Book 2 26. GOING OUT Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
going out
after breakfast next morning paw and ma
packed the wagon
first all the bedding was made into two
beds laid on top of each other across
the back of the wagon
and carefully covered with a pretty
plaid blanket
mary and laura and baby carrie would
ride there in the daytime
at night the top bed would be put in the
front of the wagon for palma to sleep in
and mary and laura would sleep in the
bottom bed where it was
next pot took the small cupboard from
the wall and in it mop packed the food
in the dishes
paul put the cupboard under the wagon
seat and in front of it he laid a sack
of corn for the horses
it will make a good rest for our feet
caroline he said tomorrow
ma packed all the clothing in two carpet
bags
and paul hung them to the wagon boughs
inside the wagon
opposite them he hung his rifle in its
straps
and his bullet pouch and powder horn
hung beneath it
his fiddle in its box he laid on one end
of the bed where it would ride softly
maul wrapped the black iron spider the
bake oven
and the coffee pot and sacks and put
them in the wagon
while paw tied the rocking chair and the
tub outside
and hung the water bucket and the horse
bucket underneath
he put the tin lantern carefully in the
front corner of the wagon
box where the sack of corn held it still
now the wagon was loaded the only thing
they could not take
was the plow well that could not be
helped
there was no room for it when they came
to wherever they were going
park could get more furs to trade for
another plow
laura and mary climbed into the wagon
and sat on the bed in the back
ma put baby carry between them they were
all
freshly washed and combed paw said they
were clean as a hound’s tooth
and ma told them they were bright as new
pins
then paw hitched pat and patty to the
wagon
ma climbed to her place on the seat and
held the lines
and suddenly laura wanted to see the
house again
she asked paul please to let her look
out so he loosened the rope in the back
of the wagon cover
and that made a large round hole laura
and mary could look out of it
but still the rope held up enough canvas
to keep carrie from tumbling into the
feed box
the snug log house looked just as it
always had
it did not seem to know they were going
away
paul stood a moment in the doorway and
looked all around inside
he looked at the bedstead and the
fireplace
and the glass windows then he closed the
door carefully
leaving the latch string out someone
might need
shelter he said he climbed to his place
beside maw
gathered the reins into his own hands
and chirped to pet and patty
jack went under the wagon pet winnie to
bunny who came to walk beside her
and they were off just before the creek
road went down into the bottoms
paw stopped the mustangs and they all
looked back
as far as they could see to the east and
to the south
and to the west nothing was moving on
all the vastness of the high prairie
only the green grass was rippling in the
wind
and white clouds drifted in the high
clear sky
it’s a great country caroline paul said
but there will be wild indians and
wolves here for many a long day
the little log house and the little
stable sat lonely in the stillness
then pat and patty briskly started
onward
the wagon went down from the bluffs into
the wooded creek bottoms
and high in a treetop a mockingbird
began to sing
i never heard a mockingbird sing so
early said ma
and paul answered softly he’s telling us
goodbye
they rode down through the low hills to
the creek
the ford was low and easy crossing
on they went across the bottoms where
antler deer stood up to watch them
passing
and mother deer with their fawns bounded
into the shadows of the woods
and up between the steep red earth
cliffs the wagon climbed to the prairie
again
pat and patty were eager to go their
hooves had made a muffled sound in the
bottoms
but now they rang out on the hard
prairie and the wind sang
shrill against the foremost wagon bows
paw and ma were still and silent on the
wagon seat
and mary and laura were quiet too but
laura felt all excited inside
you never know what will happen next
know where you’ll be tomorrow when
you’re traveling in a covered wagon
at noon paw stopped beside a little
spring to let the mustangs eat
and drink and rest the spring would soon
be dry in the summer’s heat
but there was plenty of water now
ma took cold corn bread and meat from
the food box
and they all ate sitting on the clean
grass
in the shade of the wagon they drank
from the spring
and laura and mary ran around in the
grass picking wild flowers
while ma tidied the food box and paw
hitched up
pet and patty again then for a long time
they went on across the prairie
there was nothing to be seen but the
blowing grass
the sky and the endless wagon track
now and then a rabbit bounded away
sometimes a prairie hen with her brood
of prairie chicks scuttled out of sight
in the grass
baby carey slept and mary and laura were
almost asleep when they heard paw say
something’s wrong there laura jumped up
and far ahead on the prairie she saw a
small
light-colored bump she couldn’t see
anything else unusual
where she asked paw there
pause said nodding toward that bump it
isn’t moving
lara didn’t say any more she kept on
looking
and she saw that that bump was a covered
wagon
slowly it grew bigger she saw that no
horses were hitched to it
nothing moved anywhere around it then
she saw something dark
in front of it the dark thing was two
people
sitting on the wagon tongue they were a
man and a woman
they sat looking down at their feet and
they moved only their heads to look up
when pat and patty stopped in front of
them
what’s wrong where are your horses paw
asked
i don’t know the man said i tied them to
the wagon last night and this morning
they were gone
somebody cut the ropes and took them
away in the night
well what about your dog said paw
haven’t got a dog the man said
jack stayed under the wagon he didn’t
growl
but he didn’t come out he was a sensible
dog and knew what to do when he met
strangers
well your horses are gone paul told the
man
you’ll never see them again hanging’s
too good for horse thieves
yes the man said paul looked at ma
and ma barely nodded then paul said
come ride with us to independence no
said the man all we’ve got is in this
wagon
we won’t leave it why man
what will you do paul exclaimed there
may be nobody along here for days
weeks you can’t stay here i don’t know
the man said we’ll stay with our wagon
the woman said she was looking down at
her hands clasped in her lap
and laura couldn’t see her face she
could see only the side of her sun
bonnet
better come pot told them you can come
back for your wagon
no the woman said they wouldn’t leave
the wagon
everything they owned in the world was
in it so at last pau drove on
leaving them sitting on the wagon tongue
all alone in the prairie
palm muttered to himself tender feet
everything they own and no dog to watch
it
didn’t keep watch himself and tied his
horses with
ropes paw snorted tender feet
he said again shouldn’t be allowed loose
west of the mississippi
but charles whatever will become of them
ma
asked him there were soldiers at
independence said paul
i’ll tell the captain and he’ll send out
men to bring them in
they can hold out that long but it’s
durn lucky for them that we came by
if we hadn’t there’s no telling when
they would have been found
lara watched that lonely wagon until it
was only a small lump on the prairie
then it was a speck then it was gone
all the rest of that day pod drove on
and on
they didn’t see anybody else when the
sun was setting
paw stopped by a well a house had once
been there
but it was burned the well had plenty of
good water
and laura and mary gathered bits of
half-burned wood to make the fire
while paw unhitched and watered the
horses and put them
on the picket lines then paul took the
seat down from the wagon
and lifted out the food box the fire
burned beautifully and mark quickly got
supper
everything was just as it used to be
before they built the house
pau and ma and carrie were on the wagon
seat
laura and mary sat on the wagon tongue
they ate the good
supper hot from the campfire pat and
patty and bunny
munched the good grass and laura saved
bits for jack
who mustn’t beg but could eat his fill
as soon as supper was over
then the sun went down far away in the
west
and it was time to make the camp ready
for night
paw chained pat and patty to the feed
box at the end of the wagon
he chained bunny to the side and he fed
them all
their supper of corn then he sat by the
fire and smoked his pipe
while ma tucked mary and laura into bed
and laid baby carrie beside them
she sat down beside paw at the fire
and paw took his fiddle out of its box
and began to play
oh susannah don’t you cry for me the
fiddle wailed
and paul began to sing
i went to california with my wash pant
on my knee
and every time i thought of home i
wished it wasn’t me
do you know caroline paw stopped singing
to say
i’ve been thinking what fun the rabbits
will have eating that garden we planted
don’t charles ma said
never mind caroline pau told her
we’ll make a better garden anyway
we’re taking more out of indian
territory than we took in
i don’t know what ma said and paul
answered
why there’s the mule then ma laughed
and paw and the fiddle sang again
dixie land i’ll take my stand and live
and die and dixie
a way away away away away down south and
dixie
they sang with a lilt and a swing that
almost lifted laura right out of bed
she must lie still and not wake carrie
mary was sleeping too
but laura had never been wider awake
she heard jack making his bed under the
wagon
he was turning round and round trampling
down the grass
then he curled into that round nest with
a flop
and a sigh of satisfaction
pat and patty were munching the last of
their corn
and their chains rattled bunny lay down
beside the wagon
they were all there together safe and
comfortable for the night
under the wide starlit sky once more the
covered wagon was home
the fiddle began to play a marching tune
and paw’s clear voice was singing like a
deep toned bell
and we’ll rally round the flag boys will
rally
once again shouting the battle cry of
freedom
laura felt that she must shout too but
softly
ma looked into the round hole in the
wagon cover
charles ma said laura is wide awake she
can’t go to sleep on such music as that
paw didn’t answer but the voice of the
fiddle changed
softly and slurringly it began a long
swinging rhythm that seemed to rock
laura gently
she felt her eyelids closing
she began to drift over endless waves of
prairie grasses
and paul’s voice went with her singing
like a feather we sail in
[Music]
lightly love over the
sea daily
and nightly i’ll wander with thee
[Music]
you