We were all up early . None of us had slept well , and both Kate and I had had the most fearful dreams of spoiling Aunt Susanna 's Thanksgiving dinner . `` Never mind , dreams always go by contraries , you know , '' said Laura cheerfully . `` You 'd better go up to the Pinery early and get the fires on , for the house will be cold . Remember the McGinnises and the dog . Weigh the turkey so that you 'll know exactly how long to cook it . Put the pies in the oven in time to get piping hot -- lukewarm mince pies are an abomination . Be sure -- '' `` Laura , do n't confuse us with any more cautions , '' I groaned , `` or we shall get hopelessly fuddled . Come on , Kate , before she has time to . '' -LSB- Illustration -RSB- It was n't very far up to the Pinery -- just ten minutes ' walk , and such a delightful walk on that delightful morning . We went through the orchard and then through the white birch wood where the loveliness of the frosted boughs awed us . Beyond that there was a lane between ranks of young , balsamy , white-misted firs and then an open pasture field , sere and crispy . Just across it was the Pinery , a lovely old house with dormer windows in the roof , surrounded by pines that were dark and glorious against the silvery morning sky . The McGinnis dog was sitting on the back-door steps when we arrived . He wagged his tail ingratiatingly , but we ruthlessly pushed him off , went in and shut the door in his face . All the little McGinnises were sitting in a row on their fence , and they whooped derisively . The McGinnis manners are not those which appertain to the caste of Vere de Vere ; but we rather like the urchins -- there are eight of them -- and we would probably have gone over to talk to them if we had not had the fear of Aunt Susanna before our eyes . We kindled the fires , weighed the turkey , put it in the oven and prepared the vegetables . Then we set the dining-room table and decorated it with Aunt Susanna 's potted ferns and dishes of lovely red apples . Everything went so smoothly that we soon forgot to be nervous .
When the turkey was done , we took it out , set it on the back of the range to keep warm and put the mince pies XXXXX .
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