e range. While the fire was burning up she pinned a little shawl
about her head and swept off the front steps and sidewalk, and came in
all glowing from the cold air.

By this time the fire was hot and bright, and the cereal was put on to
cook in the double boiler, the kettle filled with fresh water and put on
to boil for coffee. Her mother said she would stay out in the kitchen
and make muffins for breakfast while the other rooms were put in order,
so Margaret went into the parlors and sitting-room and straightened the
chairs, put away books and papers, and dusting a little here and there,
leaving the regular dusting until later in the day. The windows were now
shut, and the rooms looked very tidy, so she went to the dining-room to
prepare that for breakfast.

She brushed up the crumbs, aired the room, and put it in order. She
arranged the doilies on the table, one under each plate, with a round of
felt under that, laid the silver, put on her mother's tray with the cups
and saucers, set the tumblers and napkins around, and the plates with
the finger-bowls and fruit-knives, and the bread and butter plates with
the spreaders. She filled the salts freshly, and last of all put on a
vase of flowers. Then she took the cereal dishes, platter, and plates
out to heat in the oven.

She found her mother was getting ready the eggs and other things for
breakfast, and she need not help, so she carried into the dining-room
the butter balls and put them around; filled the finger-bowls and
tumblers with cold water and the coffee-cups with hot; arranged the
fruit on the sideboard, and put cream into the pitcher on the tray as
well as in another pitcher for the cereal. By the time breakfast was
ready she had on her white apron and had washed her hands, and when the
family came down she was ready to show them all what a well-trained
waitress she was.

"Do sit down with us," her father begged. "You have done so much
already!" But Margaret felt a little proud that she knew her waiting
lesson so well, and said she would rather not. She really enjoyed moving
very quietly around the table, bringing in and taking out things,
passing everything to the left, and laying down plates at the right, and
generally remembering just what she had been taught.

After all had finished she ate her own breakfast, and found she had been
up so long and worked so much that it tasted twice as good as usual.
When she had finished she put on her gingham apron