Mike twisted it round the branches of the two trees, and tied them firmly together.
“It’s beginning to look like a roof already!” shouted Nora, in excitement. “Oh, I want to sit underneath it!”
She sat down under the roof of willow boughs, but Jack called to her.
“Get up, Nora! You’ve got to help! I’m up the third tree now - look, here come the top branches bending over with my weight - catch them and hold them!”
Nora and Peggy caught them and held on tightly. The branches reached the others and overlapped them. Mike was soon busy tying them down, too.
The whole morning was spent in this way. By dinnertime all the six trees had been carefully bent over. Jack showed Mike and the girls how to weave the branches together, so that they held one another and made a fine close roof. “You see, if we use the trees like this, their leaves will still grow and will make a fine thick roof,” said Jack. “Now, although our house has no walls as yet, we at least have a fine roof to shelter under if it rains!”
“I want something to eat,” said Nora. “I’m so hungry that I feel I could eat snails!”
“Well, get out four eggs, and we’ll have some with potatoes,” said Jack. “We’ll boil the eggs in our saucepan. There’s plenty of potatoes, too. After the eggs are boiled we’ll boil some potatoes and mash them up. That will be nice for a change. We’ll nibble a few carrots, too, and have some of those cherries.”
"We do have funny meals,” said Peggy, going to get the saucepan and the eggs, “but I do like them! Come on, Nora, help me get the potatoes and peel them whilst the eggs are boiling. And Mike, get some water, will you? We haven’t enough.”
Soon the fire was burning merrily and the eggs were boiling in the saucepan. The girls peeled the potatoes, and Jack washed the carrots. He went to get some water to drink, too, for everyone was very thirsty.