Little House on the Prairie, Season 4

Charles [to Laura as he brings the new dog into the barn] Hey, Half-Pint. Look what followed me home from Mankato. He's just a stray, but he's a good dog. He's smart. [the dog starts licking Laura's face] Hey, look at that, he's really taking a shine to you! He can be yours, if you want.

Laura:
I don't want him.

Charles:
Oh, come on. He just wants to give you a little loving, that's all.

Laura:
I DON'T WANT HIM! [runs out of the barn]

Laura:
I can't love some dog that just chases his tail all the time!

Kezia:
Pretty smart little fellow, if you ask me. You wouldn't play with him, so he made do with what he had.

Mary:
I don't think I'll ever be happy again.

Charles:
Oh, yes, you will. You don't believe that now, but you wait and see. One of these days, this will all be over and forgotten. You'll meet a new beau, and you'll fall in love again.

Mary:
[starts crying] No, I won't. Love is too painful.

Charles:
Oh, come on. Shhh. [hugs Mary]

Mary:
Nothing makes sense anymore.

Laura:
Falling in love is such a waste of time. I'm going to stay right here with Pa forever and ever!

Charles:
[to John] Do you love her?

John:
I care for her deeply.

Charles:
I asked you if you were in love with my daughter.

John:
No, sir.

Charles:
How long have you known?

John:
I'm not sure. When you're far apart, it's easy to avoid knowing the truth. But seeing her again, I knew. And I did plan to tell her, but in a letter when she got back to Walnut Grove.

Charles:
When she got back to Walnut Grove. And I'm supposed to understand that, too?

John:
I'm a writer. The words come easier on paper.

Charles:
When you first told my daughter you loved her, did you write her a letter about it?

John:
This is different. I can't face her.

Charles:
John, Mary has a right to hear this from you and she has the right to let you know how she feels. You owe her that much.

Eloise:
[to Laura] Oh, my Ellen. My beautiful Ellen!

Laura:
Mrs. Taylor--

Eloise:
No. No! Say "I love you, Mama." [Laura looks stunned and doesn't say anything] Say "I love you, Mama."

Laura:
I.....I love you, M-mama.

Eloise:
[hugs Laura] Oh, and I love you! Oh, promise me. Promise me you'll never leave me again. You promise?

Laura:
I--I promise.

Eloise:
Stop it, Ellen! Stop it!

Laura:
Mrs. Taylor, I'm not Ellen!

Eloise:
No!

Laura:
I'm not Ellen, I'm Laura!

Eloise:
No, NO!

Laura:
ELLEN'S DEAD! See? That's her grave. Ellen is dead.

Andrew Garvey:
I suppose your Pa wants a boy.

Laura:
What's so great about boys, anyway?

Andrew:
Well, can you fix the barn roof?

Laura:
Sure. Can you have a baby?

Carrie:
Pa! Pa! Look what I found!

Charles:
What is it, honey?

Carrie:
Eggs!

Charles:
Oh, no, honey. You shouldn't have done that. Chicks aren't born the way humans are.

Carrie:
But I didn't mean anything. I'll put them back.

Charles:
I'm afraid they're not gonna hatch. They'll be too cold without their mama.

Carrie:
All because of me?

Charles:
Hey, now, don't feel so bad. It's not your fault. You didn't know.

Carrie:
I know! I'll be their mama!

Charles:
What?

Carrie:
I'll take care of them myself, and then they'll hatch!

Charles:
I'm afraid it just won't work.

Carrie:
It'll work, Pa! They never saw their real mama! I'm gonna go put them under my pillow right now!

Caroline:
You know, sometimes, when we're all sitting at dinner, I feel like there's someone missing, and now that place will be filled by our son.

Charles:
I don't know why you have to keep saying that. We don't know for sure if it's going to be a boy.

Caroline:
Because I want a boy, for you.

Charles:
Well, I don't! Not if it means nine months of misery.

Caroline:
You built this cradle for our son.

Charles:
Caroline, I built the cradle for our child!

Caroline:
I've seen you with Andy, working together.

Charles:
Exactly! If I want someone to help me around the farm, I'll hire him! I don't have to father him!

Caroline:
You don't understand.

Charles:
All right, what if you weren't pregnant? If you weren't pregnant, then we wouldn't have anything to worry about, would we? Caroline, when we had the girls, all we cared about was having a healthy, happy family. That's all.

Caroline:
Well, of course I want him to be healthy!

Charles:
HIM! Why does it always have to be "him?" Caroline, we had a son, and he died. It's over. God, you're... you're as bad as Carrie with her dead eggs, trying to give birth to chicks!

Dr. Burke:
[to Charles about Mary] I didn't know your daughter had scarlet fever, Mr. Ingalls.

Charles:
Yeah, she had scarlet fever.

Dr. Burke:
How bad was it?

Charles:
It was bad. It was scarlet fever. What is it?

Dr. Burke:
The scarlet fever damaged the eye nerves. Weakened them.

Charles:
How long until she's better?

Dr. Burke:
I'm afraid she won't get better. The condition only worsens. Mr. Ingalls....Mary is going blind.

Charles:
There must be some mistake.

Dr. Burke:
I'm afraid not. I wish there was some medicine or treatment that would help, but there just isn't.

Charles:
There....some.....something. There must be something.

Dr. Burke:
It would have to be in the nature of a miracle, beyond the skill or knowledge of a doctor.

Caroline:
[to Doc Baker about Mary] I don't know what to do anymore. She says she's a burden to us and she hates it. I tell her it isn't true, but it just doesn't do any good.

Doc Baker:
This might sound harsh, Caroline, but I think you're trying to do too much. She has to learn to do for herself, if she's to have any kind of life.

Charles:
But she can't do for herself, Doc. We have to take care of her.

Doc Baker:
Do too much and she'll retreat to bed, and she'll stay there. I haven't been trained in caring for the blind, and neither have you. She needs the help of people who have.

Charles:
Well, where do we find those people?

Doc Baker:
There's schools for the blind. The nearest and one of the best is in Burton, Iowa.

Caroline:
That's so far away! No, she needs her family.

Doc Baker:
Caroline, she's living in fear and resentment. With the proper help and training, she'll be a different person.

Charles:
The doctor's right, Caroline. Can you contact them for us?

Doc Baker:
Certainly. Believe me, Caroline, it's what's best for Mary.

Mary:
I've never heard of any of those schools around here.

Caroline:
It's not around here. It's in Iowa.

Mary:
Yeah, I understand. You just want to get me out from underfoot.

Caroline:
Mary, that's not true, and you know it.

Mary:
[starts to cry] Then don't send me away. Please don't send me away, let me stay here! I don't want people looking at me, feeling sorry for me. Please let me stay, Ma. Please let me stay!

Caroline:
Mary, I don't want to send you away, but if they can help you... you can't spend the rest of your life sitting in that chair!

Mary:
WHY NOT? Why not? Why can't I just sit here? There's nothing for me to see. It's dark no matter where I go. It's just darkness. You've already decided to send me, haven't you?

Caroline:
Yes, we have.

Adam:
[to Mary] All you think about is being blind. You happen to be a very capable person who just happens to not be able to see with her eyes. When are you going to get on with living?

Mary:
Get out.

Adam:
Pitying yourself won't help. Blind people are just as good or as bad as everyone else. You're not special!

Mary:
[throws her dinner plate at the wall] I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT!

Adam:
That roast beef was good. You'll find some extra towels on the top shelf of the closet. This is your room as long as you're here. If you make a mess, you clean it up. See you in the morning.

Mary:
I'd prefer to eat by myself.

Adam:
When you eat in the dining room, you can pick your own company. But for now, this is schoolwork, so you'll have to eat with the teacher.

Mary:
I don't like people looking at me!

Adam:
Why? Cause you eat with your fingers? Nothing to feel bad about. Most folks do until they learn.

Mary:
Look, my parents didn't send me here so you could teach me table manners!

Adam:
Yes, they did. It's all a part of learning. Now just because you're blind doesn't mean you have to eat like an animal!

Adam:
I'll be waving as you drive away.