There was no Wellcome Mart or Parkn'Shop in the forest. Laura's family ate meat from animals that her father had shot. However last night he came home from hunting without any meat. Her father had never before gone out hunting deer and come home without any meat!
After they ate supper her father started to tell Laura and Mary the story of why he didn't bring home any fresh meat to eat.
"The moon had risen higher and the moonlight was bright in the little open place. All around it the shadows were dark among the trees.
After a long while, a doe and her fawn came stepping gently out of the shadows. A mother deer is called a doe and her baby is a fawn. They were not afraid at all. They walked over to the place where I had sprinkled the salt, and they both licked up a little of it.
Then they raised their heads and looked at each other. The fawn stepped over and stood beside the doe. They stood there together, looking at the forest and the moonlight. Their large eyes were bright and soft.
I just sat there looking at them, until they walked away among the shadows. Then I climbed down out of the tree and came home."
Laura whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you didn't shoot them!"
Mary said, "We can eat bread and butter."
Her father lifted Mary up out of her chair and hugged both of them together.
They had plenty of bread and butter, because her father kept two cows named Sukey and Rosie. They gave the family a lot of milk. The cream from that milk was made into butter1. They had a lot of wheat because her father grew wheat on his farm2. Her mother baked all their bread from that wheat3. They had plenty of food to eat.
Footnote:
1. Chapter 2 Part 4 - Churn on Thursday
2. Chapters 11 and 12 (see links below)
3. Chapter 2 Part 3 Laura and Mary Helped Mother with the Housework
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!
Chapter 7 Part 1 Introduction - Maple Syrup
Chapter 7 Part 2 - The snow is melting
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 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 8 - Lunch Beside the Lake
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 6 Making Cheese
Chapter 10 Part 7 Green Cheese
Chapter 10 Part 10 How Her Father Got The Honey Away From The Bear
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 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
Chapter 12 Part 9 Finished Threshing
Chapter 13 THE DEER IN THE WOOD Part 1 Winter Has Come Again
Chapter 13 Part 3 Why There Is No Fresh Meat
Chapter 13 Part 4 A Funny Fat Bear
by John Larrysson
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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