John Larrysson's Column: Summer Story Chapter 8 Part 7: Dancing
The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
文章日期:2020年8月18日

Chapter 8 Dance at Grandmother & Grandfather's House

Part 7: Dancing

Uncle George was blowing his bugle. It made a loud, ringing sound in the room. Uncle George joked, laughed and danced, blowing the bugle to make horn music. Then her father took his fiddle out of its box and began to play. (A fiddle is a violin). All the couples on the floor began to dance. All the skirts began to swing around and all the boots began to stamp. The circles went round and round, all the skirts going one way and all the boots going the other way. Hands were clasping and parting high up in the air.

"Swing your partners!" Her father sang, "Each gent bow to the lady on the left!"

They all did as her father said. Laura watched her Mother's skirt swaying and her little waist bending and her dark head bowing. Laura thought her mother was the loveliest dancer in the world. The fiddle was singing:

[audio 1]

"Oh, you Buffalo gals, 

Aren't you coming out tonight,

Aren't you coming out tonight,

Aren't you coming out tonight,

Oh, you Buffalo gals,

Aren't you coming out tonight,

To dance by the light of the moon?" 

The little circles and the big circles went round and round. The skirts swirled and the boots stamped. Then the partners bowed, separated, then met again and bowed again.

In the kitchen Grandmother was all by herself, stirring the boiling syrup in the big brass kettle. She stirred in time to the music. By the back door was a pail of clean snow and sometimes Grandmother took a spoonful of syrup from the kettle and poured it on some of the snow in a saucer.

Laura watched the dancers again. Her father was playing "The Irish Washerwoman" now. Laura could not keep her feet still. Uncle George looked at her and laughed. Then he caught her by the hand and did a little dance with her, in the corner. She liked Uncle George.

[audio 2]

Everybody was laughing, over by the kitchen door. They were dragging Grandmother in from the kitchen. Grandmother's dress was beautiful, too; a dark blue pattern with autumn-coloured leaves scattered over it. Her cheeks were pink from laughing and she was shaking her head. The wooden spoon was in her hand.

"I can't leave the syrup," she said.

But her father began to play "The Arkansas Traveller," and everybody began to clap in time to the music. So Grandmother bowed to them all and did a few steps by herself. She could dance as prettily as any of them. The clapping almost drowned the music of her father's fiddle.

[audio 3]

Little House in the Big Woods

Chapter 1 - Part 1: Introduction

Chapter 1 - Part 2: Wolves in the Night

Chapter 1 - Part 3: Venison

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 8: Winter

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 1: Sundays

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!

Chapter 7 Part 1 Introduction - Maple Syrup

Chapter 7 Part 2 - The snow is melting

Chapter 7 Part 3 - Sugar Snow

Chapter 7 Part 4 - Grandfather prepares to make maple syrup

Chapter 7 Part 5 - Grandfather harvests maple syrup

Chapter 7 Part 6 - Why is it called a sugar snow?

Chapter 7 Part 7 - Delaine Dress

Chapter 8 Part 1 - Going to Grandmother and Grandfather's House

Chapter 8 Part 2 - Grandmother and Grandfather's House

Chapter 8 Part 3 - The Wildman

Chapter 8 Part 4a: Made themselves pretty – Hair

Chapter 8 Part 4b: Made themselves pretty - Corsets

Chapter 8 Part 5: Made themselves pretty – Dresses

Chapter 8 Part 6: Competition - The Babies on the Bed

by John Larrysson

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A native English speaker who has been teaching practical English in Hong Kong for over two decades.

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