ey is!" said Mr. Piper, coming to the aid of his
wife. "Mrs. Piper says eel-jumbles, and sassafras-pie, and pound-cake;
all made in five minutes!"

Here everybody laughed, and Prudy, suddenly remembering her part,
sighed, and said,--

"O, my darlin' husband used to like jumble-pie! I've forgot to cry for
ever so long!"

Susy began to set the table, and went into the nursery for some cake and
cookies, which were kept in an old tin chest, on purpose for this play
of housekeeping, which had now been carried on regularly every Wednesday
and Saturday afternoon, for some time.

Susy opened the cake-chest, and found nothing in it but a few dry
cookies: the fruit-cake was all gone. Who could have eaten it? Not
Flossy, for she had a singular dislike for raisins and currants, and
never so much as tasted fruit-cake. Not Prudy, for the poor little thing
had grown so lame by this time, that she was unable to bear her weight
on her feet, much less to walk into the nursery. Dotty could not be the
thief. Her baby-conscience was rather tough and elastic, and I suppose
she would have felt no more scruples about nibbling nice things, than an
unprincipled little mouse.

But, then Dotty couldn't reach the cake-chest; so she was certainly
innocent.

Then Susy remembered in a moment that it was Annie: Annie had run into
the house morning and night, and had often said, "I'm right hungry. I'm
going to steal a piece of our cake!"

So it seemed that Annie had eaten it _all_. Susy ran back to Prudy's
sitting-room, where her little guests were seated, and said, trying not
to laugh,--

"Please, ma'am, I just made some eel-jumbles and things, and a dog came
in and stole them."

"Very well, Betsey," said Mrs. Piper, serenely; "make some more."

"Yes, make some more," echoed Mr. Piper; and added, "chain up that dog."

"But real honest true," said Susy, "the fruit-cake _is_ all gone out of
the chest. You ate it up, you know, Annie; but it's no matter: we'll cut
up some cookies, or, may be, mother'll let us have some
oyster-crackers."

"_I_ ate up the cake!" cried Annie; "It's no such a thing; I never
touched it!" Her face flushed as she spoke.

"O, but you did," persisted Susy; "I suppose you've forgotten! You went
to the cake-chest this morning, and last night, and yesterday noon, and
ever so many more times."

Annie was too angry to speak.

"But it's just as well," added Susy, politely; "you could have it as
well as not, and perfe