olical shapes, sitting around a big table before
a blazing fire; some of them were breaking eggs, others were beating
them up until they were white and frothy; and some of these eggs were as
large as melons and others were as small as a little pea, and the dwarfs
made the most extraordinary dishes from them. They seemed to know the
every kind of dish that could be made with eggs,--boiled eggs with
cheese and butter; with tomatoes; poached; fried eggs; various omelettes
with ham and kidney, jam or rum; the rum set afire and flaming with
sparkling lights. And then there were more important dishes still which
only the head cooks were handling ... pastries and delicious creams.

Now and again she half woke and she tried to banish the stupid dream
but it came again and the elfs still went on doing their fantastic work,
so that when the factory whistle sounded she was still watching them
prepare some chocolate creams which she could almost taste in her mouth.

Then she knew that what had impressed her most during her walk was not
the beauty of the night but simply those eggs which she had seen in the
nest, which had told her stomach that for fourteen days she had eaten
only bread and water. These eggs had made her dream of the elfs and all
those delicious things that they were making; she was hungry for good
things and she had found it out through her dream.

Why had she not taken those eggs, or at least some of them, they did not
belong to anyone for the duck was wild? Of course as she had no saucepan
or frying pan or any kitchen utensils whatever, she could not prepare
any of the dishes that she had seen made before her dream eyes. But
there, that was the best about eggs, they could be used without any very
skillful preparation; a lighted match put to a little heap of dry wood
and then she could cook them hard or soft, how she liked, in the hot
ashes. And she would buy a saucepan or a pan as soon as possible.

Several times this idea came to her while she was at work that day until
finally she decided to buy a box of matches and a cent's worth of salt.
As soon as she had made her purchases she ran back to her hut.

She had been too interested in the place where she had discovered the
nest not to be able to find it again. The mother was not occupying the
nest but she had been there during the day because Perrine saw now that
instead of ten eggs there were eleven, which proved that she had not
finished laying.

Here was