noon
on Monday
She became so absorbed in thought that she scarcely saw the footpath she followed , while June flowered , and perfumed , and sang all around her . She was so intent upon the words she had heard that her feet unconsciously followed a well-defined branch from the main path leading into the woods , from the bridge , where she sat on a log , and for the unnumbered time , reviewed her problem . She had worked ever since she could remember . Never in her life had she gotten to school before noon on Monday , because of the large washings . After the other work was finished she had spent nights and mornings ironing , when she longed to study , seldom finishing before Saturday . Summer brought an endless round of harvesting , canning , drying ; winter brought butchering , heaps of sewing , and postponed summer work . School began late in the fall and closed early in spring , with teachers often inefficient ; yet because she was a close student and kept her books where she could take a peep and memorize and think as she washed dishes and cooked , she had thoroughly mastered all the country school near her home could teach her .