Following instructions printed on the cereal box, she added water to the oatmeal and placed the pan on the fire. In a short while, the kettle was black from smoke, but the water refused to boil.
“I’m sick and disgusted and mad!” Jane announced furiously. “Who ever thought camping would be fun?”
The girls still were struggling with the fire when the other Brownies raced in from the beach, dripping wet.
“We’ve had a marvelous swim!” Connie shouted. “And we’re starved. Is breakfast ready?”
“No, it isn’t,” announced Veve. “What’s more, I don’t think it ever will be!”
Miss Gordon, without saying anything, rebuilt the fire. Veve, Eileen and Jane expected her to cook the breakfast, but instead she sat down nearby with her back to a tree.
“If first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” she remarked. “We’re all pretty hungry, but I guess we can wait a while longer.”
For the three cooks nothing remained but to start in all over again. Veve put on another pan of bacon, and this time watched it closely.
After the bacon was crisp, Eileen cooked the eggs. Miss Gordon told her when to take them off the fire so they would not scorch. As for the oatmeal, it proved so lumpy that no one wanted to try any. In any event, the cooks had forgotten to go to the camp store for milk or cream.
“On the whole, I think our cooks did very well,” Miss Gordon praised the girls. “However, as supplies have been used rather lavishly, we’ll need to go into Shady Hollow for more.”