When they left the meeting, Jasper & Mike decided to ride in the buggy with Cat and Adam. He took the blankets out and handed one to each child. "I know you're all wearing coats, but it's cold out and riding in the buggy will make it seem colder so wrap yourselves up in those blankets."

After ensuring that Jasper and Mike got home safely, Adam hugged Cat and said, "I am very proud of you little sister and I know Pa is too. Hoss, Joe, Hop Sing, and Grandfather will be too when I tell them what you did."

"I didn't do anything. All I did was tell the school board what Annabel did to me."

"I am proud of you because even though you could have hurt Annabel very seriously, you didn't. Considering everything she's done to you and the way she attacked you at the meeting, nobody would have blamed you if you had hurt her. You defended yourself while she was on top of you and when you got on her back, you could have done many things to her but all you did was pull her hair and one foot toward each other and you stopped pulling when she gave in. I'm not sure if any of us would have done the same thing."

"I wanted to hurt her more but I was afraid Pa would get mad at me and I didn't want to get a spanking."

"Everyone at the meeting heard her say she was going to kill you and watched her attack you. You were defending yourself and wouldn't have gotten in trouble with Pa or anyone else. Hopefully the school board will do something and keep Annabel out of school for a while. I also hope that she took your threat seriously and will leave you alone when she's allowed to return to school. I forgot to ask, did you do your homework?"

"Yes. Mike, Jas, and I did it at Mr. Miller's store. Mike and Jas helped me with my arithmetic."

"I'm glad you had help with your arithmetic. I'll check it when we get home and help you with any problems you missed. Right now, you need to be bundled up in those blankets. It's cold out and you're not used to being out in this weather. I don't want you getting sick this close to Christmas. How does your head feel?"

"It hurts."

"I thought it might be hurting. Why don't you use that pillow and lay down until we get home? Closing your eyes might help and I'll have Hop Sing make one of his teas for you and ask him to give you some hot cocoa and cookies before you go to bed." When they reached the house, Adam said, "Go and use the outhouse while I put the team up. Then we'll get some tea for your head and hot cocoa and cookies for your tummy. Since we're not as late as I thought we'd be, we'll be able to read one chapter in your book before you go to sleep."

Cat walked into the house before Adam did and told Hoss, Joe, Grandpa, and Hop Sing what she had done to him in the restaurant. They all had a good laugh at Adam's expense. Hop Sing looked at the bruises that were forming and asked, "What happened Missy Cat? Why you have bruises and black eye?" Adam told him about the fight and that Annabel had caused Cat to hit her head on a chair and the floor. "I make tea so head stop hurting."

"Thank you Hop Sing. Would you please also give her some hot cocoa and cookies after she finishes the tea? She deserves them. I'll tell everyone why once she has her tea. Cat, I want you sitting in front of the fireplace so you stay nice and warm. Joe, once Cat has her hot cocoa and cookies, would you please put some hot bricks in her bed so it's warm for her? The ride home was cold and since Jasper and Michael were with us, she didn't have all three blankets to use until after we took the boys home."

"Sure Adam. I'll do that for little sister. In fact, if Hoss will help me, we can carry some extra logs up to her room right now and stoke the fire so her room is nice and warm."

"Gee thanks Joe. A warm room and hot bed sound really good."

"That's quite alright little sister. It's our job to take care of you and we enjoy doing it. Christmas is two weeks away and we don't want you getting sick."

Once Cat had her tea, Adam told the rest of the family about Annabel attacking her at the school board meeting. He also told them how Cat could have hurt Annabel badly but didn't. Everyone praised Cat for not hurting Annabel worse than she had while defending herself. "I already told Adam I really wanted to hurt her bad but I was afraid Pa would get mad at me and I didn't want to get a spanking. I told Annabel the next time she stole from me or tried to hurt me, I would pound the stuffing out of you and when I was finished, her ma and pa won't recognize her and I meant it. If I had known that Pa wouldn't have been mad at me, I would have done it tonight!"

"No Granddaughter," said Abel. "You did the right thing. The Bible says to show mercy and that's what you did. I know you are angry about the things that Annabel has been doing to you, and you have every right to be angry, but by not hurting her worse than you did, you showed all of the men on the school board that you are a better person than she is."

Cat looked confused at Abel's last statement so Joe said something every nine year old could understand. "Don't forget, Santa is watching everything you do. Christmas is two weeks from Saturday and you never know, he might just bring something special for a little girl who did not hurt someone else even though she had the right to do it. Now finish that tea or your head won't stop hurting."

"But it tastes really bad."

"I warm up and add little bit of honey," said Hop Sing. "Then you drink it all so head stop hurting."

Once Cat had her hot cocoa and cookies, Joe put several hot bricks in her bed to warm it up. When he went back downstairs, he couldn't resist teasing Adam about what Cat had done to him. "Say older brother, I understand you walked right into a trap little sister set for you. I wish I could have been there to see the look on your face when it happened. I'm sure it was priceless."

Adam endured some more good natured teasing from the rest of the family. Then he looked at Cat and said, "So, you decided to tell the rest of the family what you did."

"Uh huh. And I told Uncle Paul too. I was going to tell Uncle Roy but he wasn't at the meeting."

"Little scamp. Do you know what happens to little girls who get their family and friends to laugh at their oldest brother?"

"No, what?"

"Normally, they would get thrown in the trough but it's too late for you to take a hot bath, so you are going to get tickled until you wet your pants."

Cat giggled. "You can't do that."

"And why not?"

"'Cause I'll spill my hot cocoa and cookies. Then Hop Sing will get mad and yell at you. Then everyone will laugh at you again. I'll even stay awake until Pa comes home and tell him what you did. Then he'll yell at you too and the rest of us will laugh at you again."

Adam pretended to growl at his little sister. He didn't mind the teasing as it was keeping her mind off her head and giving Hop Sing's tea time to work. "You had better watch your step brat. I can always go upstairs, open your window and put your fire out."

"Then I'll go and get Fury. Then Fury, Lassie, Silver Chief, and me will sleep in your bed. I know your room is warm. You can sleep in my cold room. In fact, since it's cold outside, I think Fury should sleep in your bed until it gets warm again. I don't want him to be cold and get sick."

"And just where am I supposed to sleep?"

"You can sleep under your bed or on the settee."

"Alright Squirt. Finish your hot cocoa and cookies. It's high time you were in bed. We barely have enough time to read one chapter and if I let you stay up any later and you fall asleep in school, Pa will skin both of us alive."

When Ben returned home, he told everyone what the school board had decided to do about Annabel. "I am not happy at all about that decision," said Abel. "That girl is liable to hurt Cat badly the day she returns to school. The school board should have forbidden her to return to school at all. She needs discipline and she's not getting it at home. There are some excellent boarding schools in Boston she could attend. She would get a good education and the discipline she so badly needs."

"I know Abel. I expressed my concerns to the school board and so did Reverend Long, but they decided keeping Annabel out of school for four months and making her repeat the ninth grade was enough punishment. Adam, did your sister give you any trouble tonight?"

"Outside of telling everyone about the trap she set for me, she was as good as gold. She didn't want to drink the tea Hop Sing made to stop her head from hurting, so he warmed it up and added a little bit of honey."

Ben laughed at Adam complaining about Cat telling the rest of the family what she had done to him in the restaurant. "That was your own fault son. Hopefully you have learned never to jump to conclusions where your sister is concerned. Did she complain of any dizziness at all?"

"Only when I had her correct the arithmetic problem she got wrong."

"I'm glad that was the only time. She has tried to get Paul to tell the teacher she shouldn't have to do arithmetic because it makes her head hurt and spin. He told her that half the children in Virginia City have that problem and the only cure is to work through it."

"Say," said Joe. "Christmas Day is two weeks from Saturday and we don't have anything for little sister."

"We do have some things," said Adam. "When I went to Denver, I went with the express purpose of shopping for her and the Ingalls girls. All four girls are getting books and ice skates. Cat is also getting some more toys and dolls for the doll house we helped Michael make for her. She also has a sled at George McLeod's store as do Mary and Laura. However, you are right Joe. We do need to get more gifts for her. We could ride into town tomorrow and see what George has in the store she might like. We can also look through his catalogs and if we see something we like, and one or more of us can go to Carson City and buy it."

"That's a great idea Adam," said Hoss. "We can take the buckboard so's ifn she sees it during recess or dinner, she'll just think we're buyin' supplies for the winter. One thing she could use is a new saddle. She's been using the one Joe used when he was a boy."

"I wanted to wait and get her a new saddle for her eleventh birthday," said Ben. "She'll be riding Fury by then and will appreciate having a new saddle for a new horse." The family discussed other gift ideas for a little while longer before going to bed. As Adam was starting toward the stairs, he was stopped by his father's voice. "Adam, I thought you'd like to know what your sister told Reverend Long. He thinks that she has forgiven you but wouldn't tell him because she didn't want you or I to know. She said that if he would go to Mr. Miller's shop after school tomorrow, she would tell him then."

"That little stinker. She is bound and determined to drive me crazy wondering if I have been forgiven or not."

"I'm sure she has son and I have a feeling that Reverend Long is going to tell her that she has to tell you when she gets home tomorrow. He may even preach a sermon on forgiveness this Sunday."

During breakfast, Cat said, "Pa, you get mad at me, and Adam, and Hoss, and Joe if we yell in the house, but you do it all the time and you woke me up the other night. Me and my friends talked about it and it isn't fair. So we think that since you get to yell in the house, I should get to run in the house."

Everybody started laughing. "Well Benjamin, what do you have to say to the logic of your nine year old daughter and her friends?" teased Abel. "She does have a point. You scolded her Sunday afternoon for yelling to tell you that your foreman was at the door, but you yell all the time."

"Yeah Pa," added Joe. "You're always scolding us for yelling in the house but you do it all the time. I even remember you doing it when I was little and Mama telling you not to be so loud. Even though it's not safe, if you're going to yell all the time, Cat should get to run in the house."

Ben sighed. He did yell a lot. It was a carryover from his days on board ship when he had to yell orders to the men aloft. "I will do my best to stop yelling all the time, however, Catherine, you may not run in the house. It isn't safe and none of us wants you to get hurt."

"Going to school and church aren't safe. I got hurt there. I never get hurt doing stuff I want to do."

"I am sorry that Mrs. Warren hurt you at church but she will never hurt you again. The judge told her that the next time she even threatens you, he will send her to prison. I am also very sorry that Annabel hurt you at school but she will not be there until after Easter. Your education is important and you will attend school. Running in the house is not safe and there will be unpleasant consequences if you do it. Now finish your breakfast. You can't learn on an empty stomach and I don't want you to be late for school."

As Cat was getting ready to leave for school, Hop Sing handed her a small envelope. "Give this to doctor if head starts hurting. Tell him Hop Sing say to put little bit of honey in it."

"Ok. Thanks Hop Sing.

Ben walked outside with Cat when she left for school and told her to meet him at Mr. McLeod's store when she finished at Mr. Miller's shop. Before she could ask why, he said, "You need to buy Christmas gifts for your brothers, grandfather, and Hop Sing. If George doesn't have anything you like, we'll look at his catalogs and ride out to Carson City tomorrow morning and see if we can find something there."

"I can't buy anything for anybody. I don't have any money. It's all in the bank."

"I know. That's why I told you to meet me so I can pay for the things you want to buy."

"But I should be able to pay for everything myself just like I did in Dodge."

"Sweetheart, when you lived with Matt, you lived in town and could do things like helping the blacksmith to earn money and you only shopped for Matt and Kitty. We live too far from town for you to have jobs like you did in Dodge and you have been putting what money you earn here toward Matt's saddle. That's why I'm going to pay for the gifts you want to buy."

"I want to get something for Joshua and Thaddeus too and I guess I should get something for Pete but I don't know what they like."

"That's fine. You can get something for them and I'll try to find out what they like." He looked at his watch and said, "Alright, you need to scoot. I don't want you to be late for school."

"I could go fishing instead. Fish live in schools so I could learn from them."

"Scamp! Get going before I decide to make you ride backwards in your saddle."

Cat's head started hurting about thirty minutes after dinner so Miss Winter sent her over to Paul's office. Cat handed him the envelope from Hop Sing and told him about putting a little bit of honey in it to make it taste better. He took her into his house where Virginia made the tea and put some honey in it. "Alright Cat, you finished your tea," said Virginia. "You need to go back to school now and don't do so much running around until your head is better."

When Cat, Jas, and Mike arrived at Mr. Miller's shop after school, he asked to see their arithmetic tests. The boys got ninety percent on theirs while Cat got an eighty percent. "It seems to me that you need to spend more time on your arithmetic Cat. You only got an eighty percent on your test."

"I hate arithmetic and don't care how good I do as long as I get a passing grade. Those fractions are dumb and don't make any sense. I don't even know why I have to learn them because I'll probably never use them."

"But you do use fractions every time you use money. How many pennies are in a dollar?"

"One hundred."

"Exactly. So a penny is one hundredth of a dollar. What about a dime? What fraction of a dollar is it?"

"One tenth."

"Correct. What about a quarter?"

"One fourth."

"Yes. So you do use fractions."

"Ok. But what about these dumb mixed numbers we've been working with?"

"You can think of some of them in terms of dollars and cents too. For example, this one is five and three tenths. That could be five dollars and thirty cents. Why didn't you finish the last two problems?"

"'Cause there wasn't enough time. I'm lucky I got as many problems done as I did. I never have enough time to finish an arithmetic test."

"It sounds like I'm going to have to ask Miss Winter to give her students more time to take their tests. Now, the three of you need to get those gloves finished. Christmas Day is two weeks from tomorrow. Cat, I've already wrapped the finished pairs and I'll wrap the last two pair once you finish them. Then all you'll have to do is write who each pair is for on the packages." The children finished the gloves and Mr. Miller wrapped the last two pair. Then he went in the back and brought out the packages containing the gloves that had already been finished. He told her who each package was from and she wrote that person's name and 'From Cat' on each one. "Don't forget to bring your saddle bags when you come for the Christmas Eve service so I can put these in them for you."

"Ok. I will."

Ben walked into the shop just as Mr. Miller returned from putting the packages in the back of his shop. "Hello Gerald. How is Cat's project coming along?"

"We just finished it."

"That's good. When will I get to see it?"

"When it's the right time. Don't ask when that will be because nobody here will tell you. Can I help you with anything?"

Ben laughed. "No. I just came to see if Cat was finished. We need to go to George's store and do some Christmas shopping and may need to make a trip to Carson City tomorrow morning."

"She's all yours. By the way, you may want to have a look at her arithmetic test."

Ben became concerned. "Cat did you fail your test?"

"No Pa. I got an eighty percent. Mr. Miller thinks I should have gotten a higher score. I didn't even have time to do the last two problems. I never finish the arithmetic tests."

"Don't worry about that," said Mr. Miller. "I'm going to ask Miss Winter to give the class some extra time to complete their arithmetic tests. I don't want students getting low grades because they weren't able to finish."

"Thank you Gerald," replied Ben. "I have been meaning to talk with you about that, but I keep getting distracted by other concerns. Cat hasn't finished a single arithmetic test since school started and that has me very worried. I know the work she's doing now is much harder than what she did in third grade, but she did finish all of the tests in third grade and I don't understand why she's not being given enough time to finish them now. Cat, if you're finished here, we've got some shopping to do. What do you have for homework?"

"Just reading and history."

"I'm not worried about them. Your grades were excellent and I know you'll get your homework done before you go to bed. Now, let's get that shopping done. Jasper, Michael, you can come with us or head home, it's up to you."

"We'll come with you," said Mike. "We don't know what Cat's shopping for, but maybe we can help."

"She's shopping for Christmas gifts for her brothers and Adam's grandfather. Since her aunt, uncles and three cousins are coming for Christmas, she should get something for them too."

"I don't even know Aunt Victoria and only know Jarrod and Heath a little tiny bit. I don't know what to get them. Uncle Matt needs a new vest and Miss Kitty likes parasols and hats. I don't know what to get Uncle Rip and Uncle Luke. In his last letter, Mark said he needed a new knife but Uncle Luke didn't have the money to buy him one."

"How old is Mark?" asked Mike.

"He's nine just like me. He'll be ten in March."

"It's too cold for fishing, but maybe the four of us can do some hunting while he's here."

"That would be fun."

"I sent a telegram to my sister, but she didn't know what her sons needed either," said Ben. "We'll just have to look around the store and in the catalogs to see what they might like. Hopefully we'll also find something Lucas will like. Let's go children. We're not getting any shopping done standing here and all of you still have homework to do today."

Reverend Long walked up just as they were leaving Mr. Miller's shop. "Hello Ben, children. I need to borrow Cat for a minute. I asked her a question last night and she said she'd give me the answer today." They walked around the corner and the Reverend asked, "Well Cat, have you forgiven Adam?"

"Yes."

"Have you told him?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Probably not."

"Why not?"

"Because if he thinks I haven't forgiven him, he won't ever be mean to me again."

He smiled and hugged her. "No Sweetheart, that's not the way it works. When someone apologizes for something they've done and asks for forgiveness, you are supposed to forgive them right away and tell them you have forgiven them."

"But if I do, Adam might be mean to me again."

"That's a chance you're going to have to take. Adam is human and humans make mistakes all the time and sometimes those mistakes hurt the ones we love. I hope and pray that nobody, especially a family member, will ever be mean to you again, but unfortunately, sometimes people forget their manners and hurt people, even the ones they love. I want you to promise me that you will tell Adam he is forgiven when you get home. Now, before we rejoin the others, I want to tell you how proud I am of the way you acted when Annabel attacked you last night. You could have hurt her badly and nobody would have blamed you but you didn't. Now I want you to promise me that when you get home, you'll tell Adam you have forgiven him."

"I don't want to."

"I understand, but it's what the Bible says to do."

"Maybe the person who wrote the Bible was wrong."

Reverend Long laughed. "I don't think so Little One. Tell Adam that you have forgiven him and you'll feel better about it."

"I don't feel bad. Adam was mean to me so I'm making sure he isn't mean to me ever again."

"Cat, you have to tell him that you have forgiven him. It's the right thing to do."

Cat sighed. "There are too many grownups. If kids ran things everything would be a whole lot better and grownups wouldn't be allowed to be mean to kids."

"I understand but you still need to tell Adam you have forgiven him."

"You're going to tell Pa that I forgave Adam so I'm going to have to tell him, aren't you?"

"Yes, I have to. He needs to know."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. Now, I expect you to do the right thing, because I will ask Adam on Sunday if you told him or not. If you don't tell him, I will be very disappointed in you and I know you don't want that."

"Ok. I'll tell him but I don't want to."

"I understand but it is the right thing to do. Now let's rejoin the others because they've been waiting for us long enough."

When Cat and Reverend Long rejoined Ben, Jasper, and Mike, Ben said, "I need to talk to Reverend Long for a minute. Why don't the three of you go over to Mr. McLeod's store and start looking for gifts for Cat's brothers, uncles, aunt, and cousins? I'll join you there in a few minutes."

After the children left, Ben asked, "Did Cat forgive Adam?"

"Yes she did. However, she doesn't want to tell him."

"Why not?"

"She's afraid that if she tells him he has been forgiven, he'll be mean to her again."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with her about that."

"No, please don't. Cat is only nine years old and is thinking like a child. Remember what the Bible says in First Corinthians Thirteen, 'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child...' Cat has only been part of your family for four months now and is still trying to figure things out. She's not used to being treated the way Adam has been treating her and is trying to keep him from continuing to do it. I explained that when someone asks to be forgiven, the person who was wronged is supposed to do it and tell them right away. I'll preach a sermon on forgiveness after the holidays. She promised me that she'd tell him tonight so please don't bring it up. I want to give her the opportunity to do the right thing."

"Alright, I won't say anything to Cat about it. Now I had better get over to George's store. There's no telling what she is picking out for Christmas gifts for the family. Hop Sing is liable to end up with a new stove."

When the three children walked into the general store, Cat spied the sled Mr. McLeod had out and asked, "Jas, Mike, what is that? I've never seen one before."

"It's a sled," answered Mike. "Both Jas and I have one."

"Are they fun?"

"Oh yes," answered Jasper. "You use them to slide down hills in the snow. We have races a whole lot."

"How do you use it?"

Jasper put the sled on the floor and then lay down on it. "You use it like this. You lay on it with your belly down and steer it with this piece up front. If you want it to go to the right, push the left side out and if you want it to go to the left, push the right side out."

"I sure would like to try one. There weren't many hills near Dodge and we didn't get that much snow. I'd ask Pa to get one for Mark but he lives in New Mexico and they don't get much snow. Maybe Santa will bring me one."

"If he doesn't, we'll share ours with you," said Mike. "Also, you might want to ask Joe if he still has his somewhere. It hasn't been that many years since he last used it. I have Mitch's. Now, we had better look at gifts for your family before your Pa gets here. You said Mark needs a new knife. Does he live on a ranch, or a farm, or in town?"

"He and his Pa have a small ranch about five miles from North Fork."

"Ok, then he'll need a good sturdy knife to use for ranch work." They looked at the knives and both boys each picked one out.

"I like this one best," said Cat picking up the one Jasper had picked out. "It's prettier than the other one."

The boys laughed. "It doesn't have to be pretty Cat," said Mike. "It just has to be good to use for ranch work."

By the time Ben arrived at the store, Cat had picked out a knife for Mark and a vest for Matt. "I know Adam likes books but I don't know which ones he already has."

"I can help you with that," said Mr. McLeod, handing her three books. "I just got these in yesterday so I know Adam doesn't have them yet."

"Thanks Mr. McLeod. I wish you could tell me what to get Hoss, Joe, Hop Sing, Pa, and Grandpa."

"Joe wants a new pair of dress boots and your grandfather would like a pair of boots also," came Ben's voice from behind her. "Hoss told me which pair Joe has his eye on. Hoss wants a new saddle blanket for Chub. Joshua, Thaddeus, and Pete want new shirts."

"I have to go and take money out of my bank account. I need money to pay for everything."

"No Cat, you do not need money from your bank account. I am going to pay for everything."

"But if the presents are from me, I should buy them."

"That's what you have a family for," said Mike. "Ma takes me shopping for Mitch and he takes me shopping for Ma and Pa."

"My Ma takes me shopping for my Pa and he takes me shopping for Ma," added Jasper. "Keep your money in the bank and let your Pa pay for everything. That's what family members do for each other. Mike and I both have money in the bank but we don't use our own money to buy Christmas or birthday gifts."

"Ok, but I have to get more for Hoss and Adam. Boots cost more than books and saddle blankets."

"Don't worry about it Kitten," said Ben. "I promise you that your brothers won't care if someone else's gift costs more than theirs. They will be very happy just getting gifts from you. Now, did you find anything for Rip, Lucas, Victoria, Jarrod, and Heath?"

"No and I don't know what to get for Hop Sing either. Maybe we could get him a new stove?"

"Trust me, Hop Sing does not need a new stove. I'll ask him again tonight and we can go to Carson City after breakfast."

"We can't go to Carson City tomorrow Pa. Laura and Mary are coming over and the Christmas dance is tomorrow night. We can't go on Sunday either because Adam is taking Laura, Mary, Carrie, and me to get a horse for Mrs. Ingalls' cart. We could go on Monday."

"Scamp! You have school on Monday and I am not going to let you miss a day just to go shopping. Christmas is still two weeks away. We can go to Carson City next Saturday."

"I'd rather go on Monday."

"I know you would love to take a day off school but that's not going to happen unless you're sick or too injured to attend. We'll probably get our first blizzard not long after the New Year and you'll do the lessons Miss Winter gave you at home."

"That's not fair. The school will be closed but I still have to do lessons."

"Except during a blizzard, the school won't be closed Cat," said Jasper. "The kids who live in town and right outside of it will still go to school. Once the snow gets deep, the kids who live on farms & ranches far from town won't be able to get to school. That's why Miss Winter sent lessons home with us."

"Say Cat, why don't you show your Pa what we looked at when we first got here?" asked Mike.

"That's a great idea Mike. Pa, I have something I need to show you." She led Ben over to the sled and said, "Mike and Jas said they're lots of fun. Do you think Santa will bring me one?"

"He might, but if he doesn't bring you one, I'll look in the attic and the loft above the tack room and see if we still have Joe's. It hasn't been that many years since he stopped using it. If I can't find it, I'll buy you a new one. Now, let's pay for your purchases and then we need to go home. You and the boys still have homework to do and I'm sure the boys have chores also. Do you want to ride Beauty home or drive the buckboard?"

"Thanks Pa. I really want to go sledding with my friends. I want to drive the buckboard. Jas, Mike, do you want to ride on the buckboard? Pa said I could drive." The boys said they wanted to ride on the buckboard with their friend and helped carry the packages outside. "How come all that stuff is on the buckboard Pa?"

"Because it's winter. Remember, I told you that once we get the first blizzard, you won't be coming into town to go to school. Well, we won't be able to get into town to buy supplies either, so we have to stock up now while we can."

"Oh, ok. Will I be able to play outside in the snow?"

"Not in the middle of a blizzard you won't. We'll string ropes between the house, barn, storehouse and smokehouse so we can take care of the animals and get to the food, but you won't be going outside during the storm."

"What are the ropes for?"

"They're so people can get to and from the house to the barn, smokehouse, and storehouse safely," replied Jasper. "Blizzards are very bad snow storms that can last for days and people get lost and die in them all the time, even on their own property. Mike and I aren't allowed to go outside during a blizzard either."

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