"Trickle out of a tree!" exclaimed astonished Tattine.

"Why, yes, don't you know that's the way they make maple sugar? In the spring,
about April, when the sap begins to run up into the maple-trees, and often
while the snow is still on the ground, they what they call tap the tree; they
drive a sort of little spout right into the tree and soon the sap begins to
ooze out and drop into buckets that are placed to catch it. Afterwards they
boil it down in huge kettles made for the purpose. They call it sugaring off,
and it must be great fun."

"Not half so much fun, I should think, as sugaring down," laughed Mabel, with
her right hand placed significantly where stomachs are supposed to be.

"And now I am going to run up to the house," explained Tattine, getting
stiffly up from a rather cramped position, "for three or four plates, and
Kudolph, you break off some pieces of ice the right size for them, and we will
make a little plateful from what is left for each one up at the house, else I
should say we were three little greedies. And Mabel, while I am gone you
commence to clear up."

"Well, you are rather cool, Tattine," said Mabel, but she obediently set to
work to gather things together.

As you and I cannot be a bit of help in that direction, and have many of a
clearing-up of our own to do, I propose that we lose not a minute in running
away from that little camp, particularly as we have not had so much as a taste
of the delicious wax they've been making.