The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1888-11-24
ANN MARY-HER TWO THANKS
GIVINGS.
BY MARY E. WILKINS.


'What is it, child?'
''You goin' to put that cup-cake into the pan
to bake it now, Grandma?"
''Yes; guess so. It's beat bout enough"
"You amt put in a mite of nutmeg, Grand
ma"
The grandmother turned to Ann Mary
Don't you be quite so anxious" said
! she with sarcastic emphasis ~ alters put the
nutmeg in cup-cake the very last thing. l
ruther guess l shouldn't have put this cake in
to the oven without nutmegW
The old woman beat fiercely on the cake
She used her hand instead of spoon, and she
held the yellow mixing bowl poised on her hip
under her arm. She was stout and rosy-faced.
She had crinkly white hair, and she always
wore string of gold beads around her Greasy
neck. She never took off the gold beads ex-
cept to put them under her pillow at night,
she was so afraid oftheir being stolen Old Mrs.
Little had always been nervous about thieves
although none had ever troubled her.
'Yo1 may go into the pantry, an bring out
tie nutmeg now, Ann Mary" said she present
Ann Mary soberly slipped down from her
chair and went She realized that she had
made a mistake. 1t was quite an understood
thing for Ann Mary to have an eye upon her
grandmother whileshe was cooking to be sure
that she put in everything that she should
and nothing that she should not, for the old
woman was absent-minded. But it had to be
managed with great delicacy,. and the correc-
tions had to be quite irrefutabIe, or Ann Mary
was reprimanded for her pains.
When Ann Mary had deposited the nutmeg
box and the crater at her grandmother's elbow,
she took up her station again. She sat at
corner Of the table in one of the high kitchen
chairs. Her feet could not touch the floor, and
they dangled uneasily in their stout leather
Shoes but she never rested them ON the chair
round nor even swung them by way of solace
Ann Mary's grandmother did not like to have
her chair rounds all marked up by shoes, and
swinging feet disturbed her while she was cook
ing. Ann Mary sat up. grave and straight
She was delicate, slender little girl, but she
never stopped. She had an odd resemblance
to her grandmother; resemblance more of
manner than of feature. She held back her
narrow shoulders in the same determined way
in which the old woman her broad ones; she
walked as she did, and spoke as she did.
Mrs Little was very proud OF Ann Mary
Evans Ann Mary was her only daughters
child, and had lived with her grandmother
ever since she was a baby. The child could
not remember either her father or mother, she
was so little when they died.
Ann Mary was delicate, so she did not go to
the village to the public school; Miss Loretta
Adams a young lady who lived in the neigh
borhood gave her lessons. Loretta had gradu-
ated in beautiful white muslin dress at the
| high-school over in the village, and Ann Mary
had great respect and admiration for her
| Loretta had a parlor-organ and could play
on it, and she was going to give Ann
Mary lessons after Thanksgiving. Just now
| there was a vacation. Loretta had gone to
| Boston to spend two weeks with her cousin
| Ann Mary was all in brown, brown calico
dress and brown calico, long-sleeved apron ;
| and her brown hair was braided in two tight
| little tails that were tied with some old brown
| bonnet-strings of Mrs. Little's, and hared out
stiff1y behind the ears. Once, when Ann Mary
was at her house, Loretta Adams had taken it
upon herself to comb out the tight braids and
/ a a,.G h0
shoulders but when Ann Mary came home
her grandmother was properly indignant
| Sheseized her and re-braided the tails with stout
and painful Jerks. 81 amt goin' to have Lo-
retty Adams meddlin' with your hair, said
she, "an' she can jest understand it. If she
wants to have her own hair in frowzle, an
look like a wild Injun, she can; you
sha'n't!'
And Ann Mary, standing before her grand
mother with head meekly bent and watery
eyes, decided that she would have to tell Loret-
ia that she mustn't touch the braids, if she pro-
| posed it again.
That morning, while Mrs. Little was making
| the pies and the cake and pudding Ann Mary
was sitting idle, for her part of the Thanksgiv-
| ing cooking was done. She had worked SO
| fast, the day before and early that morning,
that she had the raisins all picked over and
seeded, and the apples pared and sliced; and
| that was about all that her grandmother
thought she could do Ann Mary herself was
of different opinion; she was twelve years
DID, if she acas small for her age, and she con-
sidered herself quite capable of making pies
and cup-cake.
However, it was something to sit there at the
| table and have that covert sense of superintend-
! ing her grandmother; and to be reasonably
sure that some of the food would have a
| strange flavor were it not for her vigilance.
Mrs. Littles mince-pies had all been baked
the Saturday before; to-day, as she said, she
was making apple and squash" While the
apple pies were in progress, Ann Mary watch
| ed her narrowly. Her small folded hands
twitched and her little neck seemed to elongate
above her apron; but she waited until her
| grandmother took up an upper crust, and was
| lust about to lay it over pie Then she spoke
up suddenly. Her voice had timid yet asser-
tive chirp like birds.
| "Grandma ]"
"Well, what is it, child?'
'You goin' to put that crust on that pie now,
Grandma?"
Mrs. Little stood uneasily reflective. She
eyed the pie sharply. Eyes, be. Why?'
she returned in doubtful yet defiant manner
'You have MT put one bit of sugar in"
''For the land sakes!' Mrs. Little did not take
correction of this kind happily, but when she
was made to fairly acknowledge the need of it,
| she showed no resentment. She laid the upper
crust back on the board and sweetened the pie.
Ann Mary watched her gravely, but she was
inwardly complacent. After she had rescued
| the pudding from being baked without the
plums, and it was nearly dinner,time, her
grandfather came home. He had been over
to the village to buy the Thanksgiving turkey
Ann Mary looked out with delight when he
drove past the windows on his way to the
barn.
''Grandpas got home" said she.
1t was showing quite hard, and she saw the
old man and the steadily tramping white horse
and the fitting wagon through thick mist OF
falling snowfiakes
Before Mr.. Little came into the kitchen, his
wife warned him to be sure to wipe all the
snow from his feet and not to track in any, SC
he tramped vigorously out in the shed. Then
he entered with an air of pride There !!
said he, ''what do ye think ofthat for a turkey?
Mr. Little was generally slow and gentle in his
ways but to-day he was quite excited over the
turkey He held it up with considerable diff
ficulty. He was a small old man, and the
cords on his lean hands knotted. ut weighs
a good fifteen pound" said he IAN there
wasn't better one in the store. Adkins didn't
have a very big lot on hand"
81 should think that was queer, the day be
fore Thanksgivin," said Mrs. Little. She wa:
examining the turkey critically. II guess it'll
do" she declared finally. That was her high
est expression of ofapprobation. ''Well, Irayth
or tbou0ht vouid fhiuk sO ~ rpioinpd the Ol(