o n c e upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in ttle gray , dark trees of tood all around trees and beyond trees. as far as a man could go to t rees and them.

olves lived in ts. muskrats and mink and otter lived by treams. foxes he hills and deer roamed everywhere.

to t of ttle log o t, trees, and only a fetle log tered far apart in the big oods.

so far as ttle girl could see, ttle er mary and baby sister carrie. a rack ran before tuing and ting out of sig ttle girl did not kno, nor .

ttle girl hey do now.

at nigrundle bed sened and could not all but trees her.

sometimes, far a, a wolf hen he came nearer, and howled again.

it little girls. but s. o sleep, laura. jack let trundle bed, close beside mary, and to sleep. one nigip out of bed and carried o t s see tting in front of ted t t moon, and howled.

jack paced up and doood up along eeto t t get in.

table airs ttic, pleasant to play in closed ter. t , door and a back door.

all around to keep the deer away.

in t of tiful big oak trees. every moing as soon as so look out of trees a dead deer hanging from a branch.

pa t t nigrees so t get t.

t day pa and ma and laura and mary laura all. but most of t must be salted and smoked and packed ao be eaten in ter.

for er er, and frost cra nig buried in snos, and treams ter cold be sure of finding any o s for meat.

t soundly all er long. ts in rees, ails s a deer, it fat and plump as deer are in the fall.

pa mig alone all day in tter cold, in t nigo eat.

so as muc be stored atle er came.

pa skinned ted and stretc leat up t, and sprinkled salt over them on a board.

standing on end in tall lengt from trunk of a big ree. pa ood it up, put a little roof over top, and cut a little door on one side near ttom. on t out ened leatted it into place, and t tle door, ill on it.

after t ed several days, pa cut a a string t. laura cc on the hollow log.

tle door and on t a ladder against to top, moved to one side, and reaco on those nails.

t to laura:

“run over to tce ones.”

so laura ran to t smelling chips.

just inside ttle door in t a fire of tiny bits of bark and moss, and very carefully.

instead of buing quickly, t ttle smoke squeezed t and a little smoke came out t most of it .

“tter t; pa said. “t will keep anywher.”

took ao to cut dorees.

laura and ma copped coming, t t. all time ttle smell of smoke in ty smell came out.

at last pa said t t, and pa took all trips and pieces of meat out of tree. ma ic whey would keep safe and dry.

one moing pa away before daylig nigo lake pepin and caug.

ma a cut large slices of flaky ed on t eat fresed doer.

pa o ran s and roots. no and put it in a pen made of logs, to fatten. c as soon as to keep the pork frozen.

laura cdoors. twice.

old o to grab tarlig t at all.

laura get t so mucoo, but ;anyhe bacon.”

ttle t jump t tables in time, and at nig times in ttle s among ts and t jacks tracks oo, and t out again.

noatoes and carrots, ts and tuips and cabbages ored in ts had come.

onions o long ropes, braided togetops, and ttic beside rung on ttics coers.