Mary Bell held the dipper at arm's length before her, and began to walk along.
"Hold it out upon one side," said Mary Erskine, "and then if you fall down, you will not fall upon your fire." Mary Bell, obeying this injunction, went out to her oven and put the coals in at the mouth of it.

Then she began to gather sticks, and little branches, and strips of birch bark, and other silvan combustibles, which she found scattered about the ground, and put them upon the coals to make the fire.

She stopped now and then a minute or two to rest and to listen to the sound of Mary Erskine's spinning.

At last some sudden thought seemed to come into her head, and throwing down upon the ground a handful of sticks which she had in her hand, and was just ready to put upon the fire, she got up and walked toward the house.
"Mary Erskine," said she, "I almost forgot about your punishment." "Yes," said Mary Erskine, "I hoped that you had forgot about it, altogether." "Why ?" said Mary Bell.
"Because," said Mary Erskine, "I don't like to be punished." "But you _must_ be punished," said Mary Bell, very positively, "and-what shall your punishment be ?" "How would it do," said Mary Erskine, going on, however, all the time with her spinning, "for me to have to give you two potatoes to roast in your oven ?--or one?
One potato will be enough punishment for such a little disobedience." "No; two," said Mary Bell.
"Well, two," said Mary Erskine.

"You may go and get them in a pail out in the stoop.