Tale of THE PIE AND THE PATTY PANpage 7 / 9
"Spinach? ha! HA!" said he, and accompanied her with alacrity.
He hopped so fast that Ribby had to run. It was most conspicuous. All the village could see that Ribby was fetching the doctor.
"I knew they would over-eat themselves!" said Cousin Tabitha Twitchit.
But while Ribby had been hunting for the doctor--a curious thing had happened to Duchess, who had been left by herself, sitting before the fire, sighing and groaning and feeling very unhappy.
"How could I have swallowed it! such a large thing as a patty-pan!"
She got up and went to the table and felt inside the pie-dish again with a spoon.
"No; there is no patty-pan, and I put one in; and nobody has eaten pie except me, so I must have swallowed it!"
She sat down again, and stared mournfully at the grate. The fire crackled and danced, and something sizz-z-zled!
Duchess started! She opened the door of the top oven;--out came a rich steamy flavour of veal and ham, and there stood a fine brown pie,--and through a hole in the top of the pie-crust there was a glimpse of a little tin patty-pan!
Duchess drew a long breath--
"Then I must have been eating MOUSE!... No wonder I feel ill.... But perhaps I should feel worse if I had really swallowed a patty-pan!" Duchess reflected--"What a very awkward thing to have to explain to Ribby!
I think I will put my pie in the back-yard and say nothing about it. When I go home, I will run round and take it away." She put it outside the back-door, and sat down again by the fire, and shut her eyes; when Ribby arrived with the doctor, she seemed fast asleep.
"Gammon, ha, HA?" said the doctor. "I am feeling very much better," said Duchess, waking up with a jump.
"I am truly glad to hear it! He has brought you a pill, my dear Duchess!"
"I think I should feel quite well if he only felt my pulse," said Duchess, backing away from the magpie, who sidled up with something in his beak.