LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS - Audiobook w/ Text - Ch. 1 - Little House in the Big Woods

Summary

The script narrates the life of a young girl named Laura in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, living in a log house with her family. Surrounded by wilderness teeming with wildlife, Laura experiences the joys and challenges of pioneer life. Her father, known as 'Paw,' hunts deer and fish, while the family prepares for winter by smoking and preserving food. The story captures the simplicity and self-sufficiency of their existence, with Laura's adventures reflecting the spirit of exploration and the close bond with nature.

Takeaways

• 🏡 The story is set in a little gray house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, surrounded by trees and wildlife.
• 🌳 The Big Woods are described as a vast, uninhabited area with no houses, roads, or people, teeming with wild animals like wolves, bears, and deer.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 The family living in the house consists of a little girl named Laura, her sister Mary, baby sister Carrie, their parents, and a bulldog named Jack.
• 🌙 Laura experiences the wilderness at night, hearing the whispering of trees and the distant howling of wolves, but feels safe within the solid log walls of her home.
• 🔫 Laura's father, referred to as 'Paw,' is a hunter who provides for the family by hunting deer and other game, emphasizing the importance of self-sufficiency.
• 🍖 The family prepares for winter by salting, smoking, and storing meat, highlighting the need to preserve food in the absence of modern amenities.
• 🐟 A significant event is the catching of a large quantity of fish from Lake Pepin, which is also preserved for the winter months.
• 🐷 The story includes the process of butchering a pig, making various food products like sausages, head cheese, and salt pork, showcasing the traditional methods of food preparation.
• 🎻 Evenings are spent with Paw greasing his traps and playing the fiddle, providing a sense of community and family bonding in the isolated setting.
• 🌨️ The narrative conveys the harshness of winter in the Big Woods, where the family must be well-prepared with stored food to survive the long, cold months.

Q & A

Where did the little girl named Laura live?

Laura lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.

What kind of animals lived in the Big Woods with Laura?

The Big Woods were home to wolves, bears, huge wild cats, muskrats, mink, otters, foxes, and deer.

What was the purpose of the crooked rail fence around Laura's house?

The fence was meant to keep bears and deer away from the house.

Why did Laura's father hang deer in the trees?

He hung the deer high in the trees so that wolves could not get the meat.

How did Laura's family prepare the deer meat for winter storage?

They salted the meat, smoked it using hickory chips in a hollow log, and then wrapped each piece in paper to hang in the attic.

What did Laura's father do with the deer hides after skinning the deer?

He salted and stretched the hides to make soft leather out of them.

What did Laura's father bring home one night in a wagon?

He brought home a wagon load of fish, which he had caught at Lake Pepin using a net.

Why did Laura's family butcher a pig?

They butchered the pig to have a supply of pork for the winter, as the weather would keep it frozen.

What did Laura and Mary do with the pig's bladder and tail after butchering?

They played with the inflated pig's bladder as a balloon and roasted the pig's tail over the fire, eating it once it was done.

How did Laura's family ensure they had enough food for the winter?

They stored food such as smoked venison, salted fish, cured hams, head cheese, sausages, lard, and salt pork, as well as vegetables from their garden in the cellar and attic.

What did Laura's father do at night after supper during the winter?

He would bring his traps in from the shed to grease them by the fire, tell jokes and stories, and play his fiddle.