it on the wood bench and thrust his face in. Then he splashed
his hands, and gave them a hasty wipe on the long brown towel
hanging from the rack. "Anyway, it's bigger now. There, I'm done,
and you ought to give me a bite of yours."

Little David gave a sigh. "Well, you may have just one," he said
slowly. Then he threw out the water from the basin, and
carefully filled it again, while Joel dashed back gleefully into
the kitchen.

"Joel, what are you doing, biting Davie's cake!" exclaimed Polly,
a minute afterward, and looking across the table while she
snipped off a little piece of the white frosting from her slice,
wishing the whole world was made of cake with white on top, and
wondering how long she could make hers last.

"Dave said I might," said Joel, with a very red face, and one
cheek very much puffed out, while he turned David's slice over
so that it didn't show where the big bite had been taken off.
But his face grew quite red, and he didn't look in her brown
eyes.

"For shame, Joe!" cried Ben at him, in a way that made Mother
Pepper look around. She hadn't heard Polly. Down went Joe under
the table, and in a minute or two David hurried in.

Nobody said a word. David picked up his cake, and his face fell
as he saw the big hole. But he said nothing, and fell to
nibbling.