Ma Jeeter, a sensible and hearty farm woman, tells the stories of the courtships of five daughters to the schoolteacher who boards with her. Ella, Bell, Lena, Laura, and Lizzie all got bitten and burdened early, thanks to the bumblebee of love. Now her youngest, Evie, is coming home to be married, and everything is as it should be.

The Jeeters are based loosely on a funny, goodhearted family that Dorothy Thomas lived with in her schoolteaching days. H. L. Mencken, the famed editor, author, and critic, encouraged her to write these vignettes about them. Original pen and ink drawings by the author have been added to this edition.