They rode the train to Washington, and when they arrived, Ole, Hilda 's uncle, and Thora, her cousin was waiting for them. As soon as Hilda saw her cousin she felt embarrassed because of how she looked. She did not have on nice clothes like Thora. When they arrived at Thora 's house Hilda saw all the nice things they had, and wished she had them too. She was still excited though because she knew she was going to see her new home the next day; but, little did Hilda know that her new house was an old house with a dirty yard. When Hilda saw the house she became very sad. It took a lot of cooperation and patience, but they fixed up the house and made it look better. Hilda and John found out that they had a creek and a maple tree on their property. They all went on an adventure, and Lois got stung by nettles. They went so far into the woods that they got lost, and could barely find their way back home. Even though their new home was not what they wanted it to be, they were starting to get used to it. They liked the brook; the trees and they even found an old shack far back in the woods. Hilda said the maple tree belonged to her, and she believed the brook sang to her.
Hilda family got settled in and they met a family named the Olsons '. Hilda and her family liked the Olsons ' because they were down home people and not fancy like Thora 's family. The Olson children were also very nice, and they showed Hilda, John and Lois their new school. They all became good friends. One