cried King, as he saw the candles.

"Somebody's only one year old, then," said Molly.

"These aren't birthday candles exactly," said Mr. Maynard. "They're just
candles to keep the pies hot. But as I want to eat my pie, I'll just eat
the candle first, and get it out of the way."

So saying, he calmly blew out the flame, and in a moment had eaten the
candle, wick and all!

"Oh, Father!" cried Marjorie. "How could you do that? Do you like wax
candles?"

"These candles aren't exactly wax," said her father, "and I must say
mine tasted very good."

Molly's bright black eyes snapped.

"If Mr. Maynard can eat candles, so can I!" she declared, and, blowing
out the flame, she bit off the end of her own candle.

"It _is_ good," she said, as she munched it. "I like candles, too."

So then they all tried eating candles. Marjorie tasted hers carefully,
and then took a larger bite.

"Why, it's apple!" she cried. And so it was. The "candles" had been cut
with an apple-corer, and the "wicks" were bits of almond cut the right
shape and stuck in the top of the candle. The oil in the nut causes it
to burn for a few moments, and the whole affair looks just like a real
candle.

The mince pies were followed by ice-cream, and that by fruits and
candies, and then the feast was over, but every one carried away the
jolly little souvenirs to keep as mementoes of the occasion. Skating was
the order of the afternoon.

Mr. Maynard went with the older children, while Mrs. Maynard and Rosy
Posy amused themselves at home.

Kitty couldn't skate very well, but all the others were fairly good
skaters, and soon they were gliding over the ice, while Mr. Maynard
pushed Kitty in a sliding chair. She thought she had the most fun of
all, but the others preferred their own feet to a chair, and skated
tirelessly around the lake, not at all dismayed by somewhat frequent
upsets and tumbledowns.

The Fultons joined them, and several others, and Molly soon made
acquaintance with many of the Maynards' friends.

Molly was such a daring child that Mr. Maynard carefully warned her
about going near the thin places in the ice, and she promised to avoid
them. But it was with some uneasiness he watched the young skaters,
when, at Molly's suggestion, they played "Snap the Whip."

This meant to join hands in a long row, and, after skating rapidly, the
one at the end stood still and swung the others round like the lash of a
whip. No trouble was likely to occ