Winter Days And Winter Nights Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
winter days and winter nights
the first snow came and the bitter cold
every morning paw took his gun and his
traps and was gone
all day in the big woods setting the
small traps for muskrats and mink
along the creeks the middle-sized traps
for foxes and wolves in the woods
he set out the big bear traps hoping to
get a fat bear before they all went into
their dens for the winter
one morning he came back took the horses
and sled
and hurried away again he had shot a
bear
laura and mary jumped up and down and
clapped their hands they were so glad
mary shouted i want the drumstick i want
the drumstick
mary did not know how big a bear’s
drumstick is
when paul came back he had both a bear
and a pig in the wagon
he had been going through the woods with
a big bear trap in his hands
and the gun on his shoulder when he
walked around a big pine tree
covered with snow and the bear was
behind the tree
the bear had just killed the pig and was
picking it up to eat it
paw said the bear was standing up on its
hind legs holding the pig in its paws
just as though they were hands
paw shot the bear and there was no way
of knowing where the pig came from
nor whose pig it was so i just brought
home the bacon
pau said there was plenty of fresh meat
to last for a long time
the days and the nights were so cold
that the pork in a box
and the bear meat hanging in the little
shed outside the back door was solidly
frozen
and did not thaw when ma wanted fresh
meat for dinner
pod took the axe and cut off a chunk of
frozen bear meat or pork
but the sausage balls or the salt pork
or the smoked hams in the venison ma
could get for herself from the shed or
the attic
the snow kept coming till it was drifted
and banked against the house
in the mornings the windowpanes were
covered with frost and beautiful
pictures of trees and flowers and
fairies ma said that jack frost came in
the night
and made the pictures while everyone was
asleep
laura thought that jack frost was a
little man
all snowy white wearing a glittering
white pointed cap
and soft white knee boots made of deer
skin
his coat was white and his mittens were
white
and he did not carry a gun on his back
but in his hands
he had shining sharp tools with which he
carved
the pictures laura and mary were allowed
to take maw’s thimble
and made pretty patterns of circles in
the frost on the glass
but they never spoiled the pictures that
jack frost had made in the night
when they put their mouths close to the
pain and blew their breath on it
the white frost melted and ran in drops
down the glass then they could see the
drifts of snow outdoors
and the great trees standing bare and
black
making thin blue shadows on the white
snow
laura and mary helped ma with the work
every morning there were the dishes to
wipe mary wiped more of them than laura
because she was bigger
but laura always wiped carefully her own
little cup and plate
by the time the dishes were all wiped
and set away
the trundle bed was aired then
standing one on each side laura and mary
straightened the covers
tucked them in well at the foot and the
sides plumped up the pillows
and put them in place then ma pushed the
trundle bed into its place
under the big bed after this was done
ma began the work that belonged to that
day
each day had its own proper work
my used to say wash on monday
iron on tuesday mend
on wednesday turn on thursday
clean on friday bake
on saturday rest on sunday
laura likes the churning in the baking
days best of
all the week in winter the cream was not
yellow as it was in summer
and butter churned from it was white and
not so pretty
ma liked everything on her table to be
pretty
so in the winter time she colored the
butter
after she’d put the cream in the tall
crock return and set it near the stove
to warm
she washed and scraped a long orange
colored carrot
then she grated it on the bottom of the
old leaky tin
pan that paw had punched full of nail
holes for her
ma rubbed the carrot across the
roughness until she had rubbed it all
through the holes
and when she lifted up the pan there was
a soft
juicy mound of grated carrot
she put this in a little pan of milk on
the stove
and when the milk was hot she poured
milk and carrot
into a cloth bag then she squeezed the
bright yellow milk into the churn
where it colored all the cream now the
butter
would be yellow laura and mary were
allowed to eat the carrot after the milk
had been squeezed out
mary thought she ought to have the
larger share because she was older
and lara said she should have it because
she was littler
but ma said they must divide it evenly
it was very good
when the cream was ready moss scalded
the long wooden churn dash
put it in the churn and drop the wooden
churn cover
over it the churn cover had a little
round hole
in the middle and mom moved the dash up
and down
up and down through the hole she churned
for a long time
mary could sometimes churn while ma
rested
but the dash was too heavy for laura
at first the splashes of cream showed
thick and smooth around the little hole
after a long time they began to look
grainy
then ma turned more slowly and on the
dash
there began to appear tiny grains of
yellow butter
when ma took off the churn cover there
was the butter in a golden
lump drowning in the buttermilk
then ma took out the lump with a wooden
paddle
into a wooden bowl and she washed it
many times in cold water
turning it over and over and working it
with the paddle
until the water ran clear after that
she salted it now came the best
part of the churning ma molded the
butter
on the loose bottom of the wooden butter
mold was carved the picture of a
strawberry
with two strawberry leaves with the
paddle
ma packed the butter tightly into the
mold until it was
full then she turned it upside down over
a plate
and pushed on the handle of the loose
bottom
the little firm path of golden butter
came out
with the strawberry and its leaves
molded on the top
laura and mary watched breathless one
on each side of maul while the little
golden butter pads
each with its strawberry on the top
dropped onto the plate
as ma put all the butter through the
mold
then ma gave them each a drink of good
fresh
buttermilk on saturdays
when mom made the bread they each had a
little piece of dough
to make into a little loaf they might
have a bit of cookie dough too to make
little cookies
and once laura even made a pie in her
patty pan
after the day’s work was done ma
sometimes cut
paper dolls for them she cut the dolls
out of stiff white paper
and drew the faces with a pencil then
from bits of colored paper
she cut dresses and hats ribbons
and laces so that laura and mary could
dress their dolls
beautifully but the best time of all was
at night when paw came home
he would come in from his tramping
through the snowy woods with tiny
icicles hanging on the ends of his
mustaches
he would hang his gun on the wall over
the door
throw off his fur cap and coat and
mittens and call
where’s my little half pint of sweet
cider half drunk up
that was laura because she was so small
laura and mary would run to climb on his
knees and sit there while he warmed
himself by the fire
then he would put on his coat and cap
and mittens again and go out to do the
chores and bring in plenty of wood for
the fire
sometimes when paul had walked his trap
lines quickly because the traps were
empty
or when he got some games sooner than
usual
he would come home early then he would
have time to play with laura and mary
one game they loved was called mad dog
paw would run his fingers through his
thick brown hair
standing it all up on end then he
dropped on all fours and
growling he chased laura and mary all
around the room
trying to get them cornered where they
couldn’t get away
they were quick at dodging and running
but once he caught them against the wood
box behind the stove
they couldn’t get past paw and there was
no other way out
then paul growled so terribly
his hair was so wild and his eyes
so fierce that it all seemed real mary
was so frightened that she could not
move
but his paw came nearer laura screamed
and with a wild leap and a scramble she
went over the wood box dragging mary
with her
and at once there was no mad dog at all
there was only paws standing there with
his blue eyes shining looking at laura
well he said to her you’re only a little
half pint of cider half drunk up but by
jinx you’re as strong as a little french
horse
you shouldn’t frighten the children so
charles
ma said look how big their eyes are
paul looked and then he took down his
fiddle
he began to play and sing
oh yankee doodle went to town he wore
his striped trousers he swore he
couldn’t see the town there were so many
houses
laura and mary forgot all about the mad
dog
and there he saw some great big guns big
as a log a maple
and every time they turned him round it
took to yoke of cattle
and every time they fired him off it
took a horn a powder
it made a noise like father’s gun only a
nation louder
paul was keeping time with his foot and
laura clapped her hands to the music
when he sang
and thousand yankee doodly doo and house
and yankee doom go
and house and yankee doodly doo and
housing yankee doodle
[Music]
all alone in the wild big woods and the
snow
and the cold the little log house was
warm and snug
and cozy paw and ma and mary
and laura and baby carrie were
comfortable and happy there
especially at night then the fire was
shining
on the hearth the cold and the dark and
the wild beasts were all shut out
and jack the brendell bulldog and black
susan the cat
lay blinking at the flames in the
fireplace
ma sat in her rocking chair sowing by
the light of the lamp on the table
the lamp was bright and shiny there was
salt in the bottom of its glass bowl
with the kerosene to keep the kerosene
from exploding
and there were bits of red flannel among
the salt
to make it pretty it was pretty
lara loved to look at the lamp with its
glass chimney so clean
and sparkling its yellow flame burning
so steadily
and its bowl of clear kerosene colored
red by the bits of flannel
she loved to look at the fire in the
fireplace
flickering and changing all the time
burning yellow and red and sometimes
green
above the logs and hovering blue over
the golden
and ruby coals and then
paw told stories when laura and mary
begged him for a story he would take
them on his knees
and tickle their faces with his long
whiskers
until they laughed aloud his eyes were
blue
and merry one night paul looked at black
susan
stretching herself before the fire and
running her claws out and in
and he said do you know that a panther
is a cat
a great big wild cat
no said laura well it
is said paw just imagine black susan
bigger than jack and fiercer than jack
when he growls
then she would be just like a panther
he settled laura and mary more
comfortably on his knees and he said
i’ll tell you about grandpa and the
panther
your grandpa laura asked no
laura your grandpa my father
oh laura said and she wriggled closer
against paul’s arm
she knew her grandpa he lived far away
in the big woods in a big log
house paul began
the story of grandpa and the panther
your grandpa went to town one day and
was late starting home
it was dark when he came riding his
horse through the big woods
so dark that he could hardly see the
road and when he heard a panther scream
he was frightened for he had no gun
how does a panther scream laura asked
like a woman said paul like this
then he screamed so that laura and mary
shivered with terror ma
jumped in her chair and said mercy
charles
but laura and mary loved to be scared
like that
the horse with grandpa on him ran fast
for it was frightened too
but it could not get away from the
panther the panther followed through the
dark woods
it was a hungry panther and it came as
fast as a horse could run
it screamed now on this side of the road
now on the other side
and it was always close behind grandpa
leaned forward in the saddle and urged
the horse to run
faster the horse was running as fast as
it could possibly run
and still the panther screamed close
behind
then grandpa caught a glimpse of it as
it leaped from treetop to treetop
almost overhead it was a huge
black panther leaping through the air
like black susan leaping on a mouse
it was many many times bigger than black
susan
it was so big that if it leaped on
grandpa it could kill him with its
enormous slashing claws and its
long sharp teeth
grandpa on his horse was running away
from it just as a mouse runs from a cat
the panther did not scream anymore
grandpa
did not see it anymore but he knew that
it was coming
leaping after him in the dark woods
behind him the horse ran
with all its might at last the horse ran
up to grandpa’s house
grandpa saw the panthers springing
grandpa
jumped off the horse against the door he
burst through the door
and slammed it behind him the panther
landed on the horse’s back
just where grandpa had been the horse
screamed
terribly and ran he was running away
into the big woods with the panther
riding on his back and
ripping his back with its claws but
grandpa grabbed his gun from the wall
and got to the window
just in time to shoot the panther dead
grandpa said he would never again
go into the big woods without his gun
when pot told this story laura and mary
shivered and snuggled closer to him they
were
safe and snug on his knees with his
strong arms around them
they liked to be there before the warm
fire with black susan
purring on the hearth and good dog jack
stretched out beside her
when they heard a wolf howl jack’s head
lifted
and the hairs rose stiff along his back
but laura and mary listened to that
lonely sound in the dark and the cold of
the big woods
and they were not afraid they were cozy
and comfortable in their little house
made of logs
with the snow drifted around it and the
wind
crying because it could not get in by
the fire
you