John Larrysson's Column: Story Chapter 12 Part 9 Finished Threshing
The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
文章日期:2023年1月11日

By the middle of the afternoon the machines had finished all the threshing. (To thresh that was to take the wheat off the wheat plant.) The men who owned the machines drove them away into the big forest. They took some of the wheat with them as payment for using the machine. They were going to the next place where neighbours had piled their wheat and wanted to use the machines to thresh it.

Their father was very tired that night, but he was happy. He said to their mother:

"Caroline, it would have taken us a couple of weeks to thresh as much grain as that machine threshed today. We wouldn't have gotten as much wheat, either, and it wouldn't have been as clean.”

[audio 1]

"That machine's a great invention!" he said. "Other folks can stick to old-fashioned ways if they want to, but I'm all for progress. It's a great time we're living in. As long as I raise wheat, I'm going to have a machine come and thresh it, if there's one in the neighbourhood."

He was too tired that night to talk to Laura, but Laura was proud of him. It was her father who had suggested that the other men pile their wheat together and use the threshing machine. It was a wonderful machine. Everybody was glad it had come. 

[audio 2]

The days were growing shorter, soon winter would come and the forest would be cold. Soon the grass would be dry and dead. The cows would have to be taken out of the forest and kept in the barn to be fed. All the brightly-coloured leaves would fall to the ground. Soon there would be no more playing under the trees. The forest would soon be covered with snow and a little fire would have to burn all day in the cook-stove to keep the house warm. 

[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

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

Chapter 9 Part 9 - Going Home

Chapter 10 Part 1 SUMMERTIME

Chapter 10 Part 2 SUMMERTIME VISITORS

Chapter 10 Part 3 Curls and Aunt Lotty

Chapter 10 Part 4 You Must Never Hit Your Sister

Chapter 10 Part 5 Summer Work

Chapter 10 Part 6 Making Cheese

Chapter 10 Part 7 Green Cheese

Chapter 10 Part 8 Old Grimes

Chapter 10 Part 9 Honey Tree

Chapter 10 Part 10 How Her Father Got The Honey Away From The Bear

Chapter 11 Part 1 HARVEST

Chapter 11 Part 2 Work in the Farm Fields

Chapter 11 Part 3 Why Does Charley Scream?

Chapter 11 Part 4 What Happened to Charlie?

Chapter 11 Part 5 "It served the little liar right."

Chapter 12 Part 1 Making Hats

Chapter 12 Part 2 Sewing the Hats

Chapter 12 Part 3 Gathering Nuts

Chapter 12 Part 4 Pumpkin Pies

Chapter 12 Part 5 The Threshers Have Come

Chapter 12 Part 6 The Wonderful Threshing Machine

Chapter 12 Part 7 Working the Wonderful Machine

Chapter 12 Part 8 Dinner with the Threshers

by John Larrysson

[email protected]

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

John Larrysson's Column: link.mingpao.com/75231.htm

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