said Dot. "We never have enough jelly. Mother likes currant."

"You get it, and I'll open it," promised Twaddles. "Bobby never
lets me have the can opener."

Dot got a chair and climbed up on it. She was just able to reach
the shelf in the closet where the tumblers of jelly were kept. She
knew that currant jelly was red and she handed down a ruby red
glass to the waiting Twaddles.

"Don't cut yourself," she admonished him as he punched the can
opener into the tin lid.

Twaddles and Dot did not know that jelly tumblers are not opened
with can openers. Mother Blossom and Norah always pried off the
tin lids and used them the next year for other glasses.

"Oh, gee, there's a lot of wax on top," Twaddles reported when he
had torn a jagged hole in the lid and found the jelly was
protected with a layer of paraffin. "How'll I get that off?"

"Take a fork," advised Dot. "Here--I'll show you."

She seized a fork and jammed it into the paraffin. Bits of wax and
jelly flew from the glass, splashing Twaddles' clean blouse and
plentifully decorating Dot's white apron.

"Mother's coming!" cried Meg, rushing into the kitchen with her
flowers. Then she stopped. "Dot Blossom, look what you're done!"
she wailed.