These Happy Golden Years (Little House 8)

One star alone of all the train

Can catch the sinner’s wandering eye.

It was my light, my guide, my all,

It bade my dark forebodings cease,

And through the storm and dangers thrall

It led me to the port of peace.

Now safely moored, my perils o’er,

I’ll sing, first in night’s diadem

Forever and forever more,

The Star—the Star of Bethlehem.”

Grace said softly, “The Christmas star.”

The fiddle sang to itself again while Pa cocked his head, listening. “The wind is rising,” he said. “Good thing we stayed home.”

Then the fiddle began to laugh and Pa’s voice laughed as he sang,

“Oh, do not stand so long outside,

Why need you be so shy?

The people’s ears are open, John,

As they are passing by!

You can not tell what they may think

They’ve said strange things before

And if you wish to talk awhile,

Come in and shut the door!

Come in! Come in! Come in!”

Laura looked at Pa in amazement as he sang so loudly, looking at the door, “Come in! Come in! Come…”

Someone knocked at the door. Pa nodded to Laura to go to the door, while he ended the song. “Come in and shut the door!”

A gust of wind swirled snow into the room when Laura opened the door; it blinded her for a moment and when she could see she could not believe her eyes. The wind whirled snow around Almanzo as, speechless, she stood holding the door open.

“Come in!” Pa called. “Come in and shut the door!” Shivering, he laid the fiddle in its box and put more coal on the fire. “That wind blows the cold into a fellow’s bones,” he said. “What about your team?”

“I drove Prince, and I put him in the stable beside Lady,” Almanzo answered, as he shook the snow from his overcoat and hung it with his cap on the polished buffalo horns fastened to the wall near the door, while Ma rose from her chair to greet him.

Laura had retreated to the other end of the room, beside Carrie and Grace. When Almanzo looked toward them, Grace said, “I made an extra bag of candy.”

“And I brought some oranges,” Almanzo answered, taking a paper bag from his overcoat pocket. “I have a package with Laura’s name on it, too, but isn’t she going speak to me?”

“I can’t believe it is you,” Laura murmured. “You said you would be gone all winter.”