Little Author in the Big Woods Read Online Free Page A

prisoners’ base, handball, and baseball. There was only one boy in the school who could run faster than Laura.

    The school term ended in June, and Laura, now 11, was offered a job. Mrs. Masters asked her to work at the hotel, where she would earn 50 cents an hour waiting on tables, washing dishes, making beds, and looking after Mrs. Masters’s grandbaby. Laura liked her work. During the quiet times between meals, Mrs. Masters let her slip off to read. Laura made her way through a big stack of the New York Ledger , a weekly paper, losing herself in their exciting stories. She didn’t know it, but her future life as a writer was already beginning, right there amid the pages of those newspapers. When she was all done with her chores and her reading, she could walk across the pasture to her home.
    Other people in Walnut Grove began to notice what a good worker Laura was: careful, responsible, and capable. Soon she was running errands and doing all sorts of odd jobs for friends and neighbors. The nickels and dimes she earned made her—and her parents—proud.
    On Sundays, the Ingalls family attended the Congregational church and Sunday school, and in the afternoons, Laura went to services at the Methodist church as well. The Methodists were offering a prize to the girl or boy who could repeat the golden texts and central truths from the Bible. This was just the sort of challenge Laura loved. There were 104 verses to remember, and Laura was determined to master them all. Like in a spelling bee, the children tried to recite all the verses, only to fail and be disqualified. Finally, just Laura and one other boy were left—both had recited the verses perfectly. Although there was just one prize Bible, the minister’s wife told Laura that if she was willing to wait, a nicer, even fancier version would be ordered and given to her. Laura agreed—it was a prize worth waiting for.
    Laura had just turned 12 in the winter of 1879 when Mary suddenly became very sick. She complained of a throbbing in her head, and her fever spiked so high that Ma cut off all her lovely blond hair—the hair Laura, a brunette, had always envied—in a desperate effort to cool her down. The doctor came, but he could do nothing to help her get better. Ma and Pa were sure she would die.
    Laura was afraid for her sister. They were so close. Sometimes they quarreled. Sometimes Laura was jealous, because Mary was so pretty and well behaved, while she thought of herself as plain and stout. But despite that, Mary was her best friend, and she loved her sister deeply. They had already lost Freddie. What would happen if Mary died? Laura couldn’t bear to think of it.
    The exact nature of Mary’s illness was never determined but it was severe enough to have damaged her optic nerve and it caused her to go blind. But Mary surprised them. She was strong and pulled through. Although she was only 14 years old, she did not complain or mourn; she seemed to accept her sightlessness and was deeply grateful for the love and support of her family.
    When it was clear that Mary would never be able to see again, Pa took Laura aside. He had something very important to ask. Now that Mary was blind, Laura must act as her eyes. Through Laura, Mary would keep in contact with the world, and it would be Laura’s job to describe the things that her sister could no longer see. Laura was quick and lively, so Pa had confidence in her. Laura nodded very solemnly in response to Pa’s request. She knew it was a big responsibility, but she was ready to take it on. She would do as Pa asked, now and always.
    Laura’s new role was helping her to grow up. And although she did not know it, making pictures with words for her sister was preparing her for what would be her life’s work: it was turning a bright, observant girl who loved reading into a full-fledged writer.
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    FOUR
    A Train Trip and Life on the