hut up the hens for me."

Eileen ran to the potato bag in the corner and took out four good-sized
potatoes. "There's but three of us," she said to herself, "but Larry
will surely be wanting two, himself."

She got down on her knees and buried the potatoes in the burning peat.
Then she took a little broom that stood near by, and tidied up the
hearth.

Larry took the kettle to the well for more water. He slopped a good
deal of it as he came back. It made great spots of mud, for there was
no wooden floor--only hard earth with flat stones set in it.

"Arrah now, Larry, you do be slopping things up the equal of a
thunderstorm," Eileen said to him.

"Never you mind that, now, Larry," said Grannie Malone. "It might have
been that the kettle leaked itself, and no fault of your own at all!
Sure, a bit of water here or there does nobody any harm."

She hung the tea-kettle on the hook over the fire again. Then she
brought the cakeen and put it into a small iron baking-kettle, and put a
cover over it. She put turf on top of the cover. "'Twill not be long
until it's baked," said Grannie, "and you can be watching it, Eileen,
while I set out the table."

She pulled a little wooden table out before the fire, put three plates
and three cups on it, some salt, and the jug of milk. Meanwhile Larry
was out trying to shut the hens into the little shelter beside the
house. But he couldn't get them all in. One old speckled hen ran round
the house to the door. Larry ran after her. The hen flew up on top of
the half-door. She was very much excited. "Cut-cut-cut," she squawked.

"Cut-cut yourself now!" cried Grannie Malone.

She ran toward the door, waving her spoon. "Shoo along out of this with
your bad manners!" she cried.

Just that minute Larry came up behind the hen and tried to catch her by
the legs.

"Cut-cut-cut-a-cut," squawked old Speckle; and up she flew, right over
Grannie's head, into the rafters! Then she tucked herself cozily down
to go to sleep.

"Did you ever see the likes of that old Speckle, now?" cried Grannie
Malone. She ran for the broom. "Sure she must be after thinking I was
lonesome for a bit of company! Do you think I'd be wanting you at all,
you silly, when I have the Twins by me?" she said to the hen. She shook
the broom at her, but old Speckle wasn't a bit afraid of Grannie; she
didn't move.

Then Grannie Malone put the broom under her and tried to lift her from
her perch, but old