them when they saw a train coming
ma said in her quiet way i’m sure we
will manage nicely
with laura and carrie to help me