twelve o'clock
At a butcher 's she obtained , for three cents , some bones , and then at one of the stalls bought a few herbs , a head of cabbage , and three turnips ; the whole at a cost of sixpence . With these she returned home , renewed her fire , and , after preparing the bones and vegetables she had procured , put them into an iron pot with some water , and hung this upon the crane . She then sat down again to her work . At twelve o'clock Henry came in from school , and brought up an armful of wood , and some water , and then , by direction of his mother , saw that the fire was kept burning briskly . At one , Mrs. Gaston laid by her work again , and set the table for dinner . Henry went for a loaf of bread while she was doing this , and upon his return found all ready . The meal , palatable to all , was a well-made soup ; the mother and her two children ate of it with keen appetites .