noon
Listen , Dot ! '' Almost the first thing that would have caught the attention of the visitor to the old Corner House at almost any time , was the number of pets that hovered about that kitchen porch . Ruth , with a sigh , sometimes admitted that she was afraid she supported a menagerie . Just at this hour -- it was approaching noon -- Mrs. MacCall , or the girl who helped her in the kitchen , might be expected to appear at the door with a plate of scraps or vegetable peelings or a little spare milk or other delicacy to tempt the appetites of the dumb creatures that subsisted upon the kindness of the Corner House family . The birds , of course , got their share . In the winter the old Corner House was the rendezvous of a chattering throng of snow-buntings and sparrows and starlings , for the children tied suet and meat-bones to the branches of the fruit trees , as well as scattered crumbs upon the snow-crust . In summer the feathered beggars took toll as they pleased of the cherries and small fruits in the garden .