Little Britches: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Twice more Ralph and his father help Fred Aultland put up his hay, earning 50 dollars each time. Ralph increasingly dislikes his work with Mrs. Corcoran, however. She falsely blames him for how skinny the cows are and, right before school starts, she yells at him for taking the cows in too early. She tells Ralph she’s only paying him because his family is poor, and Ralph yells back at her, throwing her money on the ground. Ralph tells his father about the incident, after which he never herds for Mrs. Corcoran again. 

School starts in October and Ralph’s sister Muriel is finally old enough to go. Because of his actions over the summer, like visiting Two Dog and making Mrs. Corcoran raise his salary, as well as his father’s role in the irrigation fight, school is better for Ralph. People call him “Spikes,” and Freddie Sprague shares food with him at recess. However, Ralph gets in a fight with the chairman of the school board, Mr. Lake, who is visiting. Mr. Lake scolds Miss Wheeler and demotes Ralph to first grade spelling after Ralph fails to properly answer a surprise question. For revenge, Ralph puts a burr under Mr. Lake’s saddle, causing his horse to throw him when he sits down.

Grace tells their parents about Mr. Lake’s visit, but she does not mention Ralph putting the burr under his saddle. Still, Ralph’s father seems to know about it, telling Ralph several nights later how dangerous it can be to put a burr beneath someone’s saddle. Ralph runs into trouble again at school when he gets a big splinter on his butt sliding down a cellar door. His mother is unable to remove it and tells Ralph it will come out itself in several days. It never does.

Upon starting school again, Ralph also gets glasses. His eyes begin “smarting” whenever he reads too much, so his mother takes him to get Denver to buy glasses. Because they cost so much money, she demands that he wear them all the time, a rule that Miss Wheeler and Grace reinforce. Ralph does not like wearing them, however, and after three days he mysteriously loses them after recess, commenting how “good and deep” the privies at their school are. Before his family can buy him another pair, Ralph decides that his eyes are all better.