Little Miss Dorothy: The Story of the Wonderful Adventures of Two Little People

THE FUNNY PUDDING.

Dorothy and Ray were making mud pastry on Aunt Polly’s back steps. “Get me a little more water, please; this paste is too thick,” said Dorothy, and Ray brought the water from Aunt Polly’s bright kitchen. They made mud pies and mud cakes and took tiny sticks, with which they traced lines, circles, and faces on them.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to make real pies and cakes?” said Dorothy.

“Yes,” answered Ray, “if you knew how.”

“Why, anybody can make them!” exclaimed Dorothy. “It’s just raisins and things!”

“If I could make real pies and cakes I’d eat them all the time,” said Ray.

“So would I!” exclaimed Dorothy.

“O no! you wouldn’t,” said a wee voice behind them. The children turned and there stood a little old woman about as high as your twelve-inch rule. She wore a white cap and blue apron and carried a tiny spoon in her hand.

“You couldn’t eat sweets all the time,” cried the little old woman.

“Just try us,” said Ray. “I think I could.”

“I know I could,” cried Dorothy. “I love tarts, I could live on tarts.”

“And pudding,” said Ray; “I could eat it all day long.”

“So could I,” replied Dorothy; “I wish I had some pudding now.”

“You shall have all the pudding you want,” said the old woman, “if you do as I say. Sit close together; close your eyes and when I say ‘Salt’ open them.”

The children did as the old woman said and sat very still with their eyes closed while she sang these words:--

“Listen, children, while I tell How to make a pudding well: Sift your flour fine and white, And a quart will be all right; Sugar, just a cup--no more; Eggs, well beaten--put in four; Lump of butter melt, and--halt! Don’t forget a pinch of--SALT.”

The children opened their eyes at the magic word. The old woman had disappeared, and instead of Aunt Polly’s back steps they were in the kitchen of a great castle.

“How funny you look, Ray,” said Dorothy, “with that cap and apron on just like a baker.”

“Well, you look funny too,” replied Ray; “there’s a big daub of flour on your nose.”

Dorothy tried to brush it off and asked, “Is it off?”

“No,” replied Ray; “it looks bigger than ever.”

“Never mind it,” said Dorothy, “let’s go to work and make a pudding, a sweet, juicy, delicious pudding.”

“Good,” cried Ray; “my mouth waters already. What can I do?”

“You can help,” said his cousin; “first of all, we’ll get a large pan to mix things in.”

Over the fireplace in the great kitchen hung shining pans of all sorts and sizes.

“I’ll have that large one,” said Dorothy, pointing to one, and Ray started to get it. But imagine their surprise when a round face appeared on the pan that grinned at them, and all at once the pan jumped down from its place and began to waltz around the floor. It looked so funny with its round body and short legs that the children laughed aloud. All of a sudden it gave a jump on to the table, where it remained quiet, like any sensible pudding pan.

“Now for the flour,” said Dorothy; and no sooner did she say the words than a barrel of flour came dancing into the kitchen on long spindle legs with the funniest face you ever saw, and with its hands folded on its great stomach. The children laughed so heartily at this droll sight that the tears rolled down their cheeks; and when the funny barrel made a low bow in the middle of the floor, Dorothy was laughing so hard that she could not speak, but Ray went to the barrel and took out a quart of flour. Then the barrel made another bow and walked with a swagger out of the kitchen.

“Eggs next,” said Dorothy, “and here they are.”

Four eggs appeared walking on stilts into the kitchen. All at once they jumped off the stilts and began to chase each other. The children gave peals of laughter as they watched the activity of the four eggs: at last Ray cried out, “Let’s catch them.” The children began to run after the eggs. Dorothy caught one and broke it in the pan, and then the three other eggs scrambled in as fast as they could. “This is the funniest pudding I ever heard of,” said Dorothy. “I wonder what comes next.” Just then a voice sang--

“Listen, children, while I tell How to make a pudding well: Sift your flour fine and white, And a quart will be all right; Sugar, just a cup--no more; Eggs, well beaten--put in four; Lump of butter melt, and--halt! Don’t forget a pinch of--SALT.”

“Get the sugar and salt, and I’ll melt the butter,” said Dorothy; and no sooner did she say the words than sugar, salt, and butter dropped into the pan before their eyes.

Then a great spoon walked up to the pan and began to mix the pudding while Dorothy and Ray looked on in wonder.

“I forgot raisins,” said Dorothy; and just then a shower of raisins fell into the pudding. The children watched the wonderful pudding making itself. “I wonder whose castle this is,” said Ray; “let us walk around and see if we can find out who lives here.”

“And when we come back the pudding will be all made,” exclaimed Dorothy.

They walked out of the kitchen and came to a great dining-room where a table was spread with all sorts of good things. There were two chairs at the table, and it did not take the children a minute to sit in them and sample the goodies. Ray passed Dorothy a plate that was heaped with flaky jam tarts, and in a very few minutes there wasn’t a tart left on the plate.

They ate plum cake and mince pies, and when these were disposed of a great steaming pudding appeared in the center of the table.

“Perhaps it’s our pudding all cooked,” said Ray, “how good it smells.”

They piled their plates with the pudding again and again, forgetting their good manners until it was all eaten up.

When everything on the table was eaten they arose and walked into another room. They found a table filled with fruit, candies and bon-bons.

In a short time these were all eaten up and another room in the castle explored.