"It's only forty miles from Independence," said Dad, "and Carolyn will run into her neighbors in four days." ”

Forty miles. Mom replied, "But no matter how far away you are from the crowd, it's rude to sing on me." It's the same with singing while eating. She added, because she found that there was no table here.

There is only a wide and empty grassland, where light and shadow dance on the layers of grass waves, and the vast blue sky of Toushan, where the birds are flying and singing happily because the sun is rising. In the open grassland, there was no sign of anyone coming.

In this vast space between heaven and earth, there is only a lonely, small car parked. Sitting next to the caravan were Dad, Mom, Gu Ruxi, Mary and baby Linlin, they were eating breakfast, the horse was chewing corn vigorously, Jack sat quietly, trying not to beg the owner for food, his mother was not allowed Gu Ruxi to feed it while eating, but she would always leave some food for it, and she used the remaining batter to make a big pancake for Jack.

The grass was full of rabbits and thousands of pheasants, but Jack couldn't hunt his own breakfast today. Dad was going hunting, and Jack had to guard the camp.

Dad put Pete and Patty on the tyed horses, and then he took the barrel from the side of the caravan and went to the side to fetch water. Mom wants laundry.

He said to his mother, "Do it slowly, Caroline." We only leave when we want to, and there are interrogatories. ”

Dad walked into the distance. At first, they could still see his upper body moving through the tall grass, then the figure grew farther and smaller, and then disappeared from their sight. The prairie is empty again.

While her mother was making the bed in the caravan, Mary and Gu Ruxi washed the dishes. They put the washed ones neatly in the sidebox; They also picked up the scattered twigs and put them in the fire; They stacked the wooden blocks against the wheels. Then, everything in the camp is in the 30 cabin series.

One day.

It was refreshing and tidy.

Mom pulled out a wooden cup with soap liquid from the caravan. She pulled up the hem of her skirt.

Mary and Gu Ruxi went on an adventure around. Mom wouldn't let them go too far from the caravan, but among the tall grass.

These little gophers look as soft as velvet. They have shiny round eyes, a wrinkled nose, and very small claws. They popped out of their burrows.

Mary and Gu Ruxi want to catch a little gopher and give it to their mother. Again and again, they almost caught one.

Prepare to make up for the wrong idea. However, apart from Gu Ruxi and Mary and the period of the circle on the ground, it found nothing.

Don flew away, went somewhere else to find his lunch, and then all the little gophers ran out again.

By this time, it was almost noon. The sun was shining almost overhead. So Gu Ruxi and the grass went to get flowers from it, and they brought the flowers back to their mother to replace the gophers.

Mom is folding clothes that have dried darkly. The little petticoat and petticoat were washed whiter than snow, they were our flowers, and she liked the flowers sent by Gu Ruxi and the flowers sent by Mary. She put the flowers together in a tin cup full of water,

Then, she opened two cold tortillas, smeared them with molasses, and gave Mary a piece. Gu Ruxi piece. It's their lunch, and it tastes so good.

"Where's the Indian baby named Pappus?" Gu Ruxi asked.

"Don't speak when you have something in your mouth, Gu Ruxi." Mom said.

So Gu Ruxi chewed and swallowed the things in his mouth, and then said, "I want to see Haosi." ”

"Hey!" Mom said, "Why do you want to see the Indians?" I'll let you watch it in the future, but there are so many that you can't watch it. ”

They won't hurt us, will they? Mary asked. Mary was always soft and didn't speak while eating.

"No!" Mom said, "Don't think so. ”

"Why don't you like the Indians, Mom?" Gu Ruxi asked, while using her tongue to touch the molasses dripping down her fingers.

"I just don't like them very much. Don't finger, Gu Ruxi. Mom said.

"This is the place of the Indians, isn't it?" Gu Ruxi said, "If you don't want to."

of the ground. Because the sun was strong now, Jack's mouth was wide open, and his tongue was long, and his eyes were more than the ground shadowing his eyes

Gu Ruxi felt very happy. The wind made a soft, rustling sound in the grass, like a murmur.

It wasn't until she woke up that Gu Ruxi knew that she was asleep. Jack stood beside him, shaking his military bus.

Pick up the prey in her hand and show her. He had beaten a rabbit, the largest she had ever seen, and two chubby grouses. Gu Ruxi jumped up and down happily, clapping her hands and shouting.

That dinner was too generous. They sat by the campfire and ate soft, tasty, roasted meat until they couldn't eat it anymore. When Gu Ruxi finally put down the plate, she breathed a sigh of satisfaction. She felt that she didn't need anything else in the world.

The wide sky faded the last red glow, and the flat grass gradually darkened 34 Kogihara series

Far to the east, a staccato green line of different shades lay across the grassland, which Dad said was a river.

"That's the River Verticlis." Dad pointed to it and said to Mom.

Mom and Dad started unloading the contents of the caravan. They took everything down and piled it on the ground.

For a long time, the caravan was their home. Now the entire caravan has been dismantled down to only four wheels and a frame that connects the wheels.

"Where's Dad?" Gu Ruxi asked. Mom said, "He went to the brook and cut some wood." ”

They were left on the prairie, without a caravan, Gu Ruxi felt a little strange and a little scared.

Gu Ruxi and her mother first set up a tent with a canvas canopy.

There was nothing else to do, so Gu Ruxi went around to explore a little. She hadn't gone far from the tent, but she noticed a strange little passage hidden in the grass.

in the ground, while the logs on top are clinging to the ground.

The next day, Dad started building the wall. He rolled a log on each of the two opposite logs, cut grooves at each end, and flipped over to jam the logs below.

Dad built the house to the height of three logs stacked on top of each other, and then Mom had to help him.

And so, they put the logs up one by one. The wall got higher and higher, until it was so high that Gu Ruxi couldn't climb over it anymore.

The log was sliding down, and Dad tried his best to hold on to his end and not let the log press on Mom, but he couldn't.

The log fell, and Mom was crushed to the ground, her body curled up.

Gu Ruxi rushed to her mother's side almost as fast as her father. Dad knelt down and called Mom's name in an almost frightening voice, and Mom gasped and replied, "I'm fine." ”

The log was pressed against her feet. Dad lifted the log, and Mom pulled her foot out from underneath. Dad touched

A long, flat plank of thick wood, resting on the ground at one end and leaning on the log wall at the other. Dad would stop lifting the logs after that, and he and Mom would put the logs on the skids and roll them up.

But the injury on my mother's foot has not recovered. When she removed the wrapped strips of cloth at night and soaked her feet in hot water, the fruit of her feet was still purple, black, green, and yellow. I had to wait a little longer to build a house.

One afternoon, Dad came back from the road leading to the stream, whistling excitedly. None of them expected him to come back so soon after he had gone out hunting. As soon as Dad saw them, he shouted, "Good news! ”

They now have a neighbor who lives two miles across the stream. Dad met him in the woods.

"He's a bachelor." Dad said, "He said that he could make do without a house, and it was much better than our family with girls, so he had to help us first." When he's ready to stop the wood, I'll go over and help him. ”

There is no need to wait to build a house, and my mother does not have to work anymore.

"Are you happy, Caroline?" Dad asked happily. Mom said, "It's good, Charles, I'm so happy." ”

The next morning, Mr. Edwards came. He was thin and tall, with dark skin. He bowed politely to his mother and called her "madam". However, he told Gu Ruxi that he was a wild child from Tennessee.

He's a quick guy when he gets to work. He and his dad built the wall to the height Dad had expected in one day

They erected a roof trellis on top of the wall with a thin log, and then played with a high run on the south-facing wall to make a door, and cut a square run-like on the west-facing and east-facing walls, with a window.

Gu Ruxi couldn't wait to see what the inside of the house looked like. When the high door opened, she ran inside, and everything inside was streaked.

Looking out at the cracks between the woods on the wall, the grasslands outside have become one by one. The sweetness of the grass is mixed with the sweetness of the wood that is drunk, and it smells so pleasant.

Mr. Edwards said he was going back now, but Mom and Dad said he should stay for dinner.

Mom has prepared a hearty dinner, because there are guests at home now.

Dinner was limited to hare, flour dumplings and gravy, and a large cornbread with crispy meat to get hot. The cornbread was also coated with molasses, but because of the late meal, they didn't add molasses to the coffee. Mom took out the hazel sugar in a small paper bag; Coffee.

Mr. Edwards said he did appreciate the dinner.

Can't be big

Later, Dad took out his violin.

Mr. Edwards sat on the grass with his legs stretched and listened to his father play the piano. Dad gave Gu Ruxi first, sat up and pulled their favorite songs, and sang them while playing. Gu Ruxi's favorite is this song called Toy for Dad, and when she sings this song, her voice will get deeper and deeper:

Stay in the house

Come, get dressed.

"Hurry up and finish breakfast." Mom said as she put the leftover rabbit meat from last night into their plates, "We're going to move into the house today, and we're going to clean up the wood chips from the house." ”

So they quickly finished their breakfast and hurried into the house to clean up the wood chips. they

Mom's sprained feet have gotten better, but she still walks a little glassy. However, she quickly swept the floor clean, and then Mary and Gu Ruxi helped her move her things into the house.

Dad stood at the end of the wall and put the canvas canopy over the branch truss on the roof. The canvas was blown up and down by the wind, and Dad's beard was blown to fly, and his hair stood on end, as if it was about to fly away one by one. Dad clung to the canvas and fought with it. For a while, the canvas swelled violently, and Gu Ruxi thought to herself that her father would definitely let go and fly into the air like a bird with it. But Dad clamped his legs to the wall, grabbed the canvas with both hands, and finally tied it to the roof truss.

"Alright!" Dad said to him, "Stay here, weird ......."

"Charles!" Mom said. She held the quilt in her arms and looked up at him with reproachful eyes.

“..... "Obediently," said Dad to Canvas Pomp, "Hey, Carolyn, what do you think I'm going to say?" ”

"Call, Charles!" Mom said, "You slippery head! ”

Dad climbed down the roof truss. In the corner of the house, the end of the log protruded, just enough to be used as a ladder. He combed his hair with his hands, but it became even more messy. Mom laughed, and Dad hugged her along with the quilt.

Then they looked at the hut, and Dad said, "This little nest is comfortable, isn't it?" ”

"I'm glad I can live in it." Mom said.

Midori is gone, and there are no windows. There was no pole below, only land, and there was only a river above, but the walls were very strong, and the hut stood firmly there, and if it didn't do that, it would have to rush to another place every morning.

"We're going to have a good time here, Carolyn." Dad said, "It's a new recipe, and I've been content to live here all my life." ”

"What if there are more people living in the future?" Mom asked.

"It doesn't matter, no matter how many people live there, no matter how close they live, this place will never be crowded.

Look how big this sky is!

Gu Ruxi understands what her father means, and she also likes this place. She loves the open sky, the wind, and the earth as far as the eye can see. Everything here is so free and self-reliant.

That is, when the lunch was eaten, the house had already been cleaned up. Neat beds were laid on the floor with lotus seats and two log stakes made their chairs. Dad's gun hung in one of the doorways: boxes and bags were neatly stacked against the wall. It's a very comfortable room, and the light of Ikwa shines through the canvas roof, and the wind and sunlight can enter through the window openings, because the gaps in the four walls are shining on the roof.

Only the campfire remained in place. Dad said he would make a fireplace in the house as soon as possible. Before the interception arrived, he would also chop some planks to make a solid roof. He had to cut the floor in half and make a bed, a table, and a chair. However, this work will not be done until he helps Mr. Hao build the house and Pate and Patty build the horses.

"When that's all done," said Mom, "I'll need a clothes rack."

Dad laughed, "yes, we still need a well." ”

After lunch, he put Pate and Patty in the wagon, and then drove Yang Shui back from the stream to wash his mother's clothes. "You can go to the stream and do your laundry." He told him that all the little Dian women were like that. ”

Teeth come.

"Don't go over, Gu Ruxi!" Dad snapped, and then he said to Pate, "Alright, Pate, you know we're not going to hurt your pony dog." Pate whispered in reply. It allowed Dad to touch its pony breast, but it didn't let Gu Ruxi or Mary get close to it, and even when they peeked through the cracks in the horse's wall, Pate would roll his eyes at them and follow his teeth. They had never seen a pony dog with such long ears. Dad said that it was actually a small brute, but Gu Ruxi said that it looked like a big hare with long ears, so they named it "Little Rabbit Horse".

It was close to evening, and Dad hadn't come back yet. Mom stirred the charcoal in the fire, put some sawdust on it, and started to make dinner. Mary was taking care of the baby Linlin in the house, and Gu Ruxi asked her mother, "What's wrong with Jack?" ”

Jack walked back and forth, looking uneasy. It pretended to sniff at the wind, and the hairs on its neck stood on end, fell down at once, and then stood up again. Pate suddenly got up and circled around the pillar of the bolted horse, and then stood still again, low.

With a bark, the little rabbit horse came over and clung to it.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Mom asked it. It looked up at its mother, as if it wanted to say something and say it. Mom looked around for a while, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. "It seems to be something, Gu Ruxi." Mom said. She climbed the charcoal under the coffee pot and pan and piled some charcoal on top of the oven. After a while, the grouse squeaked in the fried Shaoling, and the tortillas began to exude aroma. Mom has been living around all this time. Jack was still walking around irritably, and Pate didn't graze, and it faced northwest, the direction of Daddy's departure, and the little rabbit and horse were close to it.

Patty suddenly ran over from the other side of the prairie. It stretched out its whole body, ran as hard as it could, and Dad almost leaned over its neck.

It rushed in front of the horse with all its might, and Dad couldn't control it. Dad struggled to hold it, and it almost fell to the ground. It was shivering all over, and its black fur was dark

Covered in sweat and foam, Dad jumped off it, panting desperately.

thick

"What's going on, Charles?" Mom asked Dad.

Dad was looking towards the stream, so Mom and Gu Ruxi also looked towards the stream. But all they could see was the vast prairie, the treetops in the depressions, and the distant cliff tops above the prairie. "What's wrong?" Mom asked Dad again, "Why are you riding so fast?" ”

Dad let out a long sigh, "I'm worried that the wolves will catch up with me." But now it seems. ”

"Wolves?" Mom cried, "Where did the wolves come from?" ”

"It's all right, Carolyn." Dad said, "Let me catch my breath first."

When Dad got out of his breath, he said, "I didn't want Patty to run so fast, I just had to hold it." There were fifty or so wolves, Carolyn, and I had never seen anything so big. Give me more money, and I don't want to happen to it again. ”

At this time, a shadow began to envelop the grassland, because the sun had set