Rather than picking up right where Little House on the Prairie season 1, episode 2, left off, we open episode 3 with Laura and Mary in the field picking berries as Mary questions whether John had time to drop a letter off before he originally left town—clearly eager to hear from Caleb and see if he returns her correspondence.
As they reach the edge, they spot a group of Osage women picking berries across the river, and Laura excitedly waves hello. The group walks away as Mary discourages her, noting their mom will be annoyed.
The home comes together quite quickly with the help of Adam. They get the door added to the home as he heads out. After Adam has left, Charles sweeps Caroline off her feet and carries her across the threshold of their new home. It’s clear that some time must have passed since the last episode, as the home wasn’t near completion last episode, but it’s now fully furnished and everything.
A letter from home reveals lingering family tensions
The Ingalls ride into town, and the girls are eager to see this surprise that Charles has promised. As they ride through, they pass a pair of Osage men on horseback, and Laura again waves, trying to connect even if her family is more hesitant.
As the Ingalls enter town, Charles surprises the family by showing them the art he designed for the town’s event. Independence is celebrating the opening of the town’s new post office, which they hope will bring a wider world to Independence and perhaps even a railroad line. Charles quickly begins to pass out the family’s mail, including a letter from the girls’ grandmother.
Charles gets word that his dad has become a shut-in, and Caroline assures him it’s just the grief. She alludes to something not being Charles’ fault, and we can only assume it's connected to his brother George.
Charles and the girls head to the General Store and Laura is excited to see Good Eagle. Laura tells her about running into the group of Osage girls at the river and asks her how to say hello in Osage. Laura tells Good Eagle about starting lessons soon with her mom at home, but she’s more interested in hunting and playing with Jack than taking lessons.
Good Eagle mentions how she’s always wanted to attend school, and Laura gets the idea that she could join them, which would make lessons so much more fun. The idea thrills Good Eagle, and she quickly asks her father about joining Laura for lessons, but her excitement dissipates when he mentions asking her mother first.
George drops by the General Store and he and Emily quickly connect over some of the shop’s more unique items, including a bird skeleton, which sparked her interest due to her love for anatomy. We learn that George has gotten word of an intermittent fever outbreak in Oswego, which could spread out here. She assures him that anything she has in stock is his for the taking.
Charles strikes up a conversation with Emily about crops that grow best in the area as Mary bumps into Caleb outside. She asks him about the letter, but he rushes off inside before responding.
Caroline takes a moment to read her letter from Eliza, who isn’t exactly the most supportive, with the letter encouraging her to return home to have their baby. She brushes the letter off and tells Charles she was just wishing her the best, which he quips doesn’t sound like Eliza as they gather the girls and head home.
As a new day breaks, Laura tries to convince her dad to let her help with the house and questions why she needs lessons. He assures her that books can help take her to all kinds of worlds and teach her all sorts of things.
The Ingalls family faces a frightening home invasion
Lessons begin and Laura quickly works on trying to convince her mom to allow Good Eagle to join their lessons. The girls quickly get into an argument, and Caroline breaks them off to do some chores. As Laura heads down to fetch water, Mary questions why she can’t have anything of her own, as Caroline suggests she makes peace with sharing, as she’ll have more sharing to do once her brother arrives.
Caroline heads outside and continues reading Eliza’s letter, which mentions sending ticket money and how she and the girls are welcome – noting that Peter isn’t ready to forgive Charles. Caroline angrily crumbles the letter but picks it back up, hinting that she might be thinking over the offer.
Over lunch, Adam asks Charles about Lacey, expressing some interest in getting to know her. Their conversation is cut short as Mr. James arrives to check out the house and ask for their help with a community project. He’s been promising Jemma a church for ages and would like Charles’ help in building it, an offer Charles happily accepts.
Adam remarks about the growth of the town and asks about getting a land office soon, and Mr. James reflects on how he came to Independence to scout for the railroad but fell in love with the place, as it’s something special. He bought the land for Independence from the Osage himself, and that purchase taught him a lot about them: they’re responsible people, like trade, and know progress is coming. Mr. James suggests that the government will make a fair offer and they’ll sell the land, and that once they do, Charles and Adam will have claims on this land. He encourages Charles to have faith as he heads out.
Laura makes her way down to the river and finds that the flowers she left have been taken. When she returns to the house with Jack, she finds a pair of Osage men in the home with Mary and Caroline standing close together. Laura greets them and tells them about her friend Good Eagle. She offers them each some cornbread, and one of the two men is quick to eat the piece she laid out for him as well as the piece for the other man.
As Laura offers to make them coffee or tea, Caroline tells the men to take whatever they’d like and go. The man who ate both pieces of the cornbread quickly begins gathering more than a few items as the other man remarks that his comrade is being greedy, to which he quips it’s only fair given they’ve all taken.
The other man begins to tell Laura about how dogs help to bring out the best in people as he tells his friend that he’s gathered enough and it’s time to go. As he walks out of the house, his friend grabs Caroline’s doll from home, and Laura quickly makes it known that he can’t just take the doll; however, Caroline tells her to let them go, and he leaves.
Charles learns a harsh truth about living on Osage land
Charles arrives home and is surprised to find the door locked. Mary unlocks the door and tells Charles about the Osage men who came into the house and took all of their food, his tobacco, and their mom’s doll. After embracing the girls, we learn that the doll was the last thing her dad gave her before his death. It was like a piece of her father was there, keeping her safe, as she confronts Charles about how he told her the Osage were leaving and they’d be safe. He assures her he’ll speak with William about this.
At the Mitchell home, William is reading a letter from Father Schoemakers. He wants to introduce him to the new Indian agent, Isaac Gibson, about a translating job. He also mentioned a spot opened up for Good Eagle if they still want to send her, which he thinks would be good for her so that she can go to school with others. White Sun wants to keep her close and safe though, which is when William suggests letting her study with the Ingalls girls.
Their conversation is interrupted as one of the two men who stole from the Ingalls walks in, and we learn he’s White Sun’s brother, Little Puma. He tells White Sun he’s brought surprises for her as he mentions having some fun with the settlers on the ridge with his friend Myron. To his surprise, White Sun is not at all happy with his actions and scolds him for terrorizing a mother and her children in their home, as she also reminds him what could have happened if she had a weapon or her husband had returned home.
Little Puma pulls out Caroline’s doll and tells White Sun he thought Good Eagle might like it; she takes it and reminds her brother it’s not his to give. Just then, there is a knocking at the door as Charles arrives to see William.
William tells Charles how some of the young men collect from the settlers as a rent, so to speak, as they feel they’re owed and are angry about the way of life and sense of purpose they’ve lost. Charles remarks about how he can’t have strangers walking into his house uninvited as William notes the Osage men would say the same thing.
Charles asks if there is a way to pay this rent in advance, but William notes it’s not really the point. Charles mentions how Mr. James mentioned the deal was all but done as William encourages him not to believe everything he hears from a railroad man. The fact is this is still Osage land, and there is no deal coming at the moment. The government must make an offer, and the Osage will then have to decide if they can accept it, but until then they’re all in limbo.
Charles questions how he can assure Caroline that she and the girls will be safe as White Sun enters the room, places the doll on the table, and assures him those two men will never enter their home again.
Back at the Ingalls’ home, Jemma arrives for a visit, and Caroline informs her about what happened. Laura quips that they didn’t hurt them as Jemma references seeing brutal things and begins to speak of a massacre as Caroline sends the girls outside.
Mary storms off and is sitting by the water as Caleb arrives and apologizes for storming off the other day. He explains he’s not the best with words and finds that sometimes it's better to not say anything at all. He thanks her for writing and hands her a letter of his own for her to read later as she apologizes for being rude. He offers to run the packages he’s come to deliver up to the house, but Mary takes them and remarks that she’d like to have something for herself: a friend, that is, if he wants to be her friend, which he assures her he does.
Caroline and Charles clash over a dangerous secret as the fever reaches Independence
Charles returns home to find Laura sitting outside alone and asks her what is on her mind. She tells him about the Osage girls she saw and how she left flowers and gumdrops for them as a present, but then the men came into the house and took the doll and all their food. She mentions Jemma saying there will be a massacre as he assures her that won’t happen and that things are different now; it is a different place with different people. She feels bad for upsetting her mom as he assures her that she has a good heart, and she just needs to be careful with it.
He enters the home and returns the doll to Caroline as well as the coffee. She quickly puts it back on the mantel as she notes that this is Osage land, which Jemma told her all about, and she’s sure he knew all about it. Charles assures her he didn’t want to worry her, and she shames him for keeping this truth from her.
Charles argues that she has to have faith and that they stayed because they couldn’t go back. That’s when Caroline pulls out the letter from Eliza and tells him that maybe he can’t go back as Mary storms into the room and yells for the pair to stop fighting.
After yelling for her parents to stop, Mary collapses to the ground. Charles takes her into his arms as he comments that she’s burning up as the episode draws to a close. It’s clear that the fever outbreak in Oswego George warned about has reached Independence!
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