noon
Yulka forgot to give me back my comforter , and I had to drive home directly against the wind . The next day I came down with an attack of quinsy , which kept me in the house for nearly two weeks . The basement kitchen seemed heavenly safe and warm in those days -- like a tight little boat in a winter sea . The men were out in the fields all day , husking corn , and when they came in at noon , with long caps pulled down over their ears and their feet in red-lined overshoes , I used to think they were like Arctic explorers . In the afternoons , when grandmother sat upstairs darning , or making husking-gloves , I read `` The Swiss Family Robinson '' aloud to her , and I felt that the Swiss family had no advantages over us in the way of an adventurous life . I was convinced that man 's strongest antagonist is the cold . I admired the cheerful zest with which grandmother went about keeping us warm and comfortable and well-fed .