“I told you _to flour it_, but I mean only to shake a very little over it from the dredger; if it is at all thick there will be a white, pasty coating on the outside, instead of a crisp, brown one.” After church Molly went to the kitchen to see if everything was going right, and saw on the table a cupful of pretty yellow balls. “What are these?” she asked, taking one up, but found it collapsed between her fingers. It was simply a wind ball, and the outside as thin as paper. “They are German noodles for soup,” said Marta, her face beaming with pride. “They are very pretty; and, though I know several sorts of noodles, I have never seen these.” At dinner the clear soup, with the addition of Marta’s noodles, was excellent, and she found that steaming the fowl in paper, before baking, agreed just as well with the American bird as a French one; the limbs fell from under the knife, as Harry carved, and the oft despised yearling might have rivalled the youngest and juiciest spring chicken. CHAPTER XXII. DOLLARS AND CENTS. MOLLY reached the end of her first month’s housekeeping, and now could see exactly where she stood, and could plan for the coming month to advantage. Referring to her note-book, she found she had spent 53 cents less the second week than the first, 75 cents less the third, and 60 cents less the fourth. She had, therefore, in hand nearly $2, and provisions in the house for a couple of days. She had also salad-oil, olives, Worcestershire sauce, cooking-wine, pepper, salt, mustard, corn meal, and vinegar, to last a month at least. There was also over a pound of coffee left; and she would need only three pounds of lard in place of five, as there was nearly half left, and two instead of four pounds of coffee. She had, therefore, that much to deduct from her second month’s grocery bill, and several additions to make to it, for she had so far done without many articles she liked to have in the house; she found, too, that the twelve pounds of sugar she had allowed must be increased to fifteen, twelve granulated, three cut loaf. Her order for the grocer stood for the second month thus:—