Laura Ingalls Wilder by The Long Winter

Author:The Long Winter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-06-02T15:49:25+00:00

THE LONG WINTER

T H E LONG WINTER

clothes and they sorted them and sprinkled them and rolled them tightly, ready for ironing. Twilight had come. It was too late to read that day and after supper there was no lamplight because they must save the last of the kerosene.

"Work comes before pleasure," Ma always said.

She smiled her gentle smile for Laura and Carrie and said now, " M y girls have helped me do a good day's work," and they were rewarded.

"Tomorrow we'll read a story," Carrie said happily.

"Tomorrow we have to do the ironing," Laura reminded her.

"Yes, and we should air the bedding and give the upstairs a thorough cleaning, in this good weather,"

said Ma.

Pa came in and heard them. "Tomorrow I'm going to work on the railroad," he said.

Mr. Wood worth had word to put at work on the tracks all the men he could get. T h e superintendent at the Tracy cut was driving the work there and shovel gangs were shoveling eastward from Huron.

"If muscle and will-power can do it, we'll have a train through by Christmas!" Pa declared.

That night he came back from work with a broad smile on his sun-red face. "Good news!" he called out.

"The work train will come through sometime tomorrow! T h e regular train'll come next, day after tomorrow probably."

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T H E LONG WINTER

"Oh, good! Good! Goody!" Laura and Carrie exclaimed together, and Ma said, "That is good news, indeed. What is wrong with your eyes, Charles?"

His eyes were red and puffed. He answered cheerfully, "Shoveling snow in the sunshine is hard on eyes.

Some of the men are snow-blind. Fix me up a little weak salt-water, will you, Caroline? And I'll bathe them after I do the chores."

When he had gone to the stable, Ma dropped into a chair near Mary. " I ' m afraid, girls, this will be a poor Christmas," she said. "What with these awful storms and trying to keep warm, we've had no time to plan for it."

"Maybe the Christmas barrel. . ." Carrie began.

"We mustn't count on it," said Mary.

"We could wait for Christmas till it comes," Laura suggested. "All b u t . . . " and she picked up Grace who was listening wide-eyed.

"Can't Santa Claus come?" Grace asked, and her lower lip began to tremble.

Laura hugged her and looked over her golden head at Ma.

Ma said firmly, "Santa Claus always comes to good little girls, Grace. But girls," she went on, "I have an idea. What do you think of saving my church papers and your bundle of Youths Companions to open on Christmas day?"

After a moment Mary said, "I think it is a good 174

T H E LONG WINTER

idea. It will help us to learn self-denial."

"I don't want to," Laura said.

"Nobody does," said Mary. "But it's good for us."

Sometimes Laura did not even want to be good.

But after another silent moment she said, "Well, if you and Mary want to, Ma, I will. It will give us something to look forward to for Christmas.

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