By the Shores of Silver Lake Quotes

“We'd never get anything fixed to suit us if we waited for things to suit us before we started.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Roma tidaklah dibangun dalam waktu sehari. Begitu juga sebuah jalan kereta api. Atau hal-hal lain yang menyenangkan dalam hidup ini. - Charles Ingalls”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“You are right, Laura; human hands didn’t make that place,” Pa said. “But your fairies were big, ugly brutes, with horns on their heads and humps on their backs. That place is an old buffalo wallow. You know buffaloes are wild cattle. They paw up the ground and wallow in the dust, just as cattle do.
“For ages the buffalo herds had these wallowing places. They pawed up the ground and the wind blew the dust away. Then another herd came along and pawed up more dust in the same place. They went always to the same places, and—”
“Why did they, Pa?” Laura asked.
“I don’t know,” Pa said. “Maybe because the ground was mellowed there. Now the buffalo are gone, and grass grows over their wallows. Grass and violets.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Now she was alone; she must take care of herself. When you must do that, then you do it and you are grown up.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Whatever are you making, Pa?” Laura asked, and he answered, “Wait and see.”
He heated the tip of the poker red-hot in the stove, and carefully he burned black every alternate little square.
“Curiosity killed a cat, Pa,” Laura said.
“You look pretty healthy,” said Pa.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Oh, Pa, let’s go on west!”
“Mercy, Laura!” Ma said. “Whatever—” She could not go on.
“I know, little Half-Pint,” said Pa, and his voice was very kind. “You and I want to fly like the birds.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“For just one little minute she almost wished that Pa was a railroad man. There was nothing so wonderful as railroads, and railroad men were great men, able to drive the big iron engines and the fast, dangerous trains. But of course not even railroad men were bigger or better than Pa, and she did not really want him to be anything but what he was.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“you bet yours on the gray!” Even in songs Ma did not approve of gambling, but her toe could not stop tapping while Pa played such tunes. Then every evening they all sang one round. Mr. Boast’s tenor would begin, “Three blind mice,” and go on while Mrs. Boast’s alto began, “Three blind mice,” then as she went on Pa’s bass would join in, “Three blind mice,” and then Laura’s soprano, and Ma’s contralto, and Mary and Carrie. When Mr. Boast reached the end of the song he began it again without stopping, and they all followed, each behind the other, going round and round with words and music. “Three blind mice! Three blind mice!              They all ran after the farmer’s wife               She cut off their tails with the carving knife, Did you ever hear such a tale in your life Of three blind mice?” They kept on singing until someone laughed and then the song ended ragged and breathless and laughing. And Pa would play some of the old songs, “to go to sleep on,” he said. “Nellie was a lady, last night she died, Oh, toll the bell for lovely Nell, My old—Vir-gin-ia bride.” And, “Oh, do you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?              Sweet Alice with eyes so brown,”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Cold purple shadows rose in the east, crept slowly across the prairie, then rose in heights on heights of darkness from which the stars swung low and bright.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“They did not gather thickly any more on Silver Lake. Only a few very tired flocks settled late after sunset in the sloughs and rose to the sky again before the sun rose. Wild birds did not like the town full of people, and neither did Laura. She thought, “I would rather be out on the prairie with the grass and the birds and Pa’s fiddle. Yes, even with wolves! I would rather be anywhere than in this muddy, cluttered, noisy town, crowded by strange people.” And she said,”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Then she remembered the water pail in her hand. She filled it from the well as quickly as she could, and ran back; slopping water on her bare legs in her hurry.
“I just had—to watch the—teams coming into camp,” she panted. “So many of them, Pa! And all the men were singing!”
“Now, Flutterbudget, catch your breath!” Pa laughed at her. “Fifty teams and seventy-five or eighty men are only a small camp. You ought to see Stebbins’ camp west of here; two hundred men and teams according.”
“Charles,” Ma said.
Usually everyone knew what Ma meant when she said in her gentle way, “Charles.” But this time Laura and Carrie and Pa all looked at her wondering. Ma shook her head just the least bit at Pa.
Then Pa looked straight at Laura and said, “You girls keep away from the camp. When you go walking, don’t go near where the men are working, and you be sure you’re back here before they come in for the night. There’s all kinds of rough men working on the grade and using rough language, and the less you see and hear of them the better. Now remember, Laura. And you too, Carrie.” Pa’s face was very serious.
“Yes, Pa,” Laura promised, and Carrie almost whispered, “Yes, Pa.” Carrie’s eyes were large and frightened. She did not want to hear rough language, whatever rough language might be. Laura would have liked to hear some, just once, but of course she must obey Pa.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Nothing is certain but death and”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“came”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, By the Shores of Silver Lake