Try it and see , '' answered Mr. Bhaer , rising . `` Tell another , please , '' cried Daisy . `` You must , Aunt Jo did , '' added Demi . `` Then I certainly wo n't , but keep my others for next time . Too many tales are as bad as too many bonbons . I have paid my forfeit and I go , '' and Mr. Bhaer ran for his life , with the whole flock in full pursuit . He had the start , however , and escaped safely into his study , leaving the boys to go rioting back again . They were so stirred up by the race that they could not settle to their former quiet , and a lively game of Blindman 's Buff followed , in which Tommy showed that he had taken the moral of the last story to heart , for , when he caught Nan , he whispered in her ear , `` I 'm sorry I called you a cross-patch . '' Nan was not to be outdone in kindness , so , when they played `` Button , button , who 's got the button ? '' and it was her turn to go round , she said , `` Hold fast all I give you , '' with such a friendly smile at Tommy , that he was not surprised to find the horse-hair ring in his hand instead of the button . He only smiled back at her then , but when they were going to bed , he offered Nan the best bite of his last apple ; she saw the ring on his stumpy little finger , accepted the bite , and peace was declared . Both were ashamed of the temporary coldness , neither was ashamed to say , `` I was wrong , forgive me , '' so the childish friendship remained unbroken , and the home in the willow lasted long , a pleasant little castle in the air . CHAPTER XXI . THANKSGIVING This yearly festival was always kept at Plumfield in the good old-fashioned way , and nothing was allowed to interfere with it . For days beforehand , the little girls helped Asia and Mrs. Jo in store-room and kitchen , making pies and puddings , sorting fruit , dusting dishes , and being very busy and immensely important . The boys hovered on the outskirts of the forbidden ground , sniffing the savory odors , peeping in at the mysterious performances , and occasionally being permitted to taste some delicacy in the process of preparation . Something more than usual seemed to be on foot this year , for the girls were as busy up-stairs as down , so were the boys in school-room and barn , and a general air of bustle pervaded the house . There was a great hunting up of old ribbons and finery , much cutting and pasting of gold paper , and the most remarkable quantity of straw , gray cotton , flannel , and big black beads , used by Franz and Mrs. Jo . Ned hammered at strange machines in the workshop , Demi and Tommy went about murmuring to themselves as if learning something . A fearful racket was heard in Emil 's room at intervals , and peals of laughter from the nursery when Rob and Teddy were sent for and hidden from sight whole hours at a time .
But the thing that puzzled Mr. Bhaer the most was what became of XXXXX 's big pumpkin .
Bhaer Demi Emil Franz Plumfield Rob bonbons finery school-room yearly