PATTY’S PLAID PIE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume V, Issue 48, 29 November 1890, Page 19

PATTY’S PLAID PIE.

‘ Mamma, may I go over to grandmamma’s?’ ‘ Yes, dear.’ It would be hard to tell how many times a day Patty asked this, and her mamma answered it. If any little girl who reads about her lives right across the stieet from her grandmamma’s, perhaps she can give a guess about it. Patty had only lately come to live so near, and you may be sure she thought it very delightful. ’ What kind of a day is this ?’ asked Patty one morning when she awakened. • A very nice day, I think,’ said her mamma ‘ I mean, do you think it’s bake-day ? I mean grandmamma’s bake-day ?’

• Yes,’ said mamma ‘ This is Saturday, and grand mamma always bakes on Saturday.’ * May I go over ?’

The otbei little girl who lives near grandmamma can tell you exactly why Patty wanted to go. She knows all about the cakes and gingersnaps and custards and pies. Grandmamma and Hilda, the Swede girl who could not speak a word of English, were making pies when Patty toddled into the kitchen.

‘ Oh, grandmamma,'she said. ‘What a beautiful pie I I never saw a plaid pie before.’ ‘ Didn’t you said grandmamma. ‘ Bring a patty-pan here, Hilda.’

Hilda knew what the patty-pans were, for at lea-t one of them was always used on grandmamma’s bake-day. Patty thought they were named so because the little pie or gingerbread or custard were always for her. But other little girls know well enough that patty pans are for little Kittys or or Prues, or a hundred others, especially the ones who live near grandmamma.

Hilda smiled as grandmamma made the patty-pan plaid pie. The big one was filled with apple-butter and had strips of crust criss-crossed all over it. The patty pan pie was such a very little one that there could Ire only two pieces crossed on it.

‘ That’s a little bit of plaid,’ said Patty, laughing till the dimples were all over her face. ‘ Yes, only a sample,’ said grandmamma, ‘ but it will taste good.’ ‘Yes,’ said Patty. ‘ One streak for mamma, one streak for auntie, one streak for Elsie and one for me.’

‘ Dear me,’ said grandmamma, ‘ how came I to forget that you always divide everything you have ? Eat the patty-pie yourself, little one, and we 11 make a saucer-pie for you to take home. ’ The patty-pan was almost cooked by the time the plaid was put on the saucer-pie. Patty waited for it to cool a little and then ate it, thinking it was as good as it looked and that there was nothing in the world which quite came up to a plaid pie. When the saucer-pie was done, she could hardly wait for it to cool she was in such a hurry to take it home. Hilda set it in the kitchen window, but Patty, after watching it for a little while and finding it cooled very slowly took hold of it with a towel and carried it out on the back porch.

Then she went out to see the little ducks and chickens. When she came back she saw grandmamma'- little dog. Wangle, standing close to the plaid -aueer pie. Was be smelling it ? Patty gave a little cry and ran towards him.

* O Wag, you naughty doggie !’ Waggle was a very pretty dog with a little black nose, and Patty was’usually quite willing that he should help himself to a share of what she had. But as is often the way with dogs he had chosen the j>art he liked best. He had left the apple-butter and very carefully picked out the strips of crust. With a wire-begone face Patty took the pie back to the kitchen. Grandmamma had gone up stairs, and only Hilda was there.

‘ He’s eaten up all the plaid.’ said Patty. Hilda did not understand. She thougb't Patty hail eaten the crust and was sorry.

‘ Yah. yah,’ -aid Hilda, smiling a great deal and nodding her head very hard. She smoothed the apple-butter with a spoon, took a little pie-crust which hail been left, cut it into streaks and in a tew moments the plaid was all on again. Into the oven it went, and came out as beautiful as before.

Patty let it stay on the window-sill this time, and before long it was ready to take home to mamma and the others. How good it looked ! Patty felt as if she could eat it all : but she never thought of such a thing as not dividing it. ‘ I’ve brought you a plaid pie. Grandmamma made it,' she said to mamma and auntie anil her sister Elsie. ‘ Ami it’s good.’

‘Yes, I know it’s good if grandmamma made it,’ -aid Elsie. She went for -ome little plates and a knife, and mamma began cutting it in four pieces. ‘ If I hadn't hurried, you wouldn't have had it,’ said Patty. ‘ I caught Wag just in time. He ate all the plaid off’ ‘ Off what ?’ asked mamma. ‘ Off the pie.'— ‘ This pie $’ asked auntie. ‘ Yes, and Hilda put some more streaks on. Hilda’s a good girl.’ ‘ Patty,’ said mamma, ‘ run back to grandmamma's and ask her to lend me three eggs.’ Patty had to look for the eggs in the barn, and it took her some time. When she came back there was no pie to be seen.

‘ Is it all gone ?’ she asked, in a little dismay. ‘ All gone, dear,’ said mamma, ‘ but here are some peaches for you. You like them just as well, don’t you !’ ‘Yes.’ But she could not help wondering why they did not leave any pie for her. And to this day the darling little Patty does not know that the pie was thrown away because Waggle hail tried it, and mamma did not like to make her feel sorry by letting her know.