very young and obeys his big sister, no matter what she tells him to do; at the end, he too has grown up somewhat and no longer accepts her authority unquestioningly. He puts an end to their bedtime singing ceremony when he tells her, "You sound silly," and tells on her when she lets the horse escape. Laird is the only character beside Henry Bailey that is given a name. His name, a Scotch form of the title "Lord," demonstrates his importance to the family, as the only boy, and his place in society, which will have more respect for him than for his sister. Yet, in the story it is evident that the narrator is just as good a worker as her brother-far better, because of her advantage in age. It is only because she is a girl that her mother expects her to be a help inside the house, not outside of it. The other characters are the narrator's father, her mother, and the hired hand, Henry Bailey. Henry is someone whom the children admire for his "ability to make his stomach growl at will, and for his laughter, which was full of high whistlings and gu
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