Chapter 13

In the 13th chapter, Laura mentions that it's autumn once again and the house is full of good things to eat for the winter. Pa gets things ready outside of the house for winter, like insulation and such. Then one day he goes out in the woods to keep an eye on the deer lick he set up. He ended up falling asleep in the tree he was hiding in, and when he woke up he saw a deer, but it looked to peaceful so he didn't kill it. Then the deer left and a bear came! But he couldn't shoot it because he looked too much in the element of being in the woods. So Pa came home empty handed. When he told Mary and Laura this story, Laura told Pa that she was glad he didn't shoot the peaceful looking animals.

Response- The book is done?!?! You can tell she writes more than one book, because it flows right into Little House on the Prairie. No climax or anything of that nature. But overall it was great! I loved these books when I was younger, and I'll most likely love them the rest of my life! : )

Chapter 12

This whole chapter is basically about a couple of guys who travel with this machine that can separate grain from everything else on the plants. Laura and Mary watch them work on Pa's grain for payment. When they leave, Pa can't help but comment on how wonderful the world is becoming. He eliminated almost a weeks worth of work!


Response- Yeah, this chapter was kinda boring... Laura was only explaining how the machine worked and what her Pa thought about it. Not too exciting.. haha

Chapter 11

Harvest is here, and Uncle Henry and Pa trade work with each other. One day they'll work at Laura's house and another at Uncle Henry's. The day they were at Uncle Henry's, the men were cutting the grain stalks down and working hard, when they noticed that it looked like it was going to rain in a couple of hours. When lunch arrives, they hurry and eat, and force Laura's cousin Charley to work with them. Now Charley is a spoiled brat! He never works and always complains. So when he was out there, he was causing all sorts of trouble. Stealing the work tools and not getting the water, he was a total prick. Then he would run off and scream, making them come after him, only to laugh at them for coming. After doing that for a couple of times, he did it again, but the men didn't respond this time. Charley's screams got louder, and then they realized he might not be faking it this time. He wasn't, because he started it out as a joke, but he ended up stomping on a yellow jacket bee's nest, angering them hardcore. He was stung EVERYWHERE! Ma and Aunt Polly tried their best to fix him up, but he was in major pain. Then the family went home.

Response- I've never been stung by a bee, and I'm so glad! : ) If I was either Pa or Uncle Henry, I wouldn't have dealt with Charley's attitude... he would've been down and out! lol

Chapter 10

It's summertime, and that means it's the time that everyone visits each other. Whether it's family or friends, neighbors and their families, or people just passing by. When people show up, the men help Pa and the women talk with Ma and help her cook, and they read together. Later when people leave, Mary tells Laura that her hair isn't as pretty as hers, because it's brown and doesn't shine like her golden hair. Laura was pissed basically and slapped Mary. Pa saw the whole thing and whipped Laura and told her to go sit in the corner. Then after that, he asked her to come to him. She did, and she asked him if he likes brown hair more than blonde. He responded with, "I have brown hair, don't I?" That made Laura smile. Then the family made cheese!
One day Pa leaves to go borrow a hoe from a neighbor, and rushes back because he found a honey tree! He grabs the horses and wagon, and puts every possible container in it, including the tubs... just in case. He comes back with all of them full with honey!

Response- I don't know how cheese is made anyway, but to know how it was made in Abe Lincolns time?! Woah.

Chapter 9

The family is going to town! Pa got the horses all cleaned up while Ma got the girls ready. The night before Ma washed up Mary and Laura and set up their hair so it would curl in the morning. Everyone dressed up the best they could. The town they were going to is called Pepin because it's right on the shore of Lake Pepin. They got their and the girls were all fascinated that there were so many houses! Laura was shocked at how big the sky was and that the water didn't stop until it met the sky across the lake. They went into the store and Laura tried to look at everything, but couldn't because there was so much stuff! The store owner commented on how pretty Mary's curls were and didn't say anything to Laura. So Laura is slowly getting jealous. Laura couldn't say anything either, because she never really talks to strangers, but Mary was all prim and proper. The family had a picnic and Mary and Laura were collecting stones to take home; Laura got greedy, and shoved too many into her pocket and it ripped off. Then they went home.

Response- I can relate to Laura's jealousy, having an older sister of my own. There are too many times to think about how I thought Rachel was getting more attention than me, and I was a dumb, jealous, little girl. : )

Chapter 8

They get to Grandpa's and the men helped Grandpa with the syrup and the girls/mothers helped Grandma get ready for the dance. Uncle George was in the army and he was always blowing his bugle outside. Laura then watched her Aunts and her mother get ready for the dance at her Grandparents. They curled their hair and put on their best dresses. Then people started showing up and the dance got started. Grandma was making the syrup the whole time in the kitchen and Uncle George convinced her to dance with him and they ended up having a dance off! Grandma won too! Then the syrup was ready to make candies and everyone got some. There was multiple foods that could be eaten and the dancing continued then Laura fell asleep until the next morning and they went home.

Response- It's hilarious that Grandma won the dance off they had, even more so because Uncle George is in the army!

Chapter 7

The snow has started to let up and dry up a bit. One day it snowed again and Pa kept calling it sugar snow and he went to Grandpa's. When he got back he had cakes and a bucket of dark syrup. It was maple syrup and Grandpa makes the sap from maple trees into syrup and candies. Pa explains how he does it and then tells the family that they are going to Grandpa's next week and there will be a dance party. Ma was excited about that because she has a wicked awesome dress that some expert made before they moved to the Big Woods.

Response- It was really interesting to learn about how maple syrup was made 140 years ago!

Chapter 6

Pa went to town one day to trade furs he has been saving. So that night Ma and Laura head to the barn where they are going to milk the cows. They see a cow outside the barn, which is odd, and Ma hollers at the cow to go back in the barn and slaps it. When Laura moves the lantern at a better angle, they both realize it was a bear!! So Ma and Laura hurry back in the house.
When Pa gets home, he tells his story about coming home and seeing a bear himself. Because he had so many furs, he couldn't take his gun with him, and on the way home he regretted that because when he was walking home, he saw a bear standing in the middle of the road! So he picks up a club and runs at it, only to realize it's a stump!

Response- Holy crap! I would be freaking out if I was Laura's Ma, slapping a bear? With my luck it would eat me alive...

Chapter 5

This one starts talking about what they do (or don't do) on Sundays. They get their baths on Saturday night and they can't do anything real exciting, because it's Sunday. One Sunday, Laura started playing with Jack, their bulldog, and Pa almost ridiculed her, but ends up telling her and Mary a story about his father and a pig and a sled. When Pa was a little boy one Sunday he and his brothers left the house so they could sled down the hill just once. When they were sledding a pig walked in front of their path and landed on the sled! The pig squealed so loud that it woke up their father from his nap. Pa and his brothers knew that they were doomed when they went back in the house. After the story they went to bed.
In the morning Pa woke them up and told Laura that it was her birthday and she got a few presents and Pa played the fiddle.

Response- That would be awesome to sled down a huge hill and have a pig get on the sled!! They probably couldn't sit comfortably though for a few weeks, the way Pa talked about how pissed his father was..

Chapter 4

Christmas is almost here and Laura's family is coming over! The family does a lot to get ready for them, with food and cleaning. Uncle Peter and Aunt Eliza come over with their kids Alice, Ella, and Peter. They come over on Christmas Eve and the kids played all day long. On Christmas morning, the kids opened their stockings and they all had new red mittens and peppermint sticks. Laura was the only one to get another present. She got her very own rag doll and she named it Charlotte. Laura now doesn't have to ask her sister Mary to see her rag doll anymore! The whole family then had their big Christmas meal and Uncle Peter and the rest of his family had to get ready to go because they had a long way to go.


Response- It's really sad how in 100 some years Christmas has come from getting 2 gifts to more than 20! Laura can really explain how things were back then, even though she was 6!

Chapter 3

This one starts out with Laura talking about Pa's gun, how he cleans it, and what everything else dealing with his gun is. She says her and Mary watch him clean it because right after he tells them stories. The story in this chapter is about when Pa was a little boy. When Pa was younger, he had to bring the cows home from inside the woods. Grandpa always told him to hurry and not mess around. One day he left earlier than usual so he thought he had time to play. He ended up playing till dusk and he had to hurry to find the cows. By the time it was dark he still couldn't find them. He called for them, but he got no response. A little later he tried again, and someone answered, "Who?" and it scared Pa so he ran home. He got whipped and scolded because he was scared of a screech owl!

Response- I've seen my dad clean one of his rifles before, so nothing in this chapter surprised me or anything, except for Pa being scared of an owl. Ha.