Ninainherpoorwayhadlongingsandaspirations。Shewantedtomarry“aYankee，“andnotoneofherownkind。Shehadalittleschoolingobtainedatthesmallbrickshedunderthetoweringcottonwoodtreeatthecornerofherfather’sfarm；butherlifehadbeenoneofhardworkandmightylittleplay。HerparentsspokeinGermanaboutthefarm，andcouldspeakEnglishonlyverybrokenly。HeronlybrotherhadadventuredintotheforeignpartsofPineCountyandhadbeenkilledinasawmill。Herlifewaslonelyandhard。
ShehadsuitorsamongtheGermans，plentyofthem，butshehadadisgustofthem-consideredaspossiblehusbands-andthoughshewenttotheirbeerydancesoccasionally，shehadalwaysinhermindtheease，lightness，andcolorofClaude。SheknewthattheYankeegirlsdidnotworkinthefields-eventheNorwegiangirlsseldomdidsonow，theyworkedoutintown-butshehadbeenbroughtuptohoeandpullweedsfromherchildhood，andherfatherandmotherconsidereditgoodforher，andbeingagentleandobedientchild，shestillcontinuedtodoasshewastold。
Claudepitiedthegirl，andusedtotalkwithher，duringhisshortstay，inhischeeriestmanner。
“Hello，Nina!Howyouvass，ain’tit？Howmuchcreamalreadyyougotthismorning？Didyouhearthenews，not？“
“No，vothasshappened？“