t snoter cold. every moing pa took raps and ting traps for muskrats and mink along traps for foxes and out traps o get a fat bear before t into ter.

  one moing ook t a bear. laura and mary jumped tip and doed:

  “i tick! i tick!

  mary did not know ick is.

  rap in ree covered ree.

  t killed t up to eat it. pa said tanding up on its s pa as they were hands.

  pa s t was.

  “so i just broug; pa said.

  ty of fres to last for a long time. ts t tle sside t thaw.

  ed fres for dinner pa took t off a c or pork. but t pork, or t for tic.

  t coming till it ed and banked against t in beautiful pictures of trees and flo jack frost came in t and made tures, jack frost tle man all snotering ed cap and soft s made of deer-skin. ens ures.

  laura and mary o take mas tty pattes of circles in t on t tures t jack frost .

  to t, te frost melted and ran in drops dos of snodoors and t trees standing bare and black, making te snow.

  laura and mary he work.

  every moing to laura alle cup and plate.

  by time t arundle bed anding one on eacraigucked t t and t trundle bed into its place under the big bed.

  after t belonged to t day. eacs oo say:

  “asuesday, mend on ednesday, curday, rest on sunday.”

  laura liked t of all the week.

  in er t yello ter c so pretty. ma liked everytable to be pretty, so in tertime ster.

  after s tall crockery c it near tove to ed it on ttom of

  tin pan t pa across til s all ted up t, juicy mound of grated carrot.

  s ttle pan of milk on tove and o a clot yelloo t colored all tter would be yellow.

  laura and mary o eat t 1 after t. mary t s to because stler. but ma said t divide it evenly. it was very good.

  it in t. ttle round he hole.

  sime. mary could sometimes ced, but too heavy for laura.

  at first ttle er a long time, to look grainy. to appear tiny grains of yelloter.

  ook off tter in a golden lump, drotermilk. took out to a imes in cold er, tuing it over and over and il ter ran clear. after t sed it.

  no part of tter. on ttom of tter-mold ure of a strarawberry leaves.

  itter tigo til it ued it upside-doe, and pustom. ttle, firm pat of golden butter came out, ras leaves molded on top.

  laura and mary ctle butterpats, eacs straop, dropped on to te as ma put all tter ttermilk on saturdays, o a little loaf. t of cookie dougoo, to make little cookies, and once laura even made a pie in ty-pan.

  after times cut paper dolls for t t of stiff s of colored paper s dresses and s, ribbons and laces, so t laura and mary could dress tifully.

  but, t time of all night, when pa came home.

  ramping tiny icicles ac and mittens, and call: “tle of s cider half drunk up? “

  t was laura, because she was so small.

  laura and mary o climb on t on and cap and mittens again and go out to do ty of he fire.

  sometimes, raps y, or ime to play h laura and mary.

  one game tanding it all up on end. trying to get t get away.

  t dodging and running, but once t tove. t get past pa, and t.

  terribly, it all seemed real. mary as pa came nearer laura screamed, and over th her.

  and at once t all. tanding t laura.

  “ell!“ o ;youre only a little of cider by jinks! youre as strong as a little french horse!

  “you s frig; ma said. “look heir eyes are.

  pa looked, and took down o play and sing.

  “yankee doodle to torousies, see tohere was so many houses.”

  laura and mary forgot all about the mad dog.

  “and t big guns, big as a log of maple, and every time tued em round, it took ttle.

  “and every time t took a made a noise like fation louder.”

  pa ime , and laura clapped o the music when he sang, “and ill sing yankee doodle-de-do, and ill sing yankee doodle, and ill sing yankee doodle-de-do, and ill sing yankee doodle!”

  all alone in ttle able and night.

  ts , and jack t lay blinking at the fireplace.

  ma sat in of table. t and s in ttom of its glass boo keep ts of red flannel among t to make it pretty. it ty.

  laura loved to look at ts glass cs yelloeadily, and its bos of flannel. so look at time, buing yelloimes green above the golden and ruby coals.

  and told stories. ory, ake tickle til they laughed aloud. his eyes were blue and merry.

  one nig black susan, stretc and in, and he said:

  “do you kno a pant? a great, big, ?”

  “no,“ said laura.

  “ell, it is, said pa. “just imagine black susan bigger t like a panther.”

  tled laura and mary more comfortably on ;ill tell you about grandpa and ther.”

  “your grandpa?“ laura asked.

  “no, laura, your grandpa. my father.”

  “o; laura said, and s pas arm. she big oods, in a big log house. pa began:

  tory of grandpa and t;your grandpa to toe starting was dark w ened, for he had no gun.”

  “; laura asked.

  “like a ; said pa. “like t; t laura and mary serror., ma jumped in ;mercy, charles! “

  but laura and mary loved to be scared like t.

  “t, for it it could not get a as t screamed no was always close behind.

  “grandpa leaned foro run faster. t as it could possibly run, and still ther screamed close behind.

  “t a glimpse of it, as it leaped from treetop to treetop, almost over;it imes bigger than black susan.

  it if it leaped on grandpa it could kill s enormous, slass long seeth.

  “grandpa, on just as a mouse runs from a cat.

  “t scream any more. grandpa did not see it any more. but it er s might.

  “at last to grandpas jumped off t t t be where grandpa had been.

  “terribly, and ran. o ts cla grandpa grabbed to t in time to s ther dead.

  grandpa said his gun.”

  old tory, laura and mary so rong arms around them.

  to be tretc beside ed and tiff along laura and mary listened to t lonely sound in t afraid.

  table in ttle ed around it and t could not get in by the fire.