`` Pa is coming to-night , so we wo n't have dinner till late ; that will be real genteel and give us plenty of time , '' added Tilly , suddenly realizing the novelty of the task she had undertaken . `` Did you ever roast a turkey ? '' asked Roxy , with an air of deep interest . `` Should you darst to try ? '' said Rhody , in an awe-stricken tone . `` You will see what I can do . Ma said I was to use my jedgment about things , and I 'm going to . All you children have got to do is to keep out of the way , and let Prue and me work . Eph , I wish you 'd put a fire in the best room , so the little ones can play in there . We shall want the settin ' - room for the table , and I wo n't have 'em pickin ' ` round when we get things fixed , '' commanded Tilly , bound to make her short reign a brilliant one . `` I do n't know about that . Ma did n't tell us to , '' began cautious Eph , who felt that this invasion of the sacred best parlor was a daring step . `` Do n't we always do it Sundays and Thanksgivings ? Would n't Ma wish the children kept safe and warm anyhow ? Can I get up a nice dinner with four rascals under my feet all the time ? Come , now , if you want roast turkey and onions , plum-puddin ' and mince-pie , you 'll have to do as I tell you , and be lively about it . '' Tilly spoke with such spirit , and her last suggestion was so irresistible , that Eph gave in , and , laughing good-naturedly , tramped away to heat up the best room , devoutly hoping that nothing serious would happen to punish such audacity . The young folks delightedly trooped in to destroy the order of that prim apartment with housekeeping under the black horse-hair sofa , `` horseback riders '' on the arms of the best rocking-chair , and an Indian war-dance all over the well-waxed furniture . Eph , finding the society of the peaceful sheep and cows more to his mind than that of two excited sisters , lingered over his chores in the barn as long as possible , and left the girls in peace . Now Tilly and Prue were in their glory , and as soon as the breakfast things were out of the way , they prepared for a grand cooking-time .
They were handy girls , though they had never heard of a cooking-school , never touched a piano , and knew nothing of embroidery beyond the samplers which hung framed in the parlor ; one ornamented with a pink mourner under a blue weeping-willow , the other with this pleasing verse , each word being done in a different color , which gave the effect of a distracted rainbow : `` This sampler neat was worked by me , In my twelfth year , Prudence B. '' Both rolled up their sleeves , put on their largest aprons , and got out all the spoons , dishes , pots , and pans they could find , `` so as to have everything handy , '' as XXXXX said .
Prue Rhody Roxy Thanksgivings jedgment left mince-pie plum-puddin rocking-chair settin