TWO BIG BEARS Little House in the Big Woods Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
two big bears
then one day paw said that spring was
coming
in the big woods the snow was beginning
to thaw
bits of it dropped from the branches of
the trees and made little holes in the
softening snow banks below
at noon all the big icicles along the
eaves of the little house
quivered and sparkled in the sunshine
and drops of water hung trembling at
their tips
paul said he must go to town to trade
the furs of the wild animals he’d been
trapping all winter
so one evening he made a big bundle of
them
there were so many furs that when they
were packed tightly
and tied together they made a bundle
almost as big as paw
very early one morning paw strapped the
bundle of furs on his shoulders
and started to walk to town there was so
many furs to carry
that he could not take his gun ma was
worried
but paul said that by starting before
sun up and walking very fast
all day he could get home again before
dark
the nearest town was far away
laura and mary had never seen a town
they had never seen a store
they had never seen even two houses
standing together
but they knew that in a town there were
many houses
and a store full of candy and calico and
other
wonderful things powder and shot
and salt and store sugar
they knew that paul would trade his furs
to the store keeper for beautiful things
from town
and all day they were expecting the
presents he would bring them
when the sun sank low above the treetops
and no more drops fell from the tips of
the icicles
they began to watch eagerly for paw the
sun
sank out of sight the woods grew dark
and he did not come ma started supper
and set the table
but he did not come it was time to do
the chores
and still he had not come ma
said that laura might come with her
while she milked the cow
laura could carry the lantern so laura
put on her coat
and mom buttoned it up and laura put her
hands into her red mittens
that hung by a red yarn string around
her neck
while ma lighted the candle in the
lantern
laura was proud to be helping ma with
the milking
and she carried the lantern very
carefully
its sides were of tin with places cut in
them for the candlelight to shine
through
when laura walked behind ma on the path
to the barn
the little bits of candlelight from the
lantern leaped
all around her on the snow the night was
not yet quite dark
the woods were dark but there was a gray
light on the snowy path
and in the sky there were a few faint
stars
the stars did not look as warm and
bright as the little lights that came
from the lantern
laura was surprised to see the dark
shape of suki the brown cow
standing at the barnyard gate maul was
surprised too
it was too early in the spring for suki
to be let out in the big woods to eat
grass
she lived in the barn but sometimes on
warm days
paul left the door of her stall open so
she could come into the barnyard
now ma and laura saw her behind the bars
waiting for them maul went up to the
gate
and pushed against it to open it but it
did not open very far
because there was suki standing against
it
ma said suki get over
she reached across the gate and slapped
suki’s shoulder
just then one of the dancing little bits
of light from the lantern jumped between
the bars of the gate
and laura saw long shaggy black fur
and two little glittering eyes
suki had thin short brown fur suki had
large
gentle eyes ma said
laura walk back to the house
so laura turned around and began to walk
toward the house
ma came behind her when they had gone
part way
ma snatched her up lantern and all and
ran
ma ran with her into the house and
slammed the door
then laura said ma was it
a bear yes laura ma
said it was a bear laura began to cry
she hung onto ma and sobbed oh will it
eat suki
no ma said hugging her sookie is safe in
the barn
think laura all those big heavy logs in
the barn walls and the door is heavy and
solid made to keep bears out
no the bear cannot get in and eat sookie
laura felt better then but he could have
hurt us
couldn’t he she asked he didn’t hurt us
ma said you were a good girl laura to do
exactly as i told you and to do it
quickly
without asking why ma was trembling
and she began to laugh a little to think
she said i’ve slapped a bear
then she put supper on the table for
laura and mary
paul had not come yet he didn’t come
laura and mary were undressed and they
said their prayers
and snuggled into their trundle bed ma
sat by the lamp mending one of paw’s
shirts
the house seemed cold and still and
strange without paw
laura listened to the wind in the big
woods all around the house the wind went
crying as though it were lost in the
dark and the cold
the wind sounded frightened
ma finished mending the shirt laura saw
her fold it slowly and carefully
she smoothed it with her hand then she
did a thing
she had never done before she went to
the door
and pulled the leather latch string
through its hole in the door
so that nobody could get in from outside
unless she lifted the latch
she came and took carrie all limp and
sleeping
out of the big bed she saw that laura
and mary was still awake and she said to
them
go to sleep girls everything is all
right
paul will be here in the morning then
she went back to her rocking chair
and sat there rocking gently and holding
baby carrie in her
arms she was sitting up late
waiting for paw and laura and mary meant
to stay awake too till he came
but at last they went to sleep
in the morning paul was there
he had brought candy for laura and mary
and two pieces of pretty calico to make
them each address
mary’s was a china blue pattern on a
white ground
and laura’s was dark red with little
golden brown dots on it
ma had calico for a dress too it was
brown
with a big feathery white pattern all
over it
they were all happy because paw had got
such good prices for his furs that he
could afford to get them such
beautiful presents the tracks of the big
bear
were all around the barn and there were
marks of his claws on the walls
but sookie and the horses were safe
inside
all that day the sun shone the snow
melted and little streams of water ran
from the icicles
which all the time grew thinner before
the sun set that night
the bear tracks were only shapeless
marks in the wet
soft snow after supper paw took
laura and mary on his knees and said he
had a new story to tell them
the story of paw and the bear in the way
when i went to town yesterday with the
furs
i found it hard walking in the soft snow
it took me a long time to get to town
and other men with furs had come in
earlier to do their trading
the store keeper was busy and i had to
wait until he could look at my furs
then we had to bargain about the price
of each one
and then i had to pick out things i
wanted to take and trade
so it was nearly sundown before i could
start home
i tried to hurry but the walking was
hard and i was tired
so i had not gone far before night came
and i was alone in the big woods without
my gun
there were still six miles to walk and i
came along as fast as i could
the night grew darker and darker and i
wished for my
gun because i knew that some of the
bears had come out of their winter dens
i had seen their tracks when i went to
town in the morning
bears are hungry and cross at this time
of year
you know they’ve been sleeping in their
dens all winter long with nothing to eat
and that makes them thin and angry when
they wake up
i did not want to meet one i hurried
along as quick as i could in the dark
by and by the stars gave a little light
it was still black as pitch where the
woods were thick
but in the open places i could see dimly
i could see the snowy road ahead a
little way
and i could see the dark wood standing
all around me
i was glad when i came into an open
place where the stars gave me this faint
light
all the time i was watching as well as i
could for bears
i was listening for the sounds they make
when they go carelessly through the
bushes
then i came again into an open place and
there
right in the middle of my road i saw a
big
black bear he was standing up on his
hind legs
looking at me i could see his eyes shine
i could see his pig snout i could even
see one of his claws in the starlight
my scalp prickled and my hair stood
straight up
i stopped in my tracks and stood still
the bear did not move there he stood
looking at me i knew it would do no good
to try to go around him
he would follow me into the dark woods
where he could see better than i could
i did not want to fight a winter star
bear in the dark
oh how i wished for my gun i had to pass
that bear to get home
i thought that if i could scare him he
might get out of the road and let me go
by
so i took a deep breath and suddenly i
shouted with all my might and ran at him
waving my arms
he didn’t move i did not run very far
toward him i tell you i stopped and
looked at him
and he stood looking at me then i
shouted again
there he stood i kept on shouting and
waving my
arms but he did not budge
well it would do me no good to run away
there were other bears in the woods
i might meet one anytime i might as well
deal with this one as with another
besides i was coming home tomorrow and
you girls
i would never get here if i ran away
from everything in the woods that scared
me
so at last i looked around and i got a
good big club
a solid heavy branch that had been
broken from a tree by the weight of snow
in the winter
i lifted it up in my hands and i ran
straight at that bear i swung my club as
hard as i could and brought it down
bang on his head and there he stood
for he was nothing but a big black burn
stump
i had passed it on my way to town that
morning
it wasn’t a bear at all i only thought
it was a bear because i’d been thinking
all the time about bears and being
afraid i’d meet one
it really wasn’t a bear at all mary
asked
no mary it wasn’t a bear at all there i
had been
yelling and dancing and waving my arms
all by myself
in the big woods trying to scare a stump
laura said ours was really a bear
but we were not scared because we
thought it was sookie
paw did not say anything but he hugged
her tighter
that bear might have eaten mommy all up
lara said snuggling closer to him but
maul walked right up to him
and slapped him and he didn’t do
anything at all
why didn’t he do anything i guess he was
too surprised to do anything laura
paul said i guess he was afraid when the
lantern shone in his eyes
and when ma walked up to him and slapped
him he knew she wasn’t afraid
well you were brave too laura said
even if it was only a stump you thought
it was a bear
you’d have hit him on the head with a
club if he’d been a bear wouldn’t your
paw
yes said paw i would
you see i had to then ma said it was
bedtime
she helped laura and mary undress and
button up their red flannel nightgowns
they knelt down by the trundle bed and
said their prayers
now i lay meat down to sleep i pray the
lord
my soul to keep if i should die
before i wake i pray the lord
my soul to take ma kissed them both
and tuck the covers in around them they
lay there a while
looking at maw’s smooth parted hair and
her hands
busy with sewing in the lamplight her
needle made little clicking
sounds against her thimble and then the
thread went softly
swish through the pretty calico that paw
had traded furs for
laura looked at paw who was greasing his
boots
his mustaches and his hair and his long
brown beard was silky in the lamplight
and the colors of his plaid jacket were
gay
he whistled cheerfully while he worked
and then he sang
the birds were singing in the morning
and the myrtle and the ivy were in bloom
and the sun or the hills was adorning
twas then that i laid her
in the tomb
it was a warm night the fire had gone to
coals on the hearth
and pod did not build it up all around
the little
house in the big woods there were little
sounds of falling snow
and from the eaves there was the drip
drip
of the melting icicles in just a little
while the trees would be putting out
their baby leaves all
rosy and yellow and pale green and there
would be wildflowers and birds in the
woods
then there would be no more stories by
the fire at night
but all day long laura and mary would
run and play among the trees for it
would be spring