The Story of Elisabeth Nelson

In the early 17 hundreds, s were expected to be domesticated, but Elisabeth Nelson was a tomboy who hated knitting, cooking, or cleaning. She loved animals, fishing, and helping her Pa with the crop.

She lived on a small farm in Virgina, so she had pleanty to do outdoors. Her brother John spent more time inside then she did. Her Ma would knit and cook all day, but when Elisabeth had to knit, she would be as quick as possible to get it done, then she would go outside to ride her horse, Dusty, while her cat, Edwards, would watch from the window.

Her Pa would sometimes ride with her on the work horse, Bugs, then he would leave for his job as accountent, and he had to make sure everybody got the proper amount of money out of the bank.

He would then come home, and they would all eat dinner.

Part 2

When Fall came, Elisabeth didn't have much time for riding Dusty. She had to help knit for the winter-time(she hated knitting)and help bring the crops inside for her family to eat.

Her Pa didn't go to work in the fall. "In the Fall, it's more inportant to make sure you live through the winter then to make sure you get to work on time," is what he would say when asked why he wasn't at work.

"Pa," asked Elisabeth one day. "Why don't we use the money you earned as the accountant to buy a good pair of oxen to plow the field next spring?"

"Well, I'm not going to be buying oxen, but I will be buying 2 colts to train."

"Oh, Pa!" cried Elisabeth. "Really? I can't wait to tell Ma!"

"Hold it. Your not telling no one."

"Why?"

"Because the colts are for your Ma, and John can't keep a secret."

"Alright,"agreed Elisabeth.

Elisabeth decided to go visit Jane, her best friend.

"Hello? Jane?"

"I'm in here!"came a muffled voice from inside the log-cabin.

"I'm taking care of Peter, Henry, and Sue." Peter and Henry were Jane's younger twin brothers, who were 6, and Sue was Jane's Aunt's baby, who was 2.

"Is Margaret or Sarah home?" They were Jane's older sisters.

"They both have 2 babies of their own, so they're not here," answerd Jane.

"I'll give you a hand," offerd Elisabeth.

"Thanks."

Elisabeth spent the rest of the fall at home helping out. Finally, the colts came at the end of November. Elisabeth, John, and their Pa and Ma were kept busy for the next 2 weeks getting the colts, Mercy and Blizzard, setteld in. By the time they had gotten setteld down, it had snowed 2 inches.

"How are we going to train Mercy and Blizzard in this weather?" asked Elisabeth one day well feeding the colts. "We'll just have to train them when the sun is up," answerd Pa.

"Dinners ready!" called Ma from the house.

Pa smiled. "The turkeys waiting."

When Elisabeth went to bed, she did not know that tomorrow would be an exciting day.

Part 3

The next day, when Elisabeth and John were doing the chores, one of the colts, Blizzard, escaped through the open barn door. "Wait here John," said Elisabeth. She ran as fast as she could, but the colt had gotten a head start, seeing as Elisabeth had to climb down from the loft. "Please don't go in the woods," she said to her self over and over.

But, Blizzard did anyways. All of a sudden, Blizzard turned around and ran madly back to the barn. "Whats gotten into him?" thought Elisabeth. Then, she saw what had made him run.

A big grizzly bear was cought in a hunting trap,and it had almost freed it self. Elisabeth turned and ran as fast as she could, but all of a sudden, she fell down a 12 foot deep hole thats' sides were covered in ice! Elisabeth tried for the next 3 hours to get out, but without succes. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself. She was very glad that Ma had made her dress so warmly. She then relized that she was hungry. "I only have a few sugar cubes and pocket full of hay," she thought. "I wonder if hay tastes good." Later on she tried to yell for help, but stoped when she thought of how it could attract wild animals. She began to fell tired, so she took some of the sticks and things that had fallen with her when she fell in, and made a fire to sleep by.

She woke up around 5 o'clock and tried some cooked hay. The whole day she tried to get out, snd she finally gave up around 6:00 p.m. After she made a fire, she went to sleep.

That night, she woke up because a low, growling sound was coming from the top of the hole. When she looked up, she saw a wolf. She picked up a stick that was on fire , and threw it at the wolf. After that, it left her alone.

The next day, she had a visit from her cat, Edwards.

"Edward! Come here, buddy!"

He came just close enough for Elisabeth to but a sticky piece of bark which said: help-in woods-. She put him back and he ran. Later that evening, her Pa came and got her. When she got home, she ate all she could.

"Elisabth, you'll have to sleep in John room to night."

"Why?"

"Because the day you got lost, your lamp by your bed was nocked over, and your room caught on fire. Your Pa maneged to get your chest out, but you lost your combs and brushes."

Elisabeth was sad to have lost her combs and brushes, but happy to be alive.
Elisabeth didn't know that there were plenty more adventures to come.

Part 4