Book Trivia Week 3
It's time for another week of Book Trivia! Last week you all had fun with the MASH question & how it related to The Last of The Mohicans.
This week I am switching the focus to a question related to Christmas: What did Laura and Mary get for Christmas the year Mr. Edwards walked to Independence to find Santa Claus in Little House on the Prairie?
Mr. Edwards walks to Independence & meets Santa Claus on the way where Santa asks him if he knows two little girls named Laura & Mary & to deliver presents to them as he cannot make it there because of the rising creek. Mr. Edwards agrees and he crosses the creek (with his clothes wrapped on his head) that has risen due to days & days of rain. He arrives at the Ingalls cabin on Christmas morning & delivers a peppermint stick, a tin cup, a cake made of white sugar & flour, and a brand new, shiny penny to each of the girls. Ma asks the girls to not look & quickly puts the gifts in the girl's stockings which she had hung the night before. Both Ma and Pa are touched by the trouble Mr. Edwards went to, to ensure the girls have a Christmas with presents. He even brought sweet potatoes to roast for Christmas dinner. The simplicity of this time period sticks with me as well. To be so grateful and excited over such simple gifts. Yet those gifts meant so much & were so valuable - image not having your own cup in today's world & having to use a dipper each time you wanted a drink? It's something we just take for granted.
In a world where everything & I mean everything is at our fingertips, do you yearn for simpler times like the ones described in the Little House books? I know I do. I mean, I am so grateful for indoor plumbing & modern conveniences but at what price have they come with? Imagine the world they lived in - no cars, no airplanes, no tractors or highways...imagine how quiet it was back then. How peaceful. When was the last time you were somewhere at night where you could not see lights from your street, your neighbors or the nearest town? When the stars and moon lit up the sky for you? When was the last time you did not hear traffic or planes overhead - where you were in a truly quiet space? I crave space like that - where the moon & the stars light up the night sky, where all we hear is nature. This also leads me to think...in this fast paced world where we are always chasing something...do we take the time to be truly grateful for the little things in life? Especially the things that matter most - spending time with those we love. Letting those we love know we love & cherish the time we spend with them? Let's let this little Christmas story remind us of the simple pleasures in life. And to make time for what matters most. I promise you it isn't the latest gadget from Amazon or the latest Netflix series.
This is one of my favorite illustrations in all of the Little House books, the image of Santa Claus riding a dark bay horse leading a pack mule loaded with Christmas presents for the children. Garth Williams just has a way of capturing each scene as Laura tells it. They were favorites as a little girl & are still favorites today.
Shop all Laura Ingalls Wilder books here.
