John Larrysson's Column: Summer Story Chapter 9 Part 9 - Going Home
The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
文章日期:2021年9月3日

It had been a wonderful day, the most wonderful day in Laura's whole life. She thought about the beautiful lake, the town she had seen and the big store full of so many things. She held the pretty round pebbles carefully in her lap. Her candy heart was wrapped carefully in her handkerchief (cloth tissue) until she got home and could put it away to keep always. It was too pretty to eat.

[audio 1]

The wagon bounced along on the homeward road through the big forest. The sun set and the forest grew darker, but before the last of the twilight (time between day and night) was gone the moon rose. And they were safe, because her father had his gun.

The soft moonlight came down through the treetops and made patches of light and shade on the road ahead. The horses' hoofs (horse feet) made a cheerful clippety-clop sound.

Laura and Mary did not say anything because they were very tired. Her mother sat silently holding Baby Carrie, sleeping in her arms. But her father sang softly:

[audio 2]

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there

Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere

 

Home! Home!

Sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home

There's no place like home!

 

An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain

Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again

The birds singing gaily that came at my call

And gave me the peace of mind dearer than all

 

Home! Home!

Sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home

There's no place like home!

[audio 3 - YouTube: Richard Conrad singing "Home, Sweet Home"]

cottage - small house

thatched - roofed with dry plants.

dazzle - very bright and shiny 

exile - have to stay away from one’s home

gaily - happily and lively  (older word) 

hallow  - to make holy or religiously important (older word) 

humble - ordinary and not fancy 

mid - in the middle of 

ne'er - never (old contraction) 

palace - big fancy house appropriate for a king 

thro' - through (old contraction) 

vain - uselessly 

 

About Laura

Laura Ingalls was born in America in 1864, in Wisconsin. As a young girl, Laura lived in a little log house in the forest. Later she moved with her family to the wild Dakota Territory to build a farm. They mistakenly settled in the wrong place and had to leave. In the mid-1870s they managed a hotel in Iowa, but later in the decade travelled back to the wilderness to build another farm. Near the town of De Smet, Laura Ingalls taught school and in 1885 married a farmer named Almanzo Wilder.

[audio 4]

Her first published writing appeared in a magazine called the Missouri Ruralist in 1911. She started a bank for farmers and continued to write. She wrote several stories partially based on her childhood. They became very popular. She realized that she had lived history, and she wanted children to learn about America's past as she had experienced it as a child. The country had changed a lot since she was a child. Laura Ingalls Wilder died in 1957.

[audio 5]

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

Chapter 8 Part 7: Dancing

Chapter 8 Part 8: Grandmother is the Best Dancer

Chapter 8 Part 9: The Syrup is Ready

Chapter 8 Part 10: Maple Sugar

Chapter 9 Part 1: Spring Has Come

Chapter 9 Part 2: Baby Animals

Chapter 9 Part 3: How to Curl Your Hair and Get Ready to Go to Town

Chapter 9 Part 4: Riding to Town

Chapter 9 Part 5 - What a Town Looks Like

Chapter 9 Part 6 - The Store

Chapter 9 Part 7 - Shopping

Chapter 9 Part 8 - Lunch Beside the Lake

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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