where a dozen golden-tinted pies soon after appeared. It would not
have taken more than a quarter of the mammoth vegetable to make
them, yet where was the rest? It disappeared, and Rob never
seemed to care, only chuckled when it was mentioned, and told his
father, “To wait and see,” for the fun of the whole thing was to
surprise Father Bhaer at the end, and not let him know a bit about
what was to happen.
He obediently shut eyes, ears, and mouth, and went about trying
not to see what was in plain sight, not to hear the tell-tale sounds
that filled the air, not to understand any of the perfectly transparent
mysteries going on all about him. Being a German, he loved these
simple domestic festivals, and encouraged them with all his heart,
for they made home so pleasant that the boys did not care to go
elsewhere for fun.
When at last the day came, the boys went off for a long walk, that
they might have good appetites for dinner; as if they ever needed
them! The girls remained at home to help set the table, and give
last touches to various affairs which filled their busy little souls
with anxiety. The school-room had been shut up since the night
before, and Mr. Bhaer was forbidden to enter it on pain of a
beating from Teddy, who guarded the door like a small dragon,
though he was dying to tell about it, and nothing but his father’s
heroic self-denial in not listening, kept him from betraying a grand
secret.
“It’s all done, and it’s perfectly splendid,” cried Nan, coming out at
last with an air of triumph.
“The you know goes beautifully, and Silas knows just what to do
now,” added Daisy, skipping with delight at some unspeakable
success.
“I’m blest if it ain’t the ‘cutest thing I ever see, them critters in
particular,” said Silas, who had been let into the secret, went off
laughing like a great boy.
“They are coming; I hear Emil roaring ‘Land lubbers lying down
below,’ so we must run and dress,” cried Nan, and up-stairs they
scampered in a great hurry.
The boys came trooping home with appetites that would have
made the big turkey tremble, if it had not been past all fear. They
also retired to dress; and for half-an-hour there was a washing,
brushing, and prinking that would have done any tidy woman’s
heart good to see. When the bell rang, a troop of fresh-faced lads
with shiny hair, clean collars, and Sunday jackets on, filed into the
dining-room, where Mrs. Jo, in her one black silk, with a knot of
her favorite white chrysanthemums in her bosom, sat at the head of
the table, “looking splendid,” as the boys said, whenever she got
herself up. Daisy and Nan were as gay as a posy bed in their new
winter dresses, with bright sashes and hair ribbons. Teddy was
gorgeous to behold in a crimson merino blouse, and his best button
boots, which absorbed and distracted him as much as Mr. Toot’s
wristbands did on one occasion.
As Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer glanced at each other down the long table,
with those rows of happy faces on either side, they had a little
thanksgiving all to themselves, and without a word, for one heart
said to the other,
“Our work has prospered, let us be grateful and go on.”
The clatter of knives and forks prevented much conversation for a
few minutes, and Mary Ann with an amazing pink bow in her hair
“flew round” briskly, handing plates and ladling out gravy. Nearly
every one had contributed to the feast, so the dinner was a
peculiarly interesting ones to the eaters of it, who beguiled the
pauses by remarks on their own productions.
“If these are not good potatoes I never saw any,” observed Jack, as
he received his fourth big mealy one.
“Some of my herbs are in the stuffing of the turkey, that’s why it’s
so nice,” said Nan, taking a mouthful with intense satisfaction.
“My ducks are prime any way; Asia said she never cooked such fat
ones,” added Tommy.
“Well, our carrots are beautiful, ain’t they, and our parsnips will be