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Welcome to Drift Off, bedtime stories

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and drift off. Thank

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you for joining me. I'm your

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My friend, your support

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allows me to maintain this labor

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of love so I can

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continue to help you drift off.

2:13

Tonight I will be reading several chapters

2:15

from the book, Little House on the

2:17

Prairie. This story is

2:19

about a little girl named Laura Ingalls

2:21

and her family who leaves behind their

2:24

little house in the big woods

2:26

of Wisconsin and are now heading to

2:28

Kansas. The

2:30

story captures the essence of pioneer

2:33

life through the eyes of a

2:35

young Laura. She

2:38

provides vivid descriptions of the

2:40

challenges and joys of frontier

2:42

living with detailed accounts of

2:45

hunting trips, encounters

2:47

with Native Americans and

2:49

the hardships they face as early

2:51

settlers. This

2:54

book has captured the hearts of both

2:56

young and old, making

2:58

it a cherished classic. And

3:15

so, as always my friend, take

3:20

a nice deep breath and

3:25

let it out slowly. Feel

3:30

all the tension in your body

3:32

just melt away. You're

3:38

all cozy and safe in your

3:41

bed so

3:44

it's time to relax and

3:46

let go now. Start

3:52

by softening your forehead

3:57

and smoothing out your brow. Relax

4:04

your eyes and

4:07

unclench your jaw. Let

4:13

your whole face be

4:15

smooth and relaxed. Now

4:26

imagine your shoulders dropping down

4:29

and easing back. Just

4:33

let them go. And

4:36

feel the relaxation and heaviness

4:40

flow down through your arms, down

4:44

through your hands and

4:47

all the way into your fingers.

4:52

Let them be loose and limp. Feel

5:00

your chest and belly become soft.

5:07

Let your back melt down into

5:09

your bed. And

5:14

allow that relaxation to flow

5:18

down into your hips, into

5:23

your legs, into

5:27

your feet and

5:30

all the way down into your toes. Every

5:37

muscle in your legs feel

5:40

heavy, loose and

5:43

limp. And

5:52

as our story begins, your

5:56

body and mind will keep on

5:59

relaxing. Just

6:03

listen to my words and

6:06

allow your imagination to take you

6:09

away and

6:12

everything will begin to slow down.

6:18

Even your breathing and thoughts will

6:21

slow down as you listen. My

6:25

friend, there

6:28

is nothing else you need to do right now

6:32

and nowhere else you need to be. So

6:36

just lay back, relax

6:41

and enjoy the story. The

6:49

House on the Prairie

6:57

Laura and Mary were up next morning

6:59

earlier than the sun. They

7:02

ate their breakfast of cornmeal mush with

7:04

prairie hen gravy and hurried

7:06

to help Ma wash the dishes. Pa

7:10

was loading everything else into the

7:12

wagon and hitching up pet and

7:14

patty. When

7:17

the sun rose they were driving on

7:20

across the prairie. There

7:22

was no road now. Pet

7:24

and Patty waded through the grasses and

7:27

the wagon left behind it only the

7:29

tracks of its wheels. Before

7:32

noon Pa said, Whoa! The

7:36

wagon stopped. Here

7:38

we are Caroline he said. Right

7:41

here we'll build our house. Laura

7:45

and Mary scrambled over the feed box

7:47

and dropped to the ground in a

7:49

hurry. All

7:51

around them there was nothing but

7:53

grassy prairie spreading to the edge

7:55

of the sky. Quite

7:59

near them. To the north, the

8:01

creek bottoms lay below the prairie. Some

8:05

darker green treetops showed, and

8:08

beyond them, bits of the rim of

8:10

earthen bluffs held up the prairie grasses.

8:15

Far away to the east, a

8:17

broken line of different greens lay on

8:19

the prairie, and Pa said

8:21

that was the river. That's

8:24

the Verdigris River, he said, pointing it

8:27

out to Ma. Right

8:30

away, he and Ma began

8:32

to unload the wagon. They

8:35

took out everything and piled it on

8:37

the ground. Then

8:39

they took off the wagon cover and put

8:41

it over the pile. Then

8:44

they took even the wagon box off, while

8:47

Laura and Mary and Jack watched. The

8:51

wagon had been home for a long time.

8:54

Now there was nothing left of it but

8:57

the four wheels and the parts

8:59

that connected them. Pet

9:01

and Patty were still hitched to the tongue.

9:05

Pa took a bucket and his axe,

9:08

and sitting on the skeleton wagon, he

9:10

drove away. He

9:12

drove right down into the prairie out of sight.

9:17

Where's Pa going? Laura asked, and

9:19

Ma said, he's going to get a load of

9:21

logs from the creek bottom. It

9:26

was strange and frightening to be left

9:28

without the wagon on the high prairie. The

9:32

land and the sky seemed too large,

9:35

and Laura felt small. She

9:38

wanted to hide and be still in the

9:40

tall grass like a little prairie

9:42

chicken, but she didn't. She

9:45

helped Ma while Mary set on the grass

9:47

and minded baby Carrie. First,

9:51

Laura and Ma made the beds under the

9:54

wagon cover tent. Then

9:57

Ma arranged the boxes and bundles. While

10:00

Laura pulled all the grass from a space

10:02

in front of the tent, that

10:05

made a bare place for the fire. They

10:09

couldn't start the fire until Pa brought

10:11

wood. There was nothing more

10:13

to do, so Laura

10:15

explored a little. She

10:18

did not go far from the tent, but

10:21

she found a strange little kind of tunnel

10:23

in the grass. You'd

10:26

never notice it if you looked across the

10:28

wading grass tops. But when

10:30

you came to it, there it was.

10:33

A narrow, straight, hard path down

10:35

between the grass stems. It

10:38

went out into the endless prairie. Laura

10:42

went along it a little way. She

10:45

went slowly and more

10:47

slowly, and then she stood

10:50

still and felt strange. So

10:53

she turned around and came back quickly.

10:56

When she looked over her shoulder,

10:58

there wasn't anything there, but

11:01

she hurried. When

11:03

Pa came riding back on a road of

11:06

logs, Laura told him about the

11:08

path. He said

11:10

he had seen it yesterday. It's

11:12

some old trail, he said. That

11:16

night by the fire, Laura

11:18

asked again when she would see

11:20

a pupus. But Pa

11:22

didn't know. He

11:24

said you never saw Indians unless they wanted you to see them. He

11:29

had seen Indians when he was a boy in New

11:31

York State, but Laura never had. She

11:35

knew there were wild men with red

11:38

skins, and their hatchets were called tomahawks. Pa

11:43

knew all about wild animals, so he

11:45

must know about wild men too. Laura thought he would

11:49

show her up a blue sundae, just

11:51

as he had shown her fawns and

11:53

little bears and wolves. For

11:57

days, Pa hauled logs and saw the wild animals.

12:00

He made two piles of them, one

12:03

for the house and one for the stable.

12:07

There began to be a road where he drove

12:10

back and forth to the creek bottoms, and

12:12

at night on their picket lines, Pat

12:15

and Patty ate the grass, till

12:17

it was short and stubby all around the

12:19

log piles. Haw

12:22

began the house first. He

12:25

paced off the size of it on the ground.

12:28

Then with his spade, he dug a

12:31

shallow little hollow along two sides of

12:33

that space. Into

12:35

these hollows, he rolled two

12:37

of the biggest logs. They

12:40

were sound, strong logs because they

12:42

must hold up the house. They

12:45

were called sills. Then

12:48

Pat chose two more strong, big

12:50

logs, and he rolled these

12:52

logs onto the ends of the sills, so

12:55

that they made a hollow square. Now

12:58

with his axe, he cut a wide,

13:00

deep notch near each end of these

13:03

logs. He cut

13:05

these notches out of the top of the log,

13:08

but with his eye, he measured the

13:10

sills, and he cut the

13:12

notches so that they would fit around half

13:14

of the sill. When

13:17

the notches were cut, he rolled

13:19

the log over, and the

13:21

notches fitted down over the sill. That

13:25

finished the foundation of the house. It

13:28

was one log high. The

13:31

sills were half buried in the ground, and

13:33

the logs on their ends fitted snugly to

13:36

the ground. At

13:38

the corners, where they crossed, the

13:41

notches let them fit together so

13:43

that they were no thicker than one log,

13:46

and the two ends stuck out beyond

13:48

the notches. Next

13:52

day, Haw began the walls. On

13:55

each side, he rolled up a

13:57

log, and he notched its ends.

14:00

so that it fitted down over the end

14:02

logs. Then

14:04

he rolled up logs from the ends and

14:07

notched them so that they fitted

14:09

down over the side logs. Now

14:12

the whole house was two logs high.

14:16

The logs fitted solidly together at

14:18

the corners, but

14:20

no log is ever perfectly straight,

14:23

and all logs are bigger at one end

14:25

than at the other, so

14:27

cracks were left between them all along the walls,

14:31

but that did not matter, because

14:33

Pa would chink those cracks. All

14:37

by himself, he built the house

14:39

three logs high. Then

14:42

Ma helped him. Pa

14:44

lifted one end of a log onto the wall.

14:48

Then Ma held it while he lifted the

14:50

other end. He

14:52

stood up on the wall to cut the notches, and

14:55

Ma helped roll and hold the log

14:58

while he settled it where it should

15:00

be to make the corner perfectly square. So,

15:05

log by log, they built the

15:07

walls higher, till they were

15:09

pretty high, and Laura couldn't get over

15:11

them anymore. She

15:14

was tired of watching Pa and Ma build

15:16

the house, and she went

15:18

into the tall grass exploring. Suddenly,

15:22

she heard Pa shout, Let

15:25

go! Get out from under! The

15:28

big heavy log was smiling. Pa

15:31

was trying to hold up his end of it,

15:34

to keep it from falling on Ma. He

15:37

couldn't. It crashed down. Laura

15:40

saw Ma huddled on the ground. She

15:44

got to Ma almost as quickly

15:46

as Pa did. Pa

15:49

knelt down and called Ma in a

15:51

dreadful voice, and Ma

15:54

gasped, I'm alright. The

15:56

log was on her foot. Pa

15:58

lifted one end of a log onto the wall. the log

16:00

and Ma pulled her foot from under it.

16:04

Pa felt her to see if any bones were

16:07

broken. Move your

16:09

arms, he said. Is your back

16:11

hurt? Can you turn your head? Ma

16:14

moved her arms and turned her head. Thank

16:18

God, Pa said. He

16:21

helped Ma to sit up. She

16:23

said again, I'm alright, Charles.

16:25

It's just my thought. Quickly,

16:29

Pa took off her shoe in stalking.

16:32

He felt her foot all over, moving

16:35

the ankle and the instep and every

16:37

toe. Does it hurt

16:39

much, he asked? Ma's

16:41

face was gray and her mouth was

16:43

a tight line. Not much,

16:46

she said. No

16:48

bones broken, said Pa. It's

16:50

only a bad sprain. Ma

16:53

said cheerfully, well, a

16:56

sprain soon mended. Don't

16:58

be so upset, Charles. I

17:01

blame myself, said Pa. I

17:03

should have used skids. He

17:07

helped Ma to the tent. He

17:09

built up the fire and heated water. When

17:13

the water was as hot as Ma could bear,

17:16

she put her swollen foot into it. It

17:20

was providential that the foot was not crushed.

17:24

Only a little hollow in the ground had saved it.

17:27

Pa kept pouring more hot water into

17:29

the tub in which Ma slept with

17:31

sinking. Her

17:34

foot was red from the heat and

17:36

the puffed ankle began to turn purple.

17:40

Ma took her foot out of the

17:43

water and bound strips of rag tightly

17:45

around and around the ankle. I

17:47

can manage, she said. She

17:50

could not get her shoe on, but

17:52

she tied more rags around her foot and

17:55

she hobbled on it. She

17:58

got supper as usual. only

18:00

a little more slowly, but

18:02

Pa said she could not help to build

18:04

a house until her ankle was well. He

18:09

hewed out skids. These

18:11

were long, flat slabs. One

18:14

end rested on the ground and

18:16

the other rested on the long wall. He

18:20

was not going to lift any more logs. He

18:23

and Ma would roll them up these skids.

18:27

But Ma's ankle was not well yet. When

18:31

she unwrapped it in the evenings to soak it

18:33

in hot water, it was all

18:35

purple and black and green. The

18:37

house must wait. Then

18:40

one afternoon, Pa came

18:43

merrily whistling up the creek road. They

18:46

had not expected him home from hunting so

18:49

soon. As soon

18:51

as he saw them, he shouted, good

18:53

news. They had

18:55

a neighbor only two miles away

18:57

on the other side of the creek. Pa

19:00

had met him in the woods. They

19:03

were going to trade work and that would

19:05

make it easier for everyone. He's

19:08

a bachelor, said Pa, and

19:10

he says he can get along without a house

19:12

better than you and the girls can. So

19:15

he's going to help me first. Then

19:17

as soon as he gets his logs ready, I'll

19:20

go over and help him. They

19:23

need not wait any longer for the house and

19:26

Ma need not do any more work on it.

19:29

How do you like that, Caroline? Pa

19:31

asked joyfully. And Ma

19:33

said, that's good, Charles. I'm

19:38

glad. Early next morning, Mr. Edwards came.

19:41

He was lean and tall and brown.

19:44

He bowed to Ma and called her

19:46

ma politely. But

19:49

he told Laura that she was a wildcat

19:51

from Tennessee. He

19:54

wore tall boots and a ragged jumper

19:57

and a coon skin cap. He

20:00

was a fast worker. In

20:03

one day, he and Pab built

20:05

those walls as high as Pab

20:07

wanted them. They

20:09

joked and sang while they worked and

20:12

their axes made the chips fly. On

20:16

top of the walls, they set

20:18

up a skeleton roof of slender poles.

20:21

Then in the south wall, they

20:23

cut a tall hole for a door and in

20:27

the west wall and the east wall, they

20:29

cut square holes for windows. Laura

20:33

couldn't wait to see the inside of the

20:35

house. As

20:37

soon as the tall hole was cut,

20:39

she ran inside. Everything

20:43

was striped there. Stripes

20:45

of sunshine came through the cracks in

20:47

the west wall and stripes

20:49

of shadow came down from the poles overhead.

20:52

The stripes of shade and sunshine were

20:55

all across Laura's hands and her arms

20:57

and her bare feet. And

21:00

through the cracks between the logs, she

21:02

could see stripes of prairie, the

21:05

sweet smell of the prairie mixed with the

21:07

sweet smell of cut wood. And

21:11

as Pa cut away the logs to make

21:13

the window hole in the west wall, chunks

21:16

of sunshine came in. When

21:19

he finished, a big block

21:21

of sunshine lay on the ground inside

21:23

the house. Around

21:26

the door hole and the window holes, Pa

21:29

and Mr. Edwards nailed thin slabs against

21:31

the cut ends of the logs. And

21:35

the house was finished all but the roof.

21:39

The walls were solid and the house

21:42

was large, much larger than

21:44

the tent. It was a nice house.

21:48

Mr. Edwards said he would go home now,

21:51

but Pa and Ma said he must stay

21:53

to supper. Ma

21:56

had cooked in especially good supper because

21:58

they had company. There

22:01

was stewed jackrabbit with white

22:03

flour dumplings and plenty of

22:05

gravy. There was

22:08

a steaming hot, thick cornbread flavored

22:10

with bacon fat. There

22:12

was molasses to eat on the cornbread,

22:15

but because this was company supper,

22:17

they did not sweeten their coffee

22:19

with molasses. Ma

22:21

brought out the little paper sack of

22:24

pale brown store sugar. Mr.

22:28

Edward said he surely did appreciate

22:30

that supper. Then

22:32

Pa brought out his fiddle. Mr.

22:35

Edward stretched out on the ground to

22:37

listen. But first,

22:39

Pa played for Laura and Mary. He

22:42

played their very favorite song and he

22:44

sang it. Laura

22:46

liked it best of all because

22:49

Pa's voice went down deep, deep,

22:51

deeper in that song. Then

22:55

his voice went deep, deep

22:57

down, deeper than the

22:59

very oldest bullfrogs. They

23:02

all laughed. Laura could

23:04

hardly stop laughing. Oh,

23:08

sing it again, Pa. Sing it

23:10

again, she cried, before she

23:12

remembered that children must be seen and

23:14

not heard. Then she

23:16

was quiet. Pa

23:19

went on playing and everything began

23:21

to dance. Mr.

23:23

Edward rose up on one elbow. Then

23:26

he sat up. Then he

23:29

jumped up and he danced. He

23:31

danced like a jumping jack in the moonlight

23:34

while Pa's fiddle kept on rollicking

23:36

and his foot kept tapping the

23:38

ground and Laura's hands and

23:40

Mary's hands were clapping together and their

23:43

feet were patting too. You're

23:46

the fiddleness fool that I ever

23:48

see, Mr. Edward shouted admiringly to

23:50

Pa. He

23:52

didn't stop dancing. Pa

23:54

didn't stop playing. He

23:57

played Money Musk and Arkansas

23:59

Travel. Irish washer

24:01

woman and the devil's hornpipe. Baby

24:05

Carrie couldn't sleep in all that

24:07

music. She sat up

24:09

in Ma's lap looking at Mr.

24:12

Edwards with round eyes and

24:14

clapping her little hands and laughing. Even

24:18

the fur light danced and all

24:21

around its edge the shadows were

24:23

dancing. Only

24:25

the new house stood still and quiet in

24:27

the dark till the big

24:29

moon rose and shone on its gray

24:31

walls and the yellow chit surrounded. Mr.

24:36

Edwards said he must go. It was

24:38

a long way back to his camp on the other

24:40

side of the woods in the creek. He

24:44

took his gun and said good night to

24:46

Laura and Mary and Ma. He

24:49

said a bachelor got mighty lonesome and

24:51

he surely had enjoyed this evening of

24:53

home life. Play

24:56

angles he said. Play me down the

24:58

road. So while he

25:00

went down the creek road and out of sight

25:03

Pa played and Pa and

25:05

Mr. Edwards and Laura sang with all

25:08

their might. When

25:11

Pa's fill stopped they could not

25:13

hear Mr. Edwards anymore. Only

25:16

the wind rustled in the prairie grasses.

25:20

The big yellow moon was sailing

25:22

high overhead. The

25:24

sky was so full of light that

25:27

not one star twinkled in it and

25:30

all the prairie was a shadowy

25:32

mellowness. Then

25:34

from the woods by the creek

25:36

a nightingale began to sing. Everything

25:40

was silent listening to

25:42

the nightingale song. The

25:45

birds sang on and on. The

25:48

cool wind moved over the prairie and

25:50

the song was round and clear above

25:52

the grasses whispering. The

25:56

sky was like a bowl of light

25:58

overturned on the flat black The

26:02

song ended. No one

26:04

moved or spoke. Laura

26:07

and Mary were quiet. Paul

26:09

and Moss sat motionless. Only

26:12

the wind stirred and the grass aside.

26:16

Then Paul lifted the fiddle to his

26:18

shoulder and softly touched

26:20

the bow to the strings. A

26:23

few notes fell like clear drops of

26:25

water into the stillness. A

26:28

pause and Paul began

26:30

to play the Nightingale song. The

26:34

Nightingale answered him. The

26:36

Nightingale began to sing again. It was

26:39

singing with Paul's fiddle. When

26:42

the strings were silent, the Nightingale

26:44

went on singing. When

26:47

it paused, the fiddle called to

26:49

it and it sang again. The

26:52

bird and the fiddle were talking to each

26:55

other in the cool night under

26:57

the moon. Chapter

27:03

6 Moving In The

27:10

walls were up, Paul was saying to Ma in

27:12

the morning. We'd better

27:14

move in and get along as best we

27:17

can without a floor or other fixings. I

27:20

must build the stable as fast as I can so

27:23

Pet and Patty can be inside walls too.

27:27

Last night I could hear wolves

27:29

howling from every direction seem like

27:31

and close too. Well,

27:34

you have your gun so I'll

27:36

not worry, said Ma. Yes, and there's

27:39

Jack. But I'll feel

27:41

easier in my mind when you and the

27:43

girls have good solid walls around you. Why

27:46

do you suppose we haven't seen any Indians,

27:48

Ma asked? Oh,

27:51

I don't know, Paul replied

27:54

carelessly. I've seen their camping places

27:56

among the bluffs. They're away

27:58

on a hunting trip now, I guess. The

28:02

maw called. Girls, the sun's

28:04

up, and Laura and

28:06

Mary scrambled out of bed and into

28:08

their clothes. Eat

28:11

your breakfast quickly, Ma said, putting the

28:13

last of the rabbit stew on their

28:16

tin plates. Removing

28:19

into the house today, and all the

28:21

chips must be out. So

28:24

they ate quickly and hurried to carry all

28:26

the chips out of the house. They

28:30

ran back and forth as fast as they

28:32

could, gathering their skirts full

28:34

of chips and dumping them in a

28:36

pile near the fire. But

28:39

there were still chips on the ground inside

28:41

the house when Ma began to sweep it

28:43

with her broom. Ma

28:46

limped, though her sprained ankle was

28:48

beginning to get well. But

28:51

she soon swept the earthen floor, and

28:54

then Mary and Laura began to help her

28:56

carry things into the house. Pa

29:00

was on top of the walls, stretching

29:02

the canvas wagon top over the

29:04

skeleton roof of saplings. The

29:08

canvas billowed in the wind. Pa's

29:11

beard blew wildly, and his

29:13

hair stood up from his head as if it

29:15

were trying to pull itself out. He

29:18

held onto the canvas and thought it. And

29:22

it jerked so hard that Laura thought he

29:25

must let go or sail into the air

29:27

like a bird. But

29:29

he held tight to the wall with his legs and

29:32

tight to the canvas with his hands, and

29:34

he tied it down. There

29:37

he said to it, stay where you

29:40

are and be. Charles,

29:42

Ma said, she

29:44

stood with her arms full of quilts and

29:46

looked up at him reprovingly. And

29:50

be good, Pa said to the canvas. Why

29:55

Caroline, what did you think I was going

29:57

to say? Oh Charles,

29:59

Ma said. Pa said, you scallowag.

30:03

Pa came right down the corner of the house.

30:06

The ends of the log stuck out, and

30:09

he used them for a ladder. He

30:12

ran his hand through his hair so that

30:14

it stood up even more wildly, and

30:16

Ma burst out laughing.

30:19

Then he hugged her, quilts and all. Then

30:22

they looked at the house, and Pa said, how's

30:25

that for a snug house? I'll

30:28

be thankful to get into it, said Ma. There

30:32

was no door, and there were no windows. There

30:34

was no floor except the ground, and

30:37

no roof except the canvas. But

30:40

that house had good, stout walls, and

30:42

it would stay where it was. It

30:44

was not like the wagon that every morning

30:47

went on to some other place. We're

30:50

going to do well here, Caroline, Pa said. This

30:53

is a great country. This

30:55

is a country I'll be contented to stay in

30:57

the rest of my life. Even

31:00

when it's settled up, Ma asked. Even

31:03

when it's settled up, no matter

31:06

how thick and close the neighbors get, this

31:08

country will never feel crowded. Look

31:11

at that sky. Laura

31:13

knew what he meant. She

31:15

liked this place too. She

31:18

liked the enormous sky and the

31:20

winds, and the land that you couldn't

31:22

see to the end of. Everything

31:25

was so fresh and clean and big

31:27

and splendid. By

31:30

dinnertime, the house was in order. The

31:33

beds were neatly made on the floor. The

31:36

wagon seat and two ends of logs were

31:38

brought in for chairs. Pa's

31:42

gun lay on its pegs above the

31:44

doorway. Boxes and

31:46

bundles were neat against the walls. It

31:49

was a pleasant house. A

31:52

soft light came through the canvas roof. Wind

31:55

and sunshine came through the window holes, and

31:58

every crack in the four walls glowed a

32:00

little because the sun was overhead. Only

32:04

the campfire stayed where it had been. Pa

32:08

said he would build a fireplace in the house as

32:10

soon as he could. He

32:12

would hew out slabs to make a

32:14

solid roof too before winter came. He

32:18

would lay a punch in floor and make

32:20

beds and tables and chairs, but

32:22

all that work must wait until

32:24

he had helped Mr. Edwards and

32:26

had built a stable for Pat

32:28

and Patty. When

32:31

that's all done said Ma, I

32:33

want a clothesline. Pa

32:35

laughed, yes, and I want

32:38

a well. After

32:41

dinner he hitched Pat and Patty

32:43

to the wagon and he hauled a

32:45

tub full of water from the creek so

32:48

that Ma could do the washing. We

32:51

could wash clothes in the creek he told her, Indian

32:53

women do. If

32:56

we wanted to live like Indians, you could make

32:58

a hole in the roof to let the smoke

33:00

out and we'd have the fire on the floor

33:02

inside the house said Ma, Indians

33:04

do. That

33:07

afternoon she washed the clothes in the

33:09

tub and spread them on the grass

33:11

to dry. After

33:14

supper they sat for a while by

33:16

the campfire. That

33:19

night they would sleep in the house. They

33:21

would never sleep beside a campfire again.

33:26

Pa and Ma talked about the folks

33:28

in Wisconsin and Ma wished she

33:30

could send them a letter, but

33:32

independence was 40 miles away and no

33:35

letter could go until Pa made the

33:37

long trip to the post office there.

33:41

Back in the big woods so far away,

33:44

Grandpa and Grandma and the aunts and

33:46

uncles and cousins did not

33:49

know where Pa and Ma and Maura

33:51

and Mary and baby Carrie were. And

33:54

sitting there by the campfire, no

33:56

one knew what might have happened in the big

33:58

woods. was no way to

34:00

find out. Well,

34:03

it's bedtime, Ma said. Baby

34:06

Carrie was already asleep. Ma

34:09

carried her into the house and undressed her,

34:12

while Mary unbuttoned Laura's dress and

34:14

petticoat waist down the back, and

34:18

Pa hung a quilt over the door hole.

34:21

The quilt would be better than no door. Then

34:24

Pa went out to bring Pat and Patty close

34:26

to the house. She

34:29

called back softly. Come

34:31

out here, Caroline, and look at the moon.

34:35

Mary and Laura lay in their bed on

34:37

the ground inside the new house and

34:40

watched the sky through the window hole to

34:42

the east. The

34:44

edge of the big bright moon glittered at

34:46

the bottom of the window space, and

34:48

Laura sat up. She

34:51

looked at the great moon, sailing

34:53

silently higher in the clear sky.

34:57

Its light made silvery lines and all the

34:59

cracks on that side of the house. The

35:03

light poured through the window hole and

35:05

made a square of soft radiance on

35:07

the floor. It

35:09

was so bright that Laura saw Ma

35:11

plainly when she lifted the quilt at

35:13

the door and came in. Then

35:17

Laura very quickly lay down before

35:19

Ma saw her not only sitting up in

35:21

bed. She

35:23

heard Pat and Patty, winnying

35:25

softly to Pa. Then

35:28

the faint sounds of their feet came into

35:30

her ear from the floor. Pat

35:33

and Patty and Pa were coming toward

35:35

the house, and Laura heard

35:37

Pa singing. His

35:40

voice was like a part of the night

35:42

and the moonlight and the stillness of the

35:44

prairie. He came to

35:46

the doorway singing. Softly,

35:48

Ma said, hush Charles,

35:50

you wake the children. So Pa

35:54

came in without a sound. Jack

35:56

followed at his heels and lay down

35:58

across the doorway. away. Now

36:01

they were all inside the stout

36:03

walls of their new home, and

36:05

they were snug and safe. Drowsily,

36:10

Laura heard a long wolf howl

36:13

rising far away on the prairie, but

36:16

only a little shiver went up her

36:18

backbone, and she fell

36:20

asleep. Thank

38:00

you. Thank

38:30

you. Thank

39:00

you. Thank

39:30

you. Thank

41:30

you. Thank

42:30

you. Thank

43:00

you. Thank

43:30

you. Thank

44:00

you. Thank

44:30

you. Thank

45:00

you. Thank

45:30

you. Thank

45:47

you. Thank

45:57

you. you

46:30

you you

47:30

you Thank

48:00

you. Thank

48:30

you. Thank

49:00

you. Thank

49:30

you. Thank

50:00

you. Thank

50:30

you. Thank

51:00

you. Thank

51:30

you. Thank

52:05

you. Thank

52:30

you. Thank

53:00

you. Thank

53:30

you. Thank

54:00

you. Thank

54:30

you. Thank

55:00

you. Thank

55:30

you. Thank

56:00

you. Thank

56:30

you. Thank

57:00

you. Thank

57:30

you. Thank

58:00

you. Thank

58:30

you. Thank

59:00

you. Thank

59:30

you. Thank

1:00:00

you.