Europe -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; New Zealand -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Short stories, New Zealand
They kept out of her way—at any rate Sun did. He did so hate being sent
stumping back to the nursery. It didn’t matter about Moon. If she got
tangled in people’s legs they only threw her up and shook her till she
squeaked. But Sun was too heavy for that. He was so heavy that the fat
man who came to dinner on Sundays used to say: “Now, young man, let’s
try to lift you.” And then he’d put his thumbs under Sun’s arms and
groan and try and give it up at last saying: “He’s a perfect little ton
of bricks!”
Nearly all the furniture was taken out of the dining-room. The big
piano was put in a corner and then there came a row of flower pots and
then there came the goldy chairs. That was for the concert. When Sun
looked in a white faced man sat at the piano—not playing, but banging
at it and then looking inside. He had a bag of tools on the piano and
he had stuck his hat on a statue against the wall. Sometimes he just
started to play and then he jumped up again and looked inside. Sun
hoped he wasn’t the concert.
But of course the place to be in was the kitchen. There was a man
helping in a cap like a blancmange, and their real cook, Minnie, was
all red in the face and laughing. Not cross at all. She gave them each
an almond finger and lifted them up on to the flour bin so that they
could watch the wonderful things she and the man were making for
supper. Cook brought in the things and he put them on dishes and
trimmed them. Whole fishes, with their heads and eyes and tails still
on, he sprinkled with red and green and yellow bits; he made squiggles
all over the jellies, he stuck a collar on a ham and put a very thin
sort of a fork in it; he dotted almonds and tiny round biscuits on the
creams. And more and more things coming.
“Ah, but you haven’t seen the ice pudding,” said Cook. “Come along.”
Why was she being so nice, thought Sun as she gave them each a hand.
And they looked into the refrigerator.
Oh! Oh! Oh! It was a little house. It was a little pink house with
white snow on the roof and green windows and a brown door and stuck in
the door there was a nut for a handle.
When Sun saw the nut he felt quite tired and had to lean against Cook.
“Let me touch it. Just let me put my finger on the roof,” said Moon,
dancing. She always wanted to touch all the food. Sun didn’t.
“Now, my girl, look sharp with the table,” said Cook as the housemaid
came in.
“It’s a picture, Min,” said Nellie. “Come along and have a look.” So
they all went into the dining-room. Sun and Moon were almost
frightened. They wouldn’t go up to the table at first; they just stood
at the door and made eyes at it.
It wasn’t real night yet but the blinds were down in the dining-room
and the lights turned on—and all the lights were red roses. Red ribbons
and bunches of roses tied up the table at the corners. In the middle
was a lake with rose petals floating on it.
“That’s where the ice pudding is to be,” said Cook.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account