"Judy knew that some o' the people near him were after hearin' Larry, an' she felt herself gettin' weak with shame an' she'd give all the plum puddin's that were ever made if the gossoon would only keep quiet or go home. She made more faces at him than ever an' wagged her head until she knocked off Mickey's hat, but it was all no use.
"'Mother!' says the lad at the door again, 'they're after eatin' the plum puddin'—an' if you don't believe me, there's the bag!'
"Old Corney Macken, that was as contrairy as a cleeve o' cats, was standin' at the counter with his big Caroline hat on him, an' he contendin' with Martin Cassidy tryin' to get a bigger Christmas box than anybody else, when down came the big wet puddin' bag, plastered over with clammy boiled flour an' the butter Judy put on it to keep the puddin' from stickin'; an' it just settled over the Caroline an' over Corney's head an' face an' shoulders the same as one o' them motor veils the women do be wearin', an' he began runnin' this way an' that way an' his head goin' up an' down under the bag an' everybody laughin' the same as if poor old Corney was a clown at a circus. An' poor Judy got out o' the shop as fast as ever she could an' made away home before she'd die with shame.
"Mickey had a little drop in, an' when Corney started to jaw, he let the cat out o' the puddin' bag, an' the whole parish knew about it before the stars were up that night. An' there was more hearty laughin' over Corney's share o' the puddin' than you'd hear now over all the comic Christmas cards that people spend a little fortune on.
"An' that's what happened the first plum puddin' that ever was boiled in Balnagore."
[Transcriber's Notes:]
Cover image may be clicked to view larger version.
Inconsistent accent marks (e.g. "grâdh" vs. "grádh") have been retained from the original.
Inconsistent hyphenation (e.g. "gamekeeper" vs. "game-keeper") has been retained from the original.