History Heartwarming / LittleHouseOnThePrairie

!!The books

** When Caroline's family is stricken with cholera, a neighbor travels all the way to Milwaukee to get Caroline's grandmother. Said grandmother also tells Caroline that if he hadn't had to worry about infecting his own wife and child, he probably would have tended Caroline's family with his own two hands.

** Part of it is due to Almanzo's personality. He's a very quiet, low-key man, and he's very respectful of the shy-yet-spirited Laura's autonomy. He doesn't try to get her attention by playing up how great he is, he looks for things that interest her and suggests doing them together, like the sleigh and buggy rides, and taking her to singing school. He also doesn't underestimate her. While Pa refuses to let Laura ride or drive his horses because he thinks she's too small to control them, Almanzo lets her drive all of his horses, even the unbroken ones. When he leaves Lady and his buggy with Pa while he goes out of state to visit his parents, he explicitly instructs Pa that Laura has his permission to drive Lady whenever she pleases. After they're married, he buys Laura a pony for the sole purpose of having a pony to ride, and the Rose books identify half of the Wilders' horses, Pet and her foal, Little Pet, as belonging to ''Laura'', not Almanzo. When Laura says she doesn't feel right saying she'll obey Almanzo against her better judgment as part of her marriage vows, Almanzo immediately agrees with her. He tells point-blank that no woman ''ever'' keeps that vow even if she does make it, no decent man would ''ever'' expect her to, and if she's still uncomfortable with it, he's happy to ask the reverend to completely excise the word 'obey' from their vows. Almanzo Wilder: Perfect husband.

** A lot of her earliest interactions with Almanzo are both sweet and somewhat [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funny]], mostly because while the ''reader'' can easily see what he's doing, Laura is fifteen and completely clueless. He's being as romantic as was actually possible in a frontier town, and Laura ''does not [[FailedASpotCheck see it]]''. It takes Mary Power pointing it out to make Laura realize hey, surprise, she's being courted. (The narrative explicitly mentions that Laura has no idea why a 'grown-up' would want to spend time with a girl still in school.) Somehow, this comes off as endearing, rather than creepy.

* ''The Charlotte Yeas''

** In "''Little City By The Lake''" Caroline's friend Millie standing up for her when the other girls look down on her mother making her dresses.

** And by extension, how happy she and Lew are together. It's pretty obvious Martha kept her rebellious streak from her childhood, but rather than being ashamed of her, Lew clearly adores how spirited she is and doesn't mind saying so, whether its commenting she could frighten the president if she wanted or laughing at her cheering for him in public. It really gives you a look at why they both risked so much to marry each other.

** "''Little House In The Highlands''": Martha making up with her brother Duncan after he loses her doll.
** "''Down To The Bonny Glen''": Martha's new governess Miss Crow subtly comforting her about a ruined sash and Martha's growing affection for her after loathing her previous governess.

** "''Beyond The Heather Hills''": Martha bonding with her older sister Grisie after three books of sisterly rivalry.

* ''The Martha Years'':
** "''Little House In The Highlands''": Martha making up with her brother Duncan after he loses her doll.
** "''Down To The Bonny Glen''": Martha's new governess Miss Crow subtly comforting her about a ruined sash and Martha's growing affection for her after loathing her previous governess.
** Martha breaking tension between her brother Duncan, and their friends Lew and Ian over the suddenly realized class differences, by challenging Lew to a footrace. He clearly realizes what she's doing and plays along.
** "''Beyond The Heather Hills''": Martha bonding with her older sister Grisie after three books of sisterly rivalry.
** From the same book Lew helping Martha get craft supplies when she's stuck in bed, including giving her his own knife. Even the gruff, no-nonsense Cook is touched and calls them quite a pair. Bonus points for Martha never doubting he'd do everything he could to help her. And in the end Lew insists she keep the knife so Martha gives him one of her home-made dolls for his little sister.

--> Lew: ''"My Martha, a common chicken? I think not. Ye're a skylark, of course. Soars high, nests on the ground, sings the happiest song in the heavens. I ought to have seen that right away."''

** In "''Across The Rolling River'" Caroline's relationship with Miss May and how that inspires her to become a teacher.

** Throughout the book Lew takes on a huge extra workload in the forge because he doesn't want to replace Will. When Will returns, he's lost a leg and isn't sure if Lew will give him his job back. Lew and Martha both tell him he's ridiculous for even suggesting that they wouldn't want him.
** Overall just how ''happy'' Martha is with her life in America after her worries growing up as a lairds daughter in the previous books. The narrative makes it clear that even with the war on, she loves every minute of her life from looking after the children, cooking, running her household, visiting their neighbors and how much freer she's allowed to be as a commoner.
** And by extension, how happy she and Lew are together.
** A particularly sweet scene occurs

** In ''Across The Rolling River'' Caroline's relationship with Miss May and how that inspires her to be a teacher.
** In ''Little City By The Lake'' Caroline's friend Millie standing up for her when the other girls look down on her mother making her dresses.

** ''Down By The Bonny Glen'': Martha's new governess Miss Crow subtly comforting her about a ruined sash and Martha's growing affection for her after loathing her previous governess.
** ''Beyond The Heather Hills'': Martha bonding with her older sister Grisie after three books of sisterly rivalry.

** A lot of her earliest interactions with Almanzo are both sweet and somewhat [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funny]], mostly because while the ''reader'' can easily see what he's doing, Laura is fifteen and completely clueless. He's being as romantic as was actually possible in a frontier town, and Laura ''does not [[FailedASpotCheck see it]]''. It takes Mary Power pointing it out to make Laura realize hey, surprise, she's being courted. (The narrative explicitly mentions that Laura has no idea why a 'grown-up' would want to spend time with a girl still in school.) Somehow, this comes off as endearing, rather than creepy.

* In ''These Happy Golden Years'', Laura telling Almanzo he may kiss her goodnight, after she accepts the engagement ring. It's sweet and a little awkward, and it's Laura clearly ''trying'', when she's been mostly reserved towards him all along.

* In ''These Happy Golden Years'', Mary's first trip home from college. She moves around the house with ease, shows the family her tools and books, and gives them gifts she's made -- except for Pa, who receives a blue silk handkerchief. She tells them that she bought it while out on a trip with her roommate Blanche, who, while legally blind, can still see colors if they're bright enough. They fooled the clerk into thinking she could tell the colors by ''touch'', which Mary laughs about. It's the [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy first time she's outright laughed since she went blind, and Laura thinks that alone makes all the trouble and unpleasantness of her own time as a schoolteacher worth it]].

* In ''These Happy Golden Years'', Mary's first trip home from college. She moves around the house with ease, shows the family her tools and books, and gives them gifts she's made -- except for Pa, who receives a blue silk handkerchief. She tells them that she bought it while out on a trip with her roommate Blanche, who, while legally blind, can still see colors if they're bright enough. They fooled the clerk into thinking she could tell the colors by ''touch'', which Mary laughs about. It's the first time she's outright laughed since she went blind, and Laura thinks that alone makes all the trouble and unpleasantness of her own time as a schoolteacher worth it.

-->"We followed the moonpath," Laura told him. Pa looked at her strangely. "You would!" he said.

* In ''Little House in the Big Woods'', little Laura's rather upset because Mary has blonde whereas hers is, in her own words, "ugly and brown". Pa then points out that ''he'' has brown hair, too, which makes her much happier with her own.

* In ''Little House in the Big Woods'', little Laura's rather upset because Mary has HairOfGold whereas hers is, in her own words, "ugly and brown". Pa then points out that ''he'' has brown hair, too, which makes her much happier with her own.

** On the same note, once Laura's teaching job is over and she's back at home, she discovers that her school friends are all going sleighing and clearly having a wonderful time. Realizing that her extended absence has caused her to be left out, she feels quite depressed - until Almanzo shows up at her door asking if she'd like to go sleighing.

* In ''These Happy Golden Years''. Almanzo making it clear that he will continue to take Laura home every Friday and then back to her school on Sunday even if he has nothing to gain from it himself. To elaborate: the previous weekend, Laura told him up-front that she was only going with him in order to get home, so he shouldn't feel any obligation to come. On Friday afternoon, the temperature is forty below and dropping and Laura is absolutely certain there's no chance at all he's going to come. He does.