I've been binge watching Little House a lot and two episodes came to mind when I decided to write this. The events of this story takes place after season 4 episode 12, but before the events of the episode following it.
Summary: Eva Beadle-Sims receives an urgent letter informing her that due to her marriage status that she must resign as the teacher of Walnut Grove school. Shortly after, a very familiar man in a black suit and a scowl on his face shows up at Oleson's Mercantile and warmly welcomed by Mrs. Oleson, and immediately re-hired as teacher of Walnut Grove without a school board meeting.
Walnut Grove, MN
It was late afternoon in the small village of Walnut Grove. The sky was blue with only a few clouds with the sun shining bright. Birds were chirping and dogs could be heard barking back and forth with one another.
A large white building with the words Oleson's Mercantile in all big capital letters had a couple of people coming in and out buying stuff before getting on their buckboards and driving away on their horse drawn buggies.
The American flag was flying proudly in front of a smaller white structure with a large bell with a pull string hanging in the front, which functioned as both the town's church, school, meeting, and social hall.
The dark brown double doors to the schoolhouse were currently shut.
The inside had two sets of six row seats, and they were currently filled with kids busy doing their schoolwork.
One student in particular with short curly hair and a grin on his face was currently standing in the corner next to the schoolhouse's back door.
At the head of the class was a woman at average height, blonde hair tied in a bun and wearing glasses was currently reading over some assignments and grading papers as the kids worked silently.
The teacher finished grading the final paper in front of her before standing up to address the class, "Alright, class is dismissed for the day," she announced, causing the students to start packing their things, but she wasn't done speaking, "But I expect the assignments you were just working on tomorrow morning."
The kids began rushing out of the room.
The kid in the corner tried sneaking out of the door, but the teacher stopped him, "Willie, you're not dismissed yet," she said, stopping him in his tracks, "This is the third time this week I've had to send you to the corner for either talking in class or spitting spitballs as the other kids. Now, we-"
The teacher was interrupted when Charles Ingalls entered the classroom with a letter in his hand and an apologetic look on his face as he slowly made his way to the front of the room, "Mrs. Sims, sorry to barge in on you like this," he said, "But this letter just came in from the state, and I think you better read it right away."
Mrs. Sims took the letter from Charles, "Thank you, Mr. Ingalls," she said gratefully before turning her attention back to Willie, who was still standing in the corner, "Willie, you may go. We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow."
Willie grabbed the handle of the back door before opening it and rushing out of the classroom, leaving just Mrs. Sims and Charles.
'I better get home," Charles said, "You have a good evening, Mrs. Sims."
"You too, Mr. Ingalls," Mrs. Sims said as she watched Charles leave the school.
Mrs. Sims opened the envelope and took the letter out before unfolding it to read it. Upon reading the contents of the letter, the smile on her face was replaced with a look of worry, shock and anger.
Mrs. Sims arrived on the pig farm owned by her new husband, Adam Sims. Said man had just finished feeding the pigs and looked over as he saw his wife arriving on the farm. Mrs. Sims stopped the buggy before grabbing her things and getting off.
Adam could see that his wife was upset, and he quickly made his way over to her, "Honey, what's the matter?" he asked with concern in his voice.
"Just read this," Mrs. Sims replied before handing her husband the letter.
Adam opened the letter and read it, and he too was not happy with the contents of the letter, "Can the state really do this to you?" he asked in a slightly raised voice, "So what if you're married. You shouldn't have to step down as teacher."
"That's how I feel," Mrs. Sims said, "I just don't get it, either. Before I became the teacher of Walnut Grove School, Harriet was the teacher and she was married to Nels at the time. In fact, a few years back, I injured my ankle during an accident and Mrs. Ingalls filled in for me during my absence."
Luke Sims, the son of Adam and Eva Sims walked out of the barn after finishing his chores and he too was curious as to what was going on, "Ma, Pa, what's going on?" he asked.
Adam looked at his wife, silently asking if she wanted to tell him, or should he.
"Luke, I'm afraid I won't be teaching at the school anymore," Mrs. Sims stated, "Due to my marriage to your father, I'm being asked to step down."
Luke didn't like hearing this, "What?!" he exclaimed, "You're a great teacher!"
At the Ingalls' place, Laura and Mary were busy finishing the assignment they were working on in class, while Caroline was helping Carrie with hers.
Charles hadn't come home yet and the kids were getting worried, "Ma, were is Pa?" Carrie asked.
"I don't know, dear," Caroline replied, "Your Pa sometimes has to work later than usual, and I think today is one of those days."
Bandit was walking around sniffing the floor in hopes of scoring himself a tasty treat, as there were no scraps from any of the previous meals on the ground. The girls had already finished their chores and had just finished their assignment. Dinner was ready, but the table hadn't been set yet, as they were waiting for Charles to walk through the door.
The family didn't have to wait any longer as the door opened and Charles stepped through the door, took off his hat and hung it up on the rack before shutting the door behind him. He walked towards his wife and kissed her on the lips, "Sorry I'm late, honey," he said in a flat tone, "The mail was running late today and I just got back from delivering bad news to Mrs. Sims."
When Charles said this, Mary and Laura looked at their Pa with looks of worry on their face. They were worried because Mrs. Sims had been the only teacher they knew when moving to Walnut Grove and they had become good friends with the school teacher outside of the classroom. Caroline, although not one of Mrs. Sims' students, considered her a great family friend as well and shared the same look of worry as the two girls did. Carrie was the only one that didn't have a change in facial expression, as she had only just started school and hadn't had Mrs. Sims for a teacher, nor known her as well as Mary and Laura did.
"Pa, what's going on with Mrs. Sims?" asked a concerned Mary.
Caroline gave her oldest daughter a stern look, "Mary, this doesn't concern you," she lectured.
Charles quickly stepped in just as Mary frowned at her ma's answer to her question, "Wait, I think it may be best they know now rather than later," he said, "After all, Mrs. Sims has been a part of their lives for a long time."
Charles took a seat at the table across from Mary and Laura and a now curious Caroline decided to take a seat as well.
Mary, Laura and Caroline were waiting for Charles to start. He took a deep breath before finally starting, "Girls, Mrs. Sims won't be your teacher anymore," he stated.
Mary and Laura had stunned looks on their faces when the news was broken to them. Caroline was a bit more puzzled and wanted to know exactly why Mrs. Sims wasn't going to be the teacher any longer.
"The reason for this is because of her recent marriage," Charles added, "I don't like the rule myself, but the state is becoming more strict with enforcing that women that are married not be allowed to teach."
"That's unfair!" Laura exclaimed, "She shouldn't have her teaching position taken away for that!"
"Yeah, can't she do something?!" an outraged Mary asked.
Charles took another deep breath before responding to his now unhappy daughters, "I'm afraid not," he said.
"I wonder how Mrs. Sims is handling this," Caroline said, "It must be hard for her."
"Maybe I'll stop over there after supper," Charles said.
"Can we come too, Pa?" asked Mary, "Mrs. Sims is our friend too and I'm really worried about her."
Charles looked at Caroline to see if it would be alright for them to go, "Alright, you both can go, but I expect you to get started on your evening chores the moment you get back home," Caroline said.
"Yes, ma'am," both Laura and Mary said in unison.
Over at Oleson's Mercantile, Nels Oleson was busy organizing things in the store room. Harriet Oleson had a big smile on her face as she counted the days earnings. Willie was busy sneaking a handful of candy while his father was out of sight. Nellie was doing the same thing as her brother.
Harriet finished doing what she was doing before turning to her two kids, "As you two know, you're getting a new teacher!" she bragged in a knowing tone, "And that teacher will be coming very soon, haha!"
Nels had heard what his wife said from the store room and immediately made his way into the store front to confront his wife, "Harriet, Mrs. Sims is a fine teacher!" he exclaimed, and then it dawned on him as to why his wife was using the tone she was using, "Dear God, don't tell me you had something to do with that woman stepping down from her teaching position!"
In true Harriet fashion, she just brushed off what her husband said and didn't seem to care, 'Oh, Nels," she said, "As a member of the school board, I have a right to ensure that my children are getting a proper education and treated fairly while in school."
As usual, Nellie was quick to defend her mother, "Mother's right," she said, "Mrs. Sims always babied Laura Ingalls and lets Carrie get away with calling someone names without sending her to the corner. But when me or Willie do something, we get punished."
"And when Mrs. Sims had an emergency, she put Mary in charge," Willie complained.
Nels gave his wife and two kids a warning look, "Now you both look here," he demanded, "As far as I'm concerned, you both were punished fairly. Second, you know Mary wants to be a school teacher and all Mrs. Sims was doing was help prepare her for when her time comes!"
"AAWWWEEEUUU!" Nellie screeched before stomping her feet and running upstairs in a fit of being told off by her father.
Harriet glared at her husband for yelling at Nellie, "Now look what you did to that poor girl!" she exclaimed, "You shouldn't yell at the kids like that."
Harriet proceeded to go upstairs to comfort Nellie.
"You won't yell because you sound like a banshee," Nels said under his breath in annoyance at his wife.
Harriet wasn't completely out of earshot when Nels said that, "What was that, Nels?" she asked and glared at her husband.
"I said you do well with selling large amounts of candy," Nels replied.
Harriet gave Nels her 'That's what I thought' look before heading upstairs to calm Nellie down.
That's it for this chapter.
I've always wondered how the show would've turned out if married women weren't allowed to teach, as that was a rule in the 19th century.