Boys, boys! Stop the fight!
Witch hazel.
Split lip.
Don't smile for a few days. Next?
Two beefsteaks.
A kick in the pants.
Next?
A loose tooth and swelled-up knuckles.
It's a wonder you have any teeth left. Witch hazel, please.
I'm sorry, Milly. But when that fellow took after Adam...
I understand.
You all did your best, I guess.
Good night, boys.
Good night, Milly.
I feel awful strange-like, Milly. Here.
If it's what I think ails you, witch hazel's not gonna help.
Alice is sweet, isn't she?
Good night.
What's the matter with you?
Somebody butt you in the breadbasket?
I felt this way even before the fight.
Ever since I seen Alice.
Do you reckon I could be in love?
Pa used to say love's like measles. You only get it once.
The older you are, the tougher it goes.
Young fellow like you ought to get it kind of light.
I guess not.
I don't know as I can answer your question.
But according to Milly, and she's had a heap of book-learning...
When you're in love
There is no way on earth...
...to hide it
When you're in love
Really in love
You simply let your heart...
...decide it
How can you tell?
What's in its spell?
How can you tell...
...until you've tried it?
Wait for that kiss...
...you're certain of
And let your heart decide
When you're...
...in love
I guess I got the beginnings.
But them townspeople will never let us court them gals now.
-Not after today. -Don't let it fret you.
If you don't get this one, another will come along.
One woman's pretty much like the next.
Come on, let's go feed the stock.
I'm...
...a lonesome polecat
Lonesome...
...sad and blue
'Cause I ain't got no
Feminine polecat
Vowin' to be true
Can't make no vows
To a herd of cows
I'm...
...a mean old hound dog
Bayin' at the moon
'Cause I ain't got no
Lady friend hound dog
Here to hear my tune
A man can't sleep
When he sleeps with sheep
I'm...
...a little old hoot owl
Hootin' in the trees
'Cause I ain't got no
Little gal owl fowl
Here to shoot the breeze
Can't shoot no breeze
With a bunch of trees
It is beautiful, isn't it?
Not to me.
I've seen too much of it.
I'm getting out.
I'm not spending another winter here, snowed in for months.
What would we do without you?
We'd miss you so.
There's plenty here to take care of the farm without me.
Adam!
-Benjamin says he's leaving. -What?
He says it's the winter, but it's not.
They're all grieving for their girls.
Why should they grieve? They hardly saw them once.
Once is all it takes if it's the right one.
I had such dreams about all of them living around.
Dozens of children, visiting back and forth at Christmas and birthdays.
If Benjamin goes, then another will go.
And another.
I'll talk to him.
If you could just get a look at yourselves...
You look like a bunch of lovesick bull calves.
If you're sweet on them, why don't you do something about it?
Why don't you go marry them?
Sure, "Go marry them," as easy as that!
They wouldn't marry us in a thousand years.
Do as the Romans did with the "Sobbing Women" or "Sabine Women"...
...or whatever they called them. They were in the same fix you're in.
They was opening up new territory, and women were scarce, like here.
There were these sobbing women in town.
So what did the Romans do?
They went down there, and they carried them off.
If you can't do as good as a bunch of Romans, you're no brothers of mine.
Course, this being Oregon and God-fearing territory...
...you'd have to capture a parson.
Romans. They the ones I heard about settled north of here?
No, this was in olden days.
I read about it in Milly's book.
-A book! -Why, this is history.
This really happened.
Tell you about them sobbin' women Who lived in the Roman days
It seems that they all went swimmin' While their men was off to graze
Well a Roman troop was riding by And saw them in their "me-oh-mys"
So they took them all Back home to dry
Least that's what Plutarch says
Them women was Sobbin', sobbin', sobbin'
Fit to be tied
Every muscle was throbbin', throbbin' From that riotous ride
Seems they cried and kissed And kissed and cried
All over that Roman countryside
So don't forget that
When you're taking a bride
Sobbin', fit to be tied
From that riotous ride
-So then what happened? -Gather round, I'll tell you.
They never did return their plunder
The victor gets all the loot
They carried them home by thunder
To rotundas small but cute
And you've never seen, So they tell me
Such downright domesticity
With a Roman baby on each knee
Named Claudius and Brute
Them women was Sobbin', sobbin', sobbin'
Passin' them nights
While the Romans was out Hobnobbin', starting up fights
Is that so?
They kept occupied by sewing lots Of little old togas...
...for them tots And sayin', "Someday...
...womenfolks will have rights"
-Passin' all their nights -Just sewing!
-While the Romans had fights -Listen to this.
"When the menfolk Went to fetch them
The women would not be fetched"
Seems when the Romans catch 'em Their lady friends stay catched
Now, let this be Because it's true
A lesson to the likes of you
Rough 'em up Like them there Romans do
Or else they'll think you're tetched
Them women was Sobbin', sobbin', sobbin'
-Buckets of tears -Mighty sad!
On account of old dobbin, dobbin Really rattled their ears
And that ain't all! Oh, they acted angry and annoyed
But secretly they was overjoyed
You might recall that When corrallin' your steers
Them poor little dears
Why are you sitting there? Go get them!
Them women was Sobbin', sobbin', sobbin'
-Weepin' a ton -Them sobbin' women
Just remember what Robin, Robin, Robin Hood...
...would have done
We'll be just like Them there merry men
And make them all merry once again
And though they'll be A-sobbin' for a while
We're gonna make them Sobbin' women smile
Ho there.
Go get them. Be quiet about it.
I'll wait for you here!
Dan, Eph!
Your two's in here.
They're coming out.
-Good night, Liza. -Good night.
You got mine.
How about my good-night kiss, Sarah?
Carl, you're so persistent.
Be a sport! Just one kiss.
Well, maybe just a little one.
Close your eyes.
Why, Carl!
Frank!
Attaboy! Get them in.
Come on, Frank!
Where's Gideon?
-I hear the cat outside. -I'll go, Mrs. Elcott.
Poor Pansy, out on a night like this.
Hurry it up, will you?
-Sounds like Pansy has the croup. -I'll look out in back.
It's all right, she's here.
Dorcas.
Dorcas!
Pa! Pa, come quick!
Attaboy, Gideon!
-What's keeping Benjamin? -I don't know.
-Keep them quiet. -Be quiet.
Let's get out of here now.
Let's go!
-Sarah Kines is gone! -So is Alice.
-Ruth Jebson too! -Where's Dorcas?
It was them Pontipees. All seven of them jumped me!
Come on! We'll get them.
Make them stop yelling. We're coming to the pass.
Quiet, or we'll have an avalanche down on us.
Here we go. Hold your breath.
Keep her quiet!
Hurry up, I hear them coming!
All right, let them go!
There she goes!
On account of old dobbin, dobbin Really rattled their ears
All right, boys, line them up.
Oh, Milly!
What have you done?
Help us, Milly. We've been kidnapped!
-Make them take us back. -You take these girls back at once!
-We can't. -The avalanche!
They'll just have to wait till spring, that's all.
It was your idea?
It was more yours. It came out of that book about them Sabine women.
What kind of men are you? Are you animals that you'd do this?
Swooping down, carrying off poor innocents!
They're just young boys in love.
You said you wanted them married with wives of their own.
I want my mother!
Please don't cry, Alice.
I'm sorry, but it was the only way I could get to marry you.
-What? -We forgot to get the parson!
Don't worry. Go on in the kitchen. Nothing's gonna happen.
Cheer up. You've got them, right?
Everything's gonna turn out all right.
This house is for the girls.
You're not gonna set foot in it as long as they're here.
You'll eat and sleep in the barn with the other livestock.
Now get out of here.
I'm ashamed of you.
Go ahead, boys. Go on.
-Now, Milly... -You too.
You're taking this too hard. Everything will work out fine.
Me and the boys will get a parson here some way.
Do you think those girls would marry them now?
You think because you got a wife so easily...
...because I didn't make you court me, that that's all there is to it?
I said yes because I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.
And I thought it was the same with you too.
You think a wife is just to cook and clean.
You got no understanding, you got no feelings!
How could you do a thing like this?
When I think of these girls, sick with fright...
...and their families crazed with worry, and...
I can't abide to look at you!
This isn't the way we'd planned on spending the night. In a barn!
-What are you doing? -I'm getting out of here.
Going to the cabin for the winter.
You can't do it. You can't stay up there alone.
There's supplies for 6 months.
Don't go. It's us she's mad at.
No, it's more than that. It's something goes a lot deeper.
Suppose you get sick or break a leg or something, up there all alone?
The wolves are mighty bad this year.
The wolves will be good company after what I've been through.
There's nothing like a hot cup of tea when you're all tuckered out.
Milly, it's me, Gideon. I gotta speak to you.
-What is it? -It's about Adam.
He's going away up into the mountains to the trapping cabin.
-Can you hear me? -I hear.
Just speak to him. Ask him not to go.
Please, Milly.
He can't treat people this way.
Now, let's start here.
What's the matter, you afraid of a snowball?
Snowballs with rocks in them!
"Them poor little dears...
...sobbing buckets of tears."
"When the sign was given, drawing their swords and with a shout...
...they ravished away the daughters of the Sabine."
Who is it?
It's me, Caleb.
What do you want?
It's a mighty cold night.
I need an extra blanket.
Go and get one.
"It continues the custom today for the bride, not of herself...
...to pass her husband's threshold, but to be lifted over...
...in memory that the Sabine women were carried in by violence."
Who is it?
Benjamin.
What do you want?
My leg is feeling poorly.
I need some liniment.
Go ahead, but be quick about it.
"Some say too...
...the custom of parting the bride's hair with a spear was in token of..."
-I got me a stiff neck. -That's enough of this!
-We wanted... -It was like this...
Go to the barn and go to sleep...
...or I'll bolt the door on you.
"It was in token of their marriages.
It began at first by wars and acts of hostility...
...and then..."
Doesn't it do anything but snow up here?
We've had a blizzard every day for two months.
I'm going crazy, shut up in this house!
Alice, why don't you read out loud to us?
We've heard that book three times.
-Go on, read about the Sabine women. -Please, Alice.
I can't stand it again.
Get a dress from Milly, and I'll fit it.
Why, when there's no one to see it?
No one? Well, I like that! We're no one.
-Where's Milly? -Out in the barn hunting eggs.
I wish I could hunt eggs. I love to hunt eggs.
Which of the boys slept in this bed, do you suppose?
Dorcas Galen!
What's the matter? Didn't you ever think of that?
That you're sleeping in one of their beds?
I certainly never thought any such thing.
Liza, Alice...
...come away from that window this minute!
I think it's disgusting standing there where they can see you.
You peek out often enough when you think no one's looking.
-I never! -I saw you!
So did I!
You take that back, you hear?
Stop it!
Don't you dare say that about Martha!
And what were you doing last night out at the woodpile?
Girls! Girls!
Stop it this minute!
Please don't squabble. Not now, when I need you so much.
You see, I'm counting on all of you to help me...
...because I'm going to have a baby.
Oh, Milly, sit down!
-Are you comfortable? -You won't lift a finger from now on.
We'll take over everything. We'll do your chores, cleaning, cooking...
No, you can't. That'd be silly.
-Where are you going? -I have things to do.
When's the baby coming?
You have to be patient.
But when?
In the spring.
-I wish it was me. -Dorcas!
I've always wanted to be a June bride...
...and have a baby right off. In the spring, maybe.
Oh, they say when you marry in June
You're a bride all your life
And the bridegroom Who marries in June
Gets a sweetheart for a wife
Winter weddings can be gay
Like a Christmas holiday
But the June bride hears the song
Of a spring that Lasts all summer long
By the light of the silvery moon
Home you ride
Side by side
With the echo of Mendelssohn's tune
In your hearts
As you ride
For they say when you marry in June
You will always be a bride
The day a maiden marries
Is a day she carries through the years
The church is full of flowers Bridal showers are passe
The groom's waiting at the altar
Here comes the bride
They're each promising To love and obey
Best man is celebrating
Every bridesmaid's waiting Just to see
Which one of them Will catch the wedding bouquet
For they say
When you marry in June
You will always
Always
Be a bride
In November, the snow starts to fly
Piling up
Ankle-high
Come December, it's up to your knee
Still, the bride's a bride-to-be
January, higher still
To the parlor windowsill
February finds a drift
And a storm that seems never to lift
March comes in like a lion... What else?
Still the snow never melts
April showers will come
So they say
But they don't And it's May
You're about to Forget the whole thing
All at once
One day it's spring
Oh, the barnyard is busy In a regular tizzy
And the obvious reason Is because of the season
Ma Nature's lyrical With her yearly miracle
Spring, spring, spring
All the hen-folk are hatchin' While their menfolk are scratchin'
To ensure the survival Of each brand-new arrival
Each nest is twitterin' They're all babysitterin'
Spring, spring, spring
It's a beehive Of budding son and daughter life
Every family has plans in view
Even down in the brook The underwater life
Is forever blowing bubbles too
Every field wears a bonnet With some spring daisies on it
Even birds of a feather Show their clothes off together
Sun's getting shinery To spotlight the finery
Spring, spring, spring
From his aerie The eagle with his eagle eye
Gazes down across his eagle beak
And affixin' his lady With a legal eye
Screams, "Suppose we set the date this week?"
Yes, sirree, spring discloses That it's all one supposes
It's a real bed of roses Waggin' tails, rubbing noses
Each day is Mother's Day The next is some other's day
When love is king
Frank, Dan, Ben, Caleb!
Everybody! Milly's having her baby!
Liza, Martha, Ruth, hurry!
Hurry!
I'm an uncle.
Couldn't stand the barn any longer, huh?
I've come to get you. To take you back with me.
Well, Milly has a baby.
It come day before yesterday.
I don't believe it.
-It's as true as I'm standing here. -I don't believe it!
Just one of her tricks to get me back.
Tricks? You lived with Milly as man and wife...
...and you don't know nothing about her.
She's proud and spunky! She'd never bring herself to ask you back.
She'd be wasting her breath.
I don't figure to go.
Not even to see the baby? Your own kin? Your own little girl?
A girl?
I might have known she'd have a girl.
I'll be back when the pass is open.
I'll stay away till the shooting's over.
You're my eldest brother.
And I've always looked up to you, tried to ape you...
...but today I'm ashamed for you.
I know you can lick me, lick the tar out of me...
...but I wouldn't be a man unless I showed you how I felt.
Why, you...
Now get!
The pass is open! The pass is open!
All able-bodied men gather at the meeting house!
Bring your rifles, your sides, your guns, axes, any kind of weapon!
The pass is open! The pass is open!
Ready, men?
Let's go!
What are you staring at?
I said I'd be back when the pass was open.
Go upstairs, girls. Go on. Quickly!
Let's get the guns.
Tell them to hitch up the wagon.
Put plenty of blankets and straw in it. Go.
What do you call her?
I was thinking of some name like Hannah or Hagar or Hephzibah...
...picking up where your mother left off.
Hannah.
I got to thinking up there in the mountains...
...thinking about the baby...
...about how I'd feel if somebody sneaked in and carried her off.
I'd string him up the nearest tree...
...shoot him down like I would a thieving fox.
I thought about you too while I was up there.
It seemed like I couldn't get you off my mind.
When you're in love...
When you're really in love...
The wagon's ready.
All right.
Get the girls. I'll take them back...
...back to their families.
Adam, you will be careful?
We won't let you take them back.
-We talked it over and we're agreed. -They ain't going.
They're our girls now.
I'm taking them back. I'm still head of this family.
I reckon you'll have to show me.
Likewise.
What do I have to do, beat some sense into your dumb heads?
Taking them back's the only way.
-The whole town's coming here. -Let them come.
We'll fight them all.
Sure you will. And who will you be fighting?
The girls' kinfolk.
Someone's bound to get hurt. A father, a brother.
Think the girls will marry you after that?
Adam's right.
I stand with Adam.
Well, don't stand too close.
The girls have gone. They've run away!
Go get them. Get them back.
Come back here!
Dorcas! Come back. You'll get hurt.
Keep it quiet. They can hear us from here.
We'll creep up on them.
Please, Alice!
Where are you? Come back, Martha. Don't run away.
I'm not going back! I want to stay here with you!
You've got to. It's the only way.
It's Alice!
Come on, Ruth.
There they are!
Don't. You'll hit Dorcas.
Oh, no...
Not that!
Grab her dress!
Why, Pa!
What will you do?
Hang him with the rest from the nearest tree.
Just a minute!
Before we go, there's one thing we've got to know.
Girls! Girls!
Reverend, what is it you want to know?
We're all fathers here, and we love you...
...so don't be afraid to answer.
I heard a wee babe crying in the house. Whose is it?
Don't be afraid to tell.
Mine!
Do you, Alice, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah, Dorcas...
...take these men to be your lawfully wedded husbands?
We do.
Do you, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, Gideon...
...take these girls to be your lawfully wedded wives?
We do.
I now pronounce you men and wives.