Summer is coming and Ming Pao will not have an English page. What will you do until September? I have good news for you. There will still be an English story being told on Ming Pao Life. This summer I will read you the seventh chapter of The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Of course it is slightly edited to make it easier to understand.
Six summers ago I read you chapter one. The story is about a little girl, named Laura, and her family. She grew up in the American wilderness about a hundred and fifty years ago. At that time, America was an undeveloped country without modern factories, electricity, telephones or cars. Her family lived in a little log house in a big forest. They had to grow or hunt all their own food. In the first chapter we learned about life in the forest and the games they played.
After that I read you chapter two. Winter in the forest was a difficult time. Laura, and her sister Mary, stayed indoors and helped their mother with the housework. They played games and sang songs. Her father also told the story of Grandfather and the Panther.
In the third chapter you learned about the gun her father used for hunting. His gun was not modern and was not easy to use. He needed to be very skilled to shoot animals and bring meat home to eat.
In the fourth chapter they had cousins visit for Christmas. However their family-Christmas was very different from our modern shopping holiday. Their conservative religious values and real poverty limited the way they celebrated Christmas.
In the fifth chapter it was still winter and the girls must stay indoors. However it is Sunday and Laura's family were puritanical Christians. Her parents and grandparents were very strict about what must be done, and what must not be done, on Sunday.
Last summer I read the sixth chapter to you. It was about the trouble that Laura's family had with bears in the forest. If bears are not handled correctly, they can be a threat to one's life. Do not feed bears or other dangerous animals in the wild.
This summer, chapter 7 is a happy chapter. Maple syrup was one of the few types of sweet food that Laura's family had. It is spring and the maple syrup can be harvested.
* The original book is in the public domain under Hong Kong copyright law. This simplified copy is under my new copyright, which Ming Pao has permission to use.
he Little House in the Big Woods
Chapter 1 - Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1 - Part 2: Wolves in the Night
Chapter 1 - Part 4: Smoked Meat
Chapter 1 - Part 5: Food for Winter
Chapter 1 - Part 6: Butchering Time
Chapter 1 - Part 7: After Butchering Time
Chapter 1 - Part 9: Winter Night
Chapter 1 - Part 10: About the Author & Where to Find the Book
Chapter 2 - Part 1: Winter Days and Winter Nights
Chapter 2 - Part 2: Jack Frost
Chapter 2 - Part 3: Laura and Mary Helped Mother with the Housework
Chapter 2 - Part 4: Churn on Thursday
Chapter 2 - Part 5: The Best Time of All
Chapter 2 - Part 6: Her Father Began to Play his Fiddle and Sing
Chapter 2 - Part 7: Father Told Stories
Chapter 2 - Part 8 - The Story of Grandfather and the Panther
Chapter 3 - Part 1: Introduction (The Long Rifle)
Chapter 3 - Part 2: Making Bullets
Chapter 3 - Part 3: Cleaning the Gun
Chapter 3 - Part 4: Loading the Gun
Chapter 3 - Part 5: Where and Why to Keep a Gun
Chapter 3 - Part 6: The Story of her Father and the Voice in the Forest Part 1
Chapter 3 - Part 7: The Story of her Father and the Voice in the Forest Part 2
Chapter 4 - Part 1: Christmas in the Forest
Chapter 4 - Part 2: Making a Gift for his Wife
Chapter 4 - Part 3: Christmas is Coming
Chapter 4 - Part 4: Children Make Pictures in the Snow
Chapter 4 - Part 5: Prince & the Blue Dress (part 1 of 3)
Chapter 4 - Part 6: Prince & the Blue Dress (part 2 of 3)
Chapter 4 - Part 7: Prince & the Blue Dress (part 3 of 3)
Chapter 4 - Part 8: Christmas Morning
Chapter 4 - Part 9: Santa Claus Only Gives Presents to Children
Chapter 5 - Part 2: The Weekly Bath
Chapter 5 - Part 3: Being Quiet
Chapter 5 - Part 4: The Story of Grandfather's Sledge and the Pig (part 1 of 4)
Chapter 5 - Part 5: The Story of Grandfather's Sledge and the Pig (part 2 of 4)
Chapter 5 - Part 6: The Story of Grandfather's Sledge and the Pig (part 3 of 4)
Chapter 5 - Part 7: The Story of Grandfather's Sledge and the Pig (part 4 of 4)
Chapter 5 - Part 8: Sunday Music
Chapter 5 - Part 9: Birthday Spanking
Chapter 6 - Part 1 - Introduction (Two Big Bears)
Chapter 6 - Part 2 - Getting Ready to Go
Chapter 6 - Part 3 - Milking Sukey the Cow (1 of 2)
Chapter 6 - Part 4a - Milking Sukey the Cow (2 of 2)
Chapter 6 - Part 4b - Review Questions: Milking Sukey
Chapter 6 - Part 4c - Answers for Review Questions
Chapter 6 - Part 5 - Her Father Has Not Come Home
Chapter 6 - Part 6 - The Story Of Her Father And The Bear In The Way (1 of 2)
Chapter 6 Part 7a - The Story of Her Father and the Bear in the Way (2 of 2)
Chapter 6 Part 7b - Review Questions: The Bear in the Way
Chapter 6 Part 7c - Answers for Review Questions
Chapter 6 Part 8 - Evening with Father
Chapter 6 Part 9 - When idiots see a bear: Hey let's feed the real live teddy bear!
by John Larrysson
A native English speaker who has been teaching practical English in Hong Kong for over two decades.
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