Dorothy lived in the great Kansas prairie, with Uncle Henry, who

was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Once, their

house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the

rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as

everything else.

When Aunt Em came to live there she was a young, pretty wife. The

sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle

from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red

from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and

gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy first came to live with

her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she

would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever the

little girl's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the

little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.