She beat one egg till it frothed, put to it a pinch of salt, and then worked in as much flour as it would take, _about_ three table-spoonfuls; she kneaded it till it was a smooth and firm, yet elastic, paste. This she rolled out on the pastry-board (very slightly flouring it) till it was as thin as writing-paper. So far, this was exactly the recipe for home-made vermicelli noodles, which was familiar to Molly. When the paste was as thin as she could get it on the board, Marta lifted the sheet of yellow paste, laid a cloth folded on the board, and then the paste on that; this enabled her to roll it still thinner; then she removed the cloth and folded one-half the paste, and asked Molly for her thimble. Molly washed it and gave it to her, and Marta stamped a couple of dozen little disks out of the _double_ paste. They were so closely stuck together that they looked like little circles of yellow card. Marta now took a little pint iron saucepan, put into it two large table-spoonfuls of lard, and set it to get smoking hot. While this was reaching the point of heat required, she took the little sheet of paste she had not used, and which was still single and had got very slightly dry, while the disks were being made, which she explained it was necessary for it to do. She then rolled up the thin sheet closely, and cut it at intervals of the third of an inch; the paste now looked like so much yellow tape; and these, she informed Molly, were either to be dried near the fire on a sieve and kept for soups, or to be boiled in water and dressed with butter. As she spoke, she tossed the shreds up lightly with a fork for some little time. The fat was now hot; as hot, Molly remarked, as for croquettes, proved by the fact that the little disks when dropped into it (they became balls the minute they were in the fat) took a pale, golden hue; one-half minute colored them all alike; they were then lifted out with a skimmer, and Marta laid them on a clean cloth. Molly said nothing, because she did not want at this time to interfere with what was Marta’s specialty, but in doing them herself would use paper to drain them instead of greasing a cloth. “I am ever so much obliged, Marta; these are a real novelty. Now we will have the others boiled for luncheon and some day you can make them for dinner. Mr. Bishop is so fond of anything of the sort. I want to see you cook them.”