The preceding Monday Mr. Meredith had left for Nova Scotia to spend his short vacation , taking Jerry with him . On Wednesday Aunt Martha was suddenly seized with a recurring and mysterious ailment which she always called `` the misery , '' and which was tolerably certain to attack her at the most inconvenient times . She could not rise from her bed , any movement causing agony . A doctor she flatly refused to have . Faith and Una cooked the meals and waited on her . The less said about the meals the better -- yet they were not much worse than Aunt Martha 's had been . There were many women in the village who would have been glad to come and help , but Aunt Martha refused to let her plight be known . `` You must worry on till I kin git around , '' she groaned . `` Thank goodness , John is n't here . There 's a plenty o ' cold biled meat and bread and you kin try your hand at making porridge . '' The girls had tried their hand , but so far without much success . The first day it had been too thin . The next day so thick that you could cut it in slices . And both days it had been burned . `` I hate porridge , '' said Faith viciously . `` When I have a house of my own I 'm NEVER going to have a single bit of porridge in it . '' `` What 'll your children do then ? '' asked Una . `` Children have to have porridge or they wo n't grow . Everybody says so . ''
`` They 'll have to get along XXXXX it or stay runts , '' retorted Faith stubbornly .
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