第3章 A MAPLE-WAX MORNING(1)

A team came rushing in between the gate-posts of the stone wall, and it looked like a run-away.They were riderless and driverless, and if there had been any harness, there was not a vestige of it to be seen; still, they kept neck and neck, which means in horsey language side by side, and on they came in the maddest fashion.Tattine stood on the front porch and watched them in high glee, and not a bit afraid was she, though they were coming straight in her direction.When they reached her they considerately came to a sudden stop, else there is no doubt whatever but she would have been tumbled over.

"Well, you are a team," laughed Tattine.and they laughed back, "Yes, we know we are," and sat down on the step on either side of her.Of course, that would have been a remarkable thing for some teams to do, but not for this one, for, as you can guess, they were just two little people, Mabel and Rudolph, but they were a perfect team all the same; everybody said so, and what everybody meant was this--that whatever Rudolph "was up to," Mabel was "up to" also, and vice versa.They traveled together finely, right "up on the bit" all the time.

It would have been easier for those who had charge of them if one or the other had held back now and then, and set a slower pace, but as that was not their nature and could not be helped, everybody tried to make the best of them, and everybody loved them.Tattine did not see how she could ever have lived without them, for they were almost as much a brother and sister to her as to each other.This morning hey had come over by invitation for what they called a Maple-wax morning, and that was exactly what it was, and if you have never had one of your own, wait till you read about this one of Tattine's, and then give your dear Mamma no peace until you have had one, either in your kitchen in town, or in the woods out of town, which is better.One thing is necessary to its complete enjoyment, however: you must have a "sweet tooth," but as most little people cut that particular tooth very early, probably you are among the fortunate number.

"Well, I don't see what we are sitting here for," said Mabel at last.

"Neithet do I," said Tattine; "I was only giving you a chance to get a little breath.You did not seem to have much left.""No more we had," laughed Rudolph, who was still taking little swallows and drawing an occasional long breath, as people do when they have been exercising very vigorously."But if everything is ready." he added, "let us start.""Well, everything is ready," said Tattine quite complacently, as she led the way to the back piazza, where "everything" was lying in a row.There was the maple sugar itself, two pounds of it on a plate, two large kitchen spoons, a china cup, two sheets of brown wrapping-paper, two or three newspapers, a box of matches, a pail of clear spring water, a hammer, an ice-pick, and last, and most important of all, a granite-ware kettle.

"Now if you'll carry these," explained Tattine, "I'll run and tell Philip to bring the ice," so Rudolph and Mabel "loaded up" and marched down to the camp, and Tattine disappeared in the direction of the ice-house.The camp was not far away, and consisted of a cosy little "A" tent, a hammock hung between two young chestnuts, and a fire-place made of a circle of stones on the ground, with a crane hanging above it.The crane was quite an elaborate contrivance, for which Joseph the gardener was to be thanked.

The long branch on which the pot hung was pivoted, if you know what that is, on an upright post fastened firmly in the ground, and in such a way that you could "higher it," as Tattine said, or lower it, or swing it clear of the fire on either side.At the end of the branch away from the fire hung a chain, with a few blocks tied into it, for a weight, so that you lifted the weight with one hand when you wished to change the position of the branch with the other, and then let it rest on the ground again at the spot where you wanted the pole to stay.You see, the great advantage of this was that, when you wished to see how things were going on inside of the kettle, or to stop its boiling instantly--you could just swing it away from the fire in no time, and not run the risk of burning face or hands, or petticoats, if you belong to the petticoat family.`"Now," panted Tattine, for it was her turn to be breathless with running, "I'll break the sugar if you two will make the fire, but Rudolph's to light it and he's the only one who is to lean over it and put the wood on when it's needed.Mamma says there is to be a very strict rule about that, because skirts and fluffy hair like mine and Mabel's are very dangerous about a fire," and then Tattine proceeded to roll the maple sugar in the brown paper so as to have two or three thicknesses about it, and then, laying it upon a flat stone, began to pound and break it with the hammer.

"Yes," said Rudolph, on his knees on the ground, and making balls of newspaper for the foundation of the fire; "it's lucky for Mabel and me that fire is one thing about which we can be trusted.""I shouldn't wonder if it's the only thing," laughed Tattine, whereupon Mabel toppled her over on the grass by way of punishment.