But I see," he said, "that either one of you has more sense than the man who cut the two cat-holes in his door." That summer and fall, the Ingalls again plant a garden and fields, and store food for the winter. Pa trades labor with other farmers so that his own crops will be harvested faster when it is time. Not all work was farming. Hunting and gathering were important parts of providing for the Ingalls as well. When Pa went into the woods to hunt, he usually came home with a deer and then smoked the meat for the coming winter. One day he noticed a bee tree and returned early to get the wash tub and milk pail to collect the honey. When he returned in winter evenings, Laura and Mary always begged him to play his fiddle; he was too tired from farm work to play during summer. [4] In the winter, they enjoyed the comforts of their home and danced to Pa’s fiddle playing. Acarved a wooden shelf for Ma for Christmas, try carving a small piece of wood. For the younger children, try carving a piece of soap with a butter knife. At the end of this book, the family is told that the land must be vacated by settlers as it is not legally open to settlement yet, and in 1875 Pa elects to leave the land and move before the Army forcibly requires him to abandon the land. Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then were hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads. The pumpkins and the squashes were piled in orange and yellow and green heaps in the attic's corners.

Clatworthy Reservoir is nearby, just across a few fields. There are seven water inlets but generally, the south bank is considered to be the best area for fishing (licence needed). Wimbleball Lake is approximately 5 miles away and has a variety of walking and cycle trails plus a range of watersports on offer, such as canoeing, zorbing, windsurfing, paddle boarding, and sailing. French doors which open up to bring the outdoors indoors and bring in a beautiful light and birdsong. A two person cocoon hangs from the giant oak tree which is topped with cushions and blankets - perfect for appreciating the tranquility of The Little House. AmenitiesOne morning Pa went away before daylight with the horses and wagon, and that night he came home with a wagonload of fish. The big wagon box was piled full, and some of the fish were as big as Laura. Pa had gone to Lake Pepin and caught them all with a net. First he melted the bits of lead in the big spoon held in the coals. When the lead was melted, he poured it carefully from the spoon into the little hole in the bullet-mold. He waited a minute, then he opened the mold, and out dropped a bright new bullet onto the hearth. Anderson, William. The Little House Guidebook. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1996. ISBN 0-06-446177-7

They were cosy and comfortable in their little house made of logs, with the snow drifted around it and the wind crying because it could not get in by the fire. Chapter 3. The Long RIFLE. Stories about what happened between On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake, the fourth and fifth novels by Ingalls Wilder, written by Cynthia Rylant A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Journeys Across America (2006), LCCN 2005-14975 After the day's work was done, Ma sometimes cut paper dolls for them. She cut the dolls out of stiff white paper, and drew the faces with a pencil. Then from bits of colored paper she cut dresses and hats, ribbons and laces, so that Laura and Mary could dress their dolls beautifully. Ginger Wadsworth (Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2000), Laura Ingalls Wilder, Carolrhoda on my own books, ISBN 1575052660, 48 pp., illus. Shelly O. Haas, OCLC 40954094

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

In addition, simplified versions of the original series have been published for younger children in chapter and picture book form.