"To make them rise better."
"Does every thing rise better after it is pricked?"
Sadie was paring apples at the end table, and interposed at this point—
"If you find that to be the case, Julia, you must be very careful after this, or we shall have Ester pricking you when you don't 'rise' in time for breakfast in the morning."
Julia suspected that she was being made a dupe of, and appealed to her older sister:
"Honestly, Ester, do you prick them so they will rise better?"
"Of course. I told you so, didn't I?"
"Well, but why does that help them any? Can't they get up unless you make holes in them, and what is all the reason for it?"
Now, these were not easy questions to answer, especially to a girl with the toothache, and Ester's answer was not much to the point.
"Julia, I declare you are enough to distract one. If you ask any more questions I shall certainly send you up stairs out of the way."