Maggie carried the kettle, half-filled with water, and placed it
securely, as she thought, on the big open wood-fire in the library.
Then she left the children to their own devices, Fritz alone keeping
them company. A watched kettle never boils, and the children did not
have the patience to test the truth of this.

"I hate to wait for water to boil," said Beth.

Just then Harvey conceived a brilliant idea.

"Say, Beth, we'll put in the crabs before it begins to boil. Then we
can play until they're done."

"And the cold water won't hurt them like hot, will it, Harvey?"

Without answering, he emptied the crabs into the kettle. Beth viewed
them critically.

"There's the horrid old thing that bit me. I know him by his one claw."

"He shall be the first one eaten to show how mean he was. What shall
we play?"

"Let's play stage."

He accepted the suggestion, and while they played, Fritz snoozed
comfortably before the fire.

The water began to get hot, and the crabs became lively. They crawled