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Show Uftftrrm XA _ 89 - The end of the year had come and gone, but not without a great deal of noisey merrymaking. Again, there were preparations for heralding the New Year. Athena was busy in the.kitchen with Maddie and the girls working be served, on the traditional pastries that would On the evening of the last day of the year, friends and family congregated in the living room. Songs and music and folk dancing, but best of all the delicious little round pastries that tasted like doughnuts but were shaped like little balls and always served on this special day. Penny and Vicky loved to watch their mother dip a large spoonful of the creamy batter into a big pot of oil simmering on the old kitchen stove. In a moment they turned into golden balls. Athena quickly scooped them up into a large strainer and then placed them on-one of the best China plates. The girls poured honey and ground walnuts, with a dash of cinnamon over them, and the pungent smells spread throughout the kitchen and creeped into every nook and cranny of the big old house. They could eat them for hours, until they became ill, if their mother didn't stop them. When the clock struck twelve, the New Year was greeted with boisterous festivity. The next morning Maddie and Athena filled pretty plates with all the different pasteries and placed a sparkling white napkin over them. While their father waited in the car they dashed up the front stairs of the homes of neighbors and presented them with the delectableconfections. It was fun to hear the exclamations of delight and appreciation. With the holidays over, everyone at Gaven House settled down to their everyday routines. In another three months a year will have passed since the family had moved into the house, but to the girls it seemed as though they had always lived there. Never a day went by that they did not, in some way, feel the happiness and contentment derived from the graceful old mansion. It was now completely their own, to all except Penny. She |