happiness approaches!

While riding in the sled to the dance at Grandpa's (Little House in the Big Woods, Chapter 8), Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote that "the horses shook their heads and pranced, making the sleigh bells ring merrily." The next time we read about Laura and sleigh bells in the "Little House" books, it's when Laura hears the sleigh bells on Prince and Lady as Almanzo Wilder approaches the Brewster schoolhouse to take her home for the weekend: "It seemed to her that the wind had a strangely silvery sound.... The strange sound grew clearer, almost like music. Suddenly the whole air filled with a chiming of little bells. Sleigh bells!" (These Happy Golden Years, Chapter 3.

Did Pa never have sleigh bells on his team after leaving the Big Woods? It makes me think that sleigh bells were tied to happiness in some way, and surely Laura associates the sound of sleigh bells with being happy in the "Little House" books. It's the sound she hears every time Almanzo comes to take her home from the Brewster school, and on that last trip home to stay, Laura writes that "her heart was so light that she felt like singing with the sleigh bells." (These Happy Golden Years, Chapter 10) Even if you ignore the fact that sleighs and sleigh bells probably were a luxury (notice they're on a sled in Big Woods, not a sleigh), or that the Ingalls family didn't have room to pack such frippery when going to Indian Territory, or that Pa didn't even have horses on Plum Creek for a while, there's no way around the fact that sleigh bells are just, well, happiness inducing. LISTEN!

Sleigh bells have been around for well over a thousand years, first as good luck charms or to ward off evil spirits, then as a symbol of wealth and status (weren't Almanzo's double strands of bells thought better than the single strands worn by the other boy's horses?). While they are both decorative and beautiful, sleigh bells also served a more practical function in Laura's day. The sound warned other people on the road that there was someone coming, and they were especially useful during snowy or foggy weather. Like Laura in THGY, one can hear the bells get louder as they get closer; that's your cue to slow down or get a little tighter grip on the reins just in case you're driving Barnum and Skip that day.

Next time you visit Burr Oak, why not take a side-trip to Classic Bells northeast of Postville, Iowa? While they don't keep regular "store" hours (call first), the owners have an amazing collection of vintage and new sleigh bells for sale and also sell at events; check out their website. No horse? Try some for the dog... or at least a strand for your back door, to let you know when someone's there!
- posted by pioneergirl at 6:30 PM