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"Hullo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her with his black-currant eyes, while he briskly picked the bark off a cinnamon tree.

"I'm traveling, and should like to know what place this is, if you please," answered Lilly, very politely, as she was rather frightened.

"Cake-land.

Where did you come from?" asked the gingerbread man, in a crisp tone of

voice.

"I was blown into the Candy country, and have been there a long time; but I grew tired of it and ran away to find something better."

"Sensible child!" and the man smiled till Lilly thought his cheeks would crumble. "You'll like it better here with us Cake-folk than with the lazy Bonbons, who never work and are all for show. They wont recognize us, though we all are related through our grandparents Sugar and Molasses. We are busy folk; so they turn up their noses and don't speak when we meet at parties. Poor creatures, silly, and sweet, and unsubstantial !

I pity 'em."

"Could I make you a visit? I'd like to see how you live and what you do. I'm sure it must be interesting," said Lilly, picking herself up after a tumble, having eaten nearly all the cake she was sitting on, she was so hungry.

"Of course you can," said her friend. on! I can talk while I work."

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'Oh, tell me about it!” cried Lilly. "What is the prize, and how are you promoted? Is this a cooking-school?"

"Yes; the prize for best gingerbread is a cake of condensed yeast," said Snap. "That puts a soul into me, and I begin to rise until I am able to float over the hills yonder into the blessed land of bread, and be one of the happy creatures who are always wholesome, always needed, and without which the world below would be in a bad way.”

"Dear me! that is the queerest thing I've heard yet!" said Lilly. "But I don't wonder you want to go; I'm tired of sweets myself, and just long for a good piece of bread, though I always used to want cake and candy at home."

"Ah, my dear, you 'll learn a great deal here; and you are lucky not to have fallen into the clutches of Giant Dyspepsia, who always gets people if they eat too much of such rubbish as cake and candy, and scorn wholesome bread. I leave my ginger behind when I go, and become white and round and beautiful, as you will see. "Come The Gingerbread family have never been as foolish as some of the other cakes. Wedding-cake is the worst; such extravagance in the way of wine and spice and fruit I never saw, and such a mess to eat when it's done! I don't wonder it makes people sick; serves 'em right." And Snap flung down a pan with a bang that made Lilly jump.

And the funny gingerbread man trotted away toward his kitchen, which was full of pans, rollingpins, and molasses jugs.

"Sit down. I shall be at leisure as soon as this batch is baked. There are still some wise people down below who like gingerbread, and I have my hands full," he said, dashing about, stirring, rolling out, and slapping the brown dough into pans, which he whisked into the oven and out again so fast that Lilly knew there must be magic about it somewhere.

Every now and then he threw her a delicious cookie warm from the oven. She liked the queer fellow, and soon began to ask all sorts of questions, as she was very curious about this country.

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'What is your name, sir?" she ventured, first. Ginger-Snap," he answered, briskly.

Lilly thought it a good name; for he was very quick, and she fancied he could be short and sharp if he liked.

"Where does all this cake go?" she asked, after she had watched a great many other kitchens full of workers, who all were of different kinds of cake, and each making its own sort.

"I'll show you by and by," answered Snap, beginning to pile up the heaps of gingerbread on a little car that ran along a track leading to some distant store-room, Lilly thought.

"Sponge-cake is n't bad, is it? Mamma lets me eat it, but I like frosted pound-cake better," she said, looking over to the next kitchen, where piles of that sort of cake were being iced.

"Poor stuff. No substance. Ladies' fingers will do for babies, but Pound has too much butter to be wholesome. Let it alone, and eat cookies or seed-cakes, my dear. Now, come along; I'm ready." And Snap trundled away his car-load at a great pace.

Lilly ran behind to pick up whatever fell, and looked about her as she went, for this was certainly a very queer country. Lakes of eggs all beaten up, and hot springs of saleratus foamed here and there, ready for use. The earth was brown sugar or ground spice; and the only fruits were raisins, dried currants, citron, and lemon peel. It was a very busy place; for every one cooked all the time, and never failed and never seemed tired, though they were always so hot that they only wore sheets of paper for clothes. There were piles of it to put over the cake, so it should n't burn; and they made cooks' white caps and aprons of it, which

looked very fine. A large clock made of a flat pancake, with cloves to mark the hours and two toothpicks for hands, showed them how long to bake things; and in one place an ice wall was built around a lake of butter, which they cut in lumps as they wanted it.

"Here we are. Now, stand aside while I pitch 'em down," said Snap, stopping at last before a hole in the ground where a dumb-waiter, with a name over it, hung ready.

There were many holes all about, and many dumb-waiters, each with a special name; and Lilly was amazed when she read "Weber," " ," "Copeland," "Dooling," and others, which she knew very well.

Over Snap's place was the name "Newmarch," and Lilly said: "Why, that's where Mamma gets her hard gingerbread, and Weber's is where we go for ice-cream. Do you make cake for them?" "Yes, but no one knows it. It's one of the

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secrets of the trade. We cook for all the confectioners, and people think the good things come out of the cellars under their shops. Good joke, is n't it?" And Snap laughed till a crack came in his neck and made him cough.

Lilly was so surprised that she sat down on a warm queen's-cake that happened to be near, and watched Snap send down load after load of gingerbread to be eaten by children, who would have liked it much better if they had only known, as did she, where it all came from.

As she sat on the queen's cake there came up through the nearest hole, which was marked "Copeland," the clatter of many spoons, the smell of many dinners, and the sound of many voices calling:-"One vanilla, two strawberries, and a Charlotte Russe"; "Three stews, cup coffee, dry toast"; "Roast chicken and apple without!"

"Dear me! it seems as if I were there," said Lilly, longing to hop down, but afraid of the bump at the other end.

"That's done. Come along. I'll ride you back," called Snap, shying the last cookie after the dumbwaiter as it went slowly out of sight with its spicy load.

"I wish you'd teach me to cook. It must be great fun, and Mamma wants me to learn; only our cook hates to have me around the kitchen, and she is so cross that I don't like to try, at home," said Lilly as she went trundling back on Snap's car.

"Better wait till you go to Bread-land, and learn to make bread. It's a great art, and worth knowing. Don't waste your time on cake, though plain gingerbread is n't bad to have in the house. I'll teach you that in a jiffy, if the clock does n't strike my hour too soon," answered Snap, helping her down.

"What hour?" inquired Lilly.

"Why, the hour of my freedom. I shall never know when I've done my task until I'm called by the chimes and go to get my soul," answered Snap, turning his currant eyes anxiously toward the clock.

"I hope you will have time," said Lilly as she fell to work with all her might, after Snap had fitted her with a paper apron and a cap like his.

It was not hard; for when she was about to make a mistake, a spark flew out of the fire and burnt her in time to remind her to look at the recipe, which was hung up before her on a sheet of gingerbread in a frame of pie-crust; the directions had been written on it while it was soft and baked in. The third sheet she made came out of the oven spicy, light, and brown; and Snap, giving it one poke with his finger, said, "That 's all right. Now you know. Here 's your reward."

He handed her a recipe-book made of thin sheets of sugar gingerbread held together by a gelatine binding, with her name stamped on the back, and each leaf crimped with a cake-cutter in a very delightful manner.

Lilly was charmed with it, but had no time to read all it contained; for just then the clock began to strike, and a chime of bells to ring:

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ning to the great white sea of flour, he dashed in, head first, holding the yeast-cake clasped to his breast as if his life depended on it.

Lilly watched breathlessly, while a curious working and bubbling went on, as if Snap were tumbling about down there like a small earthquake. The other cake-folk stood with her upon the shore; for it was a great event, and all were glad that the dear fellow had been promoted so soon. Suddenly a cry was heard, and on the farther side of the sea up rose a beautiful white figure. It waved its hand as if bidding all "Good-bye," and ran over the hills so fast they had only time to see how plump and fair it was, with a little knob on the top of its head like a crown.

"He's gone to the happy Land of Bread, and we shall miss him; but we 'll follow his example and soon find him again," said a gentle Sponge-cake, with a sigh, as they all went back to their work; while Lilly hurried after Snap, eager to see the new country, which she was sure must be the best of all. A delicious odor of fresh bread blew up from the valley as she stood on the hill-top and looked down on the peaceful scene below. Fields of yellow grain waved in the breeze; hop-vines grew from tree to tree; and the white sails of many

"UP ROSE A BEAUTIFUL FIGURE."

windmills whirled around as they ground the different grains into fresh, sweet meal, for the loaves of bread with which the houses were built and the streets paved, and which in many shapes formed the people, furniture, and animals. A river of milk flowed through the peaceful land, and fountains of yeast rose and fell with a pleasant foam and fizz. The ground was a mixture of many meals, and the paths were golden Indian, which gave a very gay look to the scene. Buckwheat flowers bloomed on their rosy stems, and tall corn

stalks rustled their leaves in the warm air that came from the ovens hidden in the hill-sides; for bread needs a slow fire, and an obliging volcano did the baking there.

"What a lovely place!" cried Lilly, feeling the charm of the home-like landscape, in spite of the funny, plump people moving about.

Two of these figures came running to meet her as she slowly walked down the yellow path from the hill. One was a golden boy, with a beaming face; the other a little girl in a shiny brown cloak, who looked as if she would taste very nice. They each put a warm hand into Lilly's, and the boy said: "We are glad to see you. Muffin told us you were coming."

"I thank you. But who is Muffin?" asked Lilly, feeling as if she had seen both these little people before, and liked them. The boy answered her question immediately:

"He was Ginger-Snap once, but he 's a Muffin now. We begin in that way, and work by degrees up to the perfect loaf. My name is Johnny-Cake, and here 's Sally Lunn. You know us; so come on and have a race."

Lilly burst out laughing at the idea of playing with these old friends of hers; and away ran all

three as fast as they could tear, down the hill, over a bridge, into the middle of the village, where they stopped, panting, and sat down on some very soft rolls to rest.

"What do you all do here?" asked Lilly, when she got her breath again.

"We farm, we study, we bake, we brew, and are merry as crickets all day long. It 's schooltime now, and we must go; will you come?" said Sally, jumping up as if she liked going to school.

"Our schools are not like yours; we study only two things-grain and yeast. I think you'll like it. We have yeast to-day, and the experiments are very jolly," added Johnny, trotting off to a tall brown tower of rye and Indian bread, where the school was kept.

Lilly never liked to go to school, but she was ashamed to own it; so she went along with Sally, and was so amused with all she saw that she was glad she had come. The brown loaf was hollow, and had no roof; and when she asked why they used a ruin, Sally told her to wait and see why they

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chose strong walls and plenty of room overhead. All around was a circle of very small biscuits like cushions, and on these the Bread-children sat. A square loaf in the middle was the teacher's desk, and on it lay an ear of wheat, with several bottles of yeast well corked up. The teacher was

HOME FROM SCHOOL.

a pleasant, plump lady from Vienna, very wise, and so famous for her good bread that she was a Professor of Grainology.

When all were seated, she began her lesson with the wheat ear, and told all about it in so interesting a way that Lilly felt as if she had never before known anything about the bread she ate. The experiments with the yeast were quite exciting,for Fraulein Pretzel showed them how it would work until it blew the cork out, and went fizzing up to the sky, if it were kept too long; how it would turn sour or flat, and spoil the bread if care were not taken to use it at just the right moment; and how too much would cause the loaf to rise until there was no substance to it.

The children were very bright; for they were fed on the best kinds of oatmeal and Graham bread, with very little white or hot cakes to spoil their young stomachs. Hearty, happy boys and girls they were, and their yeasty souls were very lively in them; for they danced and sang, and seemed as bright and gay as if acidity, heaviness, and mold were quite unknown.

Lilly was very happy with them, and when school was done raced home with Sally, and ate for dinner the best bread and milk that she had ever tasted. In the afternoon Johnny took her to the corn-field, and showed her how they kept the growing ears free from mildew and worms. Then she went to the bake-house, and here she found her old friend Muffin hard at work making Parker House rolls, for he was so good a cook that he was set to work at once on the lighter kinds of bread.

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'Well, is n't this better than Saccharissa or even Cake-land?" he asked, as he rolled and folded his bits of dough with a dab of butter tucked inside.

"Ever so much!" cried Lilly. "I feel better already, and I mean to learn all I can. Mamma will be so pleased if I can make good bread when I go home! She is rather old-fashioned, and wishes me to be a good housekeeper. I never could think bread interesting, then, but I do, now; and Johnny's mother is going to teach me to make Indian cakes to-morrow." "Learn all you

"Glad to hear it!" said Snap. can, and tell other people how to make healthy bodies and happy souls by eating good plain food. Not like this, though these rolls are better than cake. I have to work my way up to the perfect loaf, you know; and then, oh, then, I shall be a happy thing!"

"What happens then? Do you go on to some other wonderful place?" asked Lilly, as Muffin paused, with a smile on his face.

"Yes; I am eaten by some wise, good human being, and become a part of him or her. That is my happy destiny; for I may nourish a poet and help him sing, or feed a good woman who makes the world better for being in it, or be crumbed into the golden porringer of a baby prince

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"Yes, it is. I suppose that all things are made for some such purpose, if we only knew it; and people should be glad to do anything to help the world along, if only by making good bread in a kitchen," answered Lilly in a sober way.

She staid in Bread-land a long time, and enjoyed and learned a great deal that she never forgot. But at last, when she had made the perfect loaf, she wished to go home, that her mother might see it and taste it.

"I've put a great deal of myself into it, and I'd love to think I had given her strength or pleasure by my work," she said, as she and Sally stood looking at the handsome loaf.

him- my dear old friend," answered Lilly, looking around for him.

"He is here," said Sally, touching the loaf. "He was ready to go, and chose to pass into your bread rather than any other; for he said he loved you, and would be glad to help feed so good a little girl."

"How kind of him! I must be careful to grow wise and excellent, or he will be disappointed and will have lived in vain," said Lilly, touched by his devotion.

Then bidding them all farewell, she hugged her loaf close, wished three times to be at her own home, and like a flash she was there.

Whether her friends believed the wonderful tale "You can go whenever you like; just take the of her adventures, I can not tell; but I know that bread in your hands and wish three times, and she was a nice little housekeeper from that day, you'll be wherever you desire to be. I'm sorry and made bread so good that other girls came to you must go, but I don't wonder you want to see learn of her. She also grew from a sickly, fretful your mother. Don't forget what you have learned, child into a fine, strong, healthy woman, because and you will always be glad that you came to us," she ate very little cake and candy, except at Christsaid Sally, kissing her good-bye. mas-time, when the oldest and the wisest of us "Where is Muffin? I can't go without seeing like to make a short visit to Candy-land.

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