long time ago, there was a little old woman that lived away off in the
woods. She lived all by herself, in a little cottage with only two rooms
in it, and she made her living by knitting blue woollen stockings, and
selling them.

One morning the old woman brushed up the hearth all clean, and put every
thing in order; then she went to the pantry and took out a great black
pot, and filled it full of water, and hung it over the fire, and then
she sat down in her arm-chair by the fire. She took her spectacles out
of her pocket and put them on her nose, and began to knit on a great
blue woollen stocking.

[Illustration: "'Oh dear! oh dear! that's bad! that's bad!' cried the
old woman."]

Pretty soon she said to herself, "I wonder what I shall have for dinner?
I believe I will make an apple dumpling." So she put her knitting down,
and took her spectacles off of her nose, and put them in her pocket, and
getting out of her arm-chair, she went to the cupboard and got three
nice rosy-cheeked apples. Then she went to the knife-box and got a
knife, and then she took a yellow dish from the dresser, and sat down in
her arm-chair, and began to pare the apples.

After she had pared the apples, she cut each one into four quarters.
Then she got up again, and set the dish of apples on the table, and went
to the cupboard, and got some flour and a lump of butter. Then she took
a pitcher, and went out of doors to a little spring of water close by,
and filled the pitcher with clear, cold water. So she mixed up the flour
and butter, and made them into a nice paste with the water; and then she
went behind the door and took down a rolling-pin that was hung up by a
string, and rolled out the paste, and put the apples inside, and
covered the apples all up with the paste. "That looks nice," said the
old woman. So she tied up the dumpling in a nice clean cloth, and put it
into the great black pot that was over the fire.

After she had brushed up the hearth again, and put all the things she
had used away, she sat down in her arm-chair by the fire, and took her
spectacles out of her pocket and put them on her nose, and began to knit
on the big blue woollen stocking.

She knit eight times round the stocking, and then she said to herself,
"I wonder if the dumpling is done?" So she laid down her knitting, and
took a steel fork from the mantelpiece, and lifted the lid of the pot
and looked in.

As she was looking in, her spectacles tumbled off of