Kirsten Snowbound! is part of the Short Stories collections, focusing on Kirsten Larson.
Characters[]
- Kirsten Larson
- Lisbeth Larson
- Anna Larson
- Britta Larson
- Peter Larson
- Greta Larson
- Inger Larson
- Lars Larson
- Caro
- Blackie
Story Summary[]
Kirsten holds baby Britta on her hip as she watches Mama, Aunt Inger, and Lars drive away in the wagon on an April day. Kirsten and Anna are excited they'll be able to have fresh bread and rice porridge, tired of having to eat only wrinkly potatoes. Lisbeth points out that they should be thankful for the potatoes anyway in the same way Aunt Inger always does; potatoes is all the Larsons have eaten since they have used up pretty much all of their supplies and stores. The winter has been long and cold and no one was able to drive into town until now. Kirsten, Anna, Lisbeth, Peter and Britta are being left to stay at the cabin while the adults go to town.
The kids begin to work on their chores: Peter feeding the chicken and cleaning the barn, Anna sweeping the cabin, Lisbeth taking care of Britta, and Kirsten caring for and milking the cows. As Kirsten works, she imagines the spices Mama might buy, and hopes she'll bring a letter from Papa that will say when he will be back from logging camp. When Kirsten steps out of the barn, she sees that big flakes of snow have started to fall. Kirsten thinks that is a spring snow and it would likely melt as quickly as it falls.
Kirsten and Peter watch the blizzard build up outside.
By midday, the wind has grown stronger, and the snow fis falling hard and fast. Kirsten and the others have put on their sweaters and are sitting by the fireplace to stay warm while eating the lunch Inger left for them. Anna refers to the snow as 'the old woman in the sky plucking goose feathers', an analogy that makes Peter laugh. Kirsten however, is concerned; she remembered the last time she was stuck in a snowstorm, and thinks that if Mama and the others are out in the storm, they will be in danger. Kirsten wishes that the wagon would return home right now but when Peter takes a look out the window, he says he can't see the road or even the barn anymore.
Lisbeth frowns. She says that the adults would never try to drive home if they can't see the road, and they might stay with friends in town tonight. Peter says he won't like it if Mama isn't able to come home tonight as they'd be all alone otherwise. Anna points out there are five of them in the cabin, including Baby Britta, and Anna sees this whole event as a big adventure. Kirsten just hopes that the snow will stop soon.
The snow falls thicker and the wind increases, making the cabin tremble and shake. Snow leaks in through the cracks in the walls, windows and the door. Kirsten and Lisbeth took turns to sweep the snow out. Lisbeth says she has never seen such a big blizzard, and Peter asks what a blizzard is. Anna explains it's a fierce storm like this one, an enormous snowstorm that wouldn't stop, then makes a scary face to tease Peter. On the verge of tears, Peter tells Anna not to say that. Kirsten tugs Peter's ear, telling him not to be frightened--they are safe in their cabin and the others will be safe in town. Privately, Kirsten wonders if anyone can be safe in a blizzard like this one, even in a cabin.
Kirsten lets Caro in to stay warm but is unable to reclose the door.
Later that afternoon, the children hear a rough scratching at the door. Peter wonders if it's a wolf, but Anna suggests it was someone who had gotten lost in the storm and saw their cabin light. The animal outside scratches harder and barks, and Kirsten realizes it's Caro asking to be let in. Kirsten opens the door, but the wind forces it from her grip and it slams against the wall. Caro rushes in, and a cloud of snow begins to rush into the cabin and when Lisbeth tries to shut the door, she can't--the wooden hinge on the top is now broken. Anna rushes to hold the door steady so the bottom hinge doesn't also break.
Baby Britta begins to cry; Kirsten goes to pick her up, but Anna tells Kirsten to help move the snow out of the doorway so they can close the door. Kirsten attempts to use the broom, but the wind blows it out of her hands. She then tries to use her skirt while Peter uses a soup pot to push the snow out, but the wind keeps blowing it back in. Kirsten cries that if they can't get the snow out, they'll just have to shovel it further inside. The two push the snow inside, and the cousins finally push the door closed. Britta is crying harder, but Kirsten cannot yet comfort her and must get the hammer and nails to fix the broken door hinge to keep it closed. By the time Kirsten is finished, everyone is trembling with cold.
Kirsten finally can comfort Britta, but everyone stares at her silently. Kirsten admits that while it was a mistake to open the door, she had to let Caro in or else he'd have frozen to death outside. Lisbeth argues that they'd all have been frozen if they hadn't shut the door, and they all need to be very careful that they don't make any more mistakes. Peter asks Kirsten what Mama would do if she were here, and Kirsten says softly she would tell them to help each other to stay safe and to think things through. Lisbeth agrees with Kirsten, saying they need to have a plan.
The children all plan together on keeping the fire lit all night and to go to bed now, wearing all of their warmest clothes to keep warm. They push the bed closer to the fireplace and crawl into bed. Kristen and Lisbeth warn the others not to roll over onto Britta or let her crawl out of the bed. Anna comments she's so bundled up she can't roll at all and likens them to bear cubs crowded in a den; she still finds the whole thing exciting. Kirsten is still scared, however, worrying about how the blizzard will affect their house and may leave them in the cold, or that Mama and the others might be lost in this blizzard and will never return home at all.
Kirsten falls asleep and later finds herself dreaming hat someone is pricking her fingers. She wakes up to find her hand has slipped out and is lying on the snow that has blown onto the bed covers. Kirsten sits up and sees that their lamp has gone out--but a faint light is shining through the window. The fire has also gone out and the cabin is bitterly cold, enough for clouds of breath to appear. The other children are still asleep, and Kirsten tries to check to see if Britta was warm enough--and suddenly realizes that she wasn't in the bed anymore.
Kirsten is grateful to find Britta tucked with Caro under the bed.
Kirsten began to search for her little sister, worried she has crawled down into the covers and been smothered, but she can't find her. Kirsten wakes Lisbeth and tells her she's missing, and Lisbeth gets up right away and says that Britta can't have gotten far away. Still Kirsten fears that if Britta isn't under the blankets, then she's been frozen. Anna and Peter have now been woken up and start to help look for Britta. Finally Kirsten looks under the bed and sees Caro sleeping on a blanket--and Britta sleeping right next to him. Kirsten tells everyone she found Britta and sees that she is still warm thanks to Caro's thick fur. She says it was a good thing they let Caro in as she kisses Britta, saying that her sister is lucky that the dog has saved her.
Kirsten lets Caro sit on the bed to help keep them warm while she tries to get the fire started again. There are only five pieces of wood in their wood box and they won't be able to find the rest of their chopped wood under the snow. Lisbeth says not to panic and they'll think of something. Kirsten thinks things through and says they can burn their stools and the bench, as Papa can make new ones. They burn the last of the wood and the legs on their smallest stool and get the fire lit. Peter says that they can, if needed, burn the trundle bed, their skis and even the table if necessary.
Anna asks if they have anything to eat, but Kirsten finds the milk and water frozen. Anna asks if there's even any wrinkly potatoes--she doesn't mind even that--but Lisbeth says that they've already eaten the last of them. Lisbeth finds beans and says they can boil them with the water once it melts. Anna sighs that she doesn't mind the beans.
Lisbeth and Kirsten start to try and dig a path to the barn.
Kristen scrapes the ice from the window to get a look outside and sees that the snow and wind have stopped and the sun is now out; however, she can hardly recognize the farm underneath the snow. When Lisbeth comes to look with her, she asks if they can shovel their way to the barn. Kirsten says they will have to try as the animals will need to be looked after and it could be a long time before the others come home. She whispers to her cousin if the others should come with them, but Lisbeth clasps Kirsten's hands in hers and says that the plan is only to dig a path to the barn and to not think of anything else.
Lisbeth and Kristen go outside and start to work on shoveling a path, using the fireplace shovel and the soup pot to do so. Kirsten looks back to see how far they've come after what feels like ages of work and is sad to see it's barely any distance; her arms are already aching. She says that they'll have to work faster or they won't get to the barn before dark. Lisbeth wishes they had another shovel and that Lars was there to help. Before she can continue Kirsten interrupts her, saying she hears a whinny. Kirsten looks out and sees Blackie, their horse, struggling down the road and puling a sleigh with Lars, Aunt Inger and Mama in it-- Blackie whinnies again, as if he knew he was almost home. Kirsten and Lisbeth start to wave, laughing and crying at the same time as the others wave back, and Kirsten is crying with relief that everyone has made it through the blizzard safe--they had all stuck together.
Meet The Author[]
Janet Shaw talks about a snowstorm that went through her town.
Looking Back: The Blizzard of 1888[]
Discusses a blizzard that hit the Midwest in January of 1888, and various stories from the time.
Activity: Have a Snow Day![]
A variety of ideas for what to do on a snow day, and a hot chocolate recipe.