The cake was covered with the tiny
colored candies so dear to the heart of a child. Miss Rachel always
bought those candies at the village store, with the apology:--
"I want them for Tabitha's birthday cake, you know. She thinks so much
of pretty things."
Tabitha invariably made the cake and iced it, and as she dropped the
bits of colored sugar into place, she would explain to Huldy, who
occasionally "helped" in the kitchen:--
"I wouldn't miss the candy for the world--my sister thinks so much of
it!"
So each deceived herself with this pleasant bit of fiction, and yet had
what she herself most wanted.
Rachel carefully placed the cake in the center of the table, feasted her
eyes on its toothsome loveliness, then turned and hurried back to the
house. The door had scarcely shut behind her when a small, ragged urchin
darted in at the street gate, snatched the cake, and, at a sudden sound
from the house, dashed out of sight behind a shrub close by.
The sound that had frightened the boy was the tapping of the heels of
Miss Tabitha's shoes along the back porch. The lady descended the steps,
crossed the lawn and placed a saucer of pickles and a plate of dainty
sandwiches on the table.
"Why, I thought Rachel brought the cake," she said aloud.
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