A long time ago, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in Wisconsin. They drove away and left it lonely and empty among the big trees, and they never saw that little house again. They were going to Indian country.
In the long winter evening Pa talked to Ma about the Western country. The land is flat and the grass grows thick and high. Animals run freely and there are no settlers. Only Indians live there.
It was a long, long way to Indian country. Almost every day the horses travelled as far as they could; almost every night Pa and Ma stopped in a new place. They rode across the wide Mississippi River before the ice broke, and crossed many other rivers and creeks.
They had teavelled across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. They were crossing Kansas, an endless flat land covered with tall grass. Day after day they saw nothing but grass and a big sky. There was nothing new to do and nothing new to look at.
They were driving across the prairie agian. There was no road now. So Pet and Patty walked through the tall grass. Before noon, Pa stopped the wagon. 'We'll build our house right here.'
Then Pa and Ma took everything out of the wagon and put it on the ground.
Day after day Pa drove to the creek. When he had enough logs, he measured the shape of the house on the ground by walking from side to side and front to back. All by himself Pa built the house three logs high. Then Ma helped him. They built the walls higher while Laura played in the tall grass. One day she heard Pa shout, Caroline, be careful! Get out of the way! A big log was falling towards Ma. It crashed down. and Ma fell to the ground. Ma's face was gray but she said bravely.
The next morning Mr Edwards arrived. He's going to help Pa finish our house. In one day he and Pa finished the walls, and soon the house was finished except for the roof and floor. I'll make the floor and roof later because I must build a stable for Pet and Patty as fast as I can.
Laura likes this place. She liked the great big sky, the winds, and the wide land. Everything was so clean and big and wonderful.
The family watched Pa build the fireplace. First, he had cleared grass in a square outside the house wall. He put a row of rocks around the square. Next he mixed earth and water to a beautiful, thick mud. Pa built the fireplace and chimney as high as the house wall. Then he used wood and mud to finish the top of the chimney. Finally he went into the house, and with his axe and saw he cut a hole in the wall. And there was the fireplace.
Now Pa reached down and pulled up a board. He put it across the rafters. Then he began to nail the board to the rafters. All the way to the top of the rafters. The roof was done. Later Pa dug a well with Mr Scott's help and they didn't need to fetch muddy water from the creek any more. And then the house was truly finished.
The Indians came closer and closer. Mary and Laura watched them walk right into the house. Then Laura began to shake all over. She knew she must do something. What were the Indians doing to Ma and Baby Carrie? There was no sound from the house.
Summer had come to the prairie, and the air was still and warm.