Thursday, September 28, 2006

now is now


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When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, “What are the days of auld lang syne, Pa?”

"They are the days of a long time ago Laura,” Pa said. “Go to sleep now.”

But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the fire-light gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.

She thought to herself, “This is now.”

She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the fire-light and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Willder

5 comments:

Peacechick Mary said...

Perfect and purrrfict. Thank you, I needed that.

Mary said...

You know I loved that! I clapped my hands when the page came up. Thanks Peter. That was my favorite book as a child.

Blue said...

What a wonderful feel-good moment!

Frederick said...

Funny, I just rented my daughter a violin...

pissed off patricia said...

Reading that took me back to when my grandmother used to read to me. Something very soothing and gentle.