Chapter 2

a wooden, plastic, or metal container (usually decorative) used the shape butter

On the loose bottom of the wooden butter-mold was carved the picture of a strawberry with two strawberry leaves.

to cut in small pieces by rubbing over a rough surface

Then she grated [the carrot] on the bottom of the old, leaky tin pan that Pa had punched full of nail-holes for her.

the floor of a fireplace

When the fire was shining on the hearth...

a lamp illuminated by burning kerosene, a liquid fuel

Laura loved to look at the lamp, with its glass chimney so clean and sparking, its yellow flame burning so steadily, and its bowl of clear kerosene...

a meat-eating weasel that lives near water, grows from 17 to 29 inches in length, and is valued for its fur

Pa took his gun and his traps and was gone all day in the Big Woods, setting the small traps for muskrats and mink along the creeks...

a vegetable-eating rodent that lives near water and grows to about 12 inches in length (not including its long, scaly, flat tail)

Pa took his gun and his traps and was gone all day in the Big Woods, setting the small traps for muskrats and mink along the creeks...

a small, usually square piece of something (especially butter)

The little, firm pat of golden butter came out, with the strawberry and the leaves molded on the top.

a small metal cap placed over the finger for protection while sewing

Laura and Mary were allowed to take Ma's thimble and made pretty patterns of circles on the frost on the glass.

a harness attached to the head(s) of animals and then attached to a plow

"It took two yoke of cattle."