The dog, which has been trotting in the shadow of the wagon for maybe a hundred miles, lays down to rest. The family has just moved from Indian territory to western Minnesota. Pa does a little negotiating and ends up trading the horses that helped them move for the sod hut of a Norwegian farmer who is ready to move farther west. So they begin their life at the new home. The delights of childhood leisure are described, not so much reminiscing as the matter-of-fact way that a child who simply enjoyed it would tell.