“Guess, Grannie, guess!” cried Firefly.
By this time, the smile had got out of the corners of Grannie’s mouth and had spread all over her face.
“Roots,” she said.
“Wrong,” shouted the children. “Guess again.”
“Spruce gum.”
“Wrong again,” laughed the Twins.
Grannie thought a while this time. Then she said, “Snails.”
“No, no, no,” the Twins said both together; and then Firetop slowly brought his hands round in front of him and showed the old woman four large bird’s eggs.
You should have seen Grannie’s face then! It was all wreathed in smiles, and when she smiled she wasn’t so bad to look at after all. Almost nobody is for that matter.
She took the eggs from Firetop’s hands and covered them carefully in the ashes.