`` I shall give the children a piece at noon '' -LRB- Tilly meant luncheon -RRB- ; `` doughnuts and cheese , with apple-pie and cider will please 'em . There 's beans for Eph ; he likes cold pork , so we wo n't stop to warm it up , for there 's lots to do , and I do n't mind saying to you I 'm dreadful dubersome about the turkey . '' `` It 's all ready but the stuffing , and roasting is as easy as can be . I can baste first rate . Ma always likes to have me , I 'm so patient and stiddy , she says , '' answered Prue , for the responsibility of this great undertaking did not rest upon her , so she took a cheerful view of things . `` I know , but it 's the stuffin ' that troubles me , '' said Tilly , rubbing her round elbows as she eyed the immense fowl laid out on a platter before her . `` I do n't know how much I want , nor what sort of yarbs to put in , and he 's so awful big , I 'm kind of afraid of him . '' `` I ai n't ! I fed him all summer , and he never gobbled at me . I feel real mean to be thinking of gobbling him , poor old chap , '' laughed Prue , patting her departed pet with an air of mingled affection and appetite . `` Well , I 'll get the puddin ' off my mind fust , for it ought to bile all day . Put the big kettle on , and see that the spit is clean , while I get ready . '' Prue obediently tugged away at the crane , with its black hooks , from which hung the iron tea-kettle and three-legged pot ; then she settled the long spit in the grooves made for it in the tall andirons , and put the dripping-pan underneath , for in those days meat was roasted as it should be , not baked in ovens . Meantime Tilly attacked the plum-pudding . She felt pretty sure of coming out right , here , for she had seen her mother do it so many times , it looked very easy . So in went suet and fruit ; all sorts of spice , to be sure she got the right ones , and brandy instead of wine . But she forgot both sugar and salt , and tied it in the cloth so tightly that it had no room to swell , so it would come out as heavy as lead and as hard as a cannon-ball , if the bag did not burst and spoil it all . Happily unconscious of these mistakes , Tilly popped it into the pot , and proudly watched it bobbing about before she put the cover on and left it to its fate . `` I ca n't remember what flavorin ' Ma puts in , '' she said , when she had got her bread well soaked for the stuffing . `` Sage and onions and apple-sauce go with goose , but I ca n't feel sure of anything but pepper and salt for a turkey . ''
`` Ma puts in some kind of mint , I know , but I forget whether it is spearmint , peppermint , or penny-royal , '' answered Prue , in a tone of doubt , but trying to show her knowledge of `` XXXXX , '' or , at least , of their names .
Prue cannon-ball days doughnuts dripping-pan first left suet tea-kettle yarbs