nearly noon before
Is this what they call waiting on the Lord ? '' `` When you come nex ' time , I hope you 'll bring that doggie , '' said Fly . Then they went away , and the last thing Maria listened to was Fly 's melodious voice ; and the last thing Fly looked at was Mrs. Brooks 's nose moving up and down . It was nearly noon before Mrs. Fixfax had made her room ready for housekeeping . She turned up her bed into a press that stood beside the wall , brought in a high chair , a small rocking chair , two ottomans , some pictures and picture-books , and nearly all the curiosities she could find in the house . A cunning little cooking-stove , highly polished , was set against the chimney , and the drollest shovel and tongs seemed to be making `` dumb love '' to each other across the fireplace , like a black Punch and Judy . Then there was a pair of brazen-faced bellows , hanging , nose downward , on a brass nail ; a large table in one corner , with a cake-board on it , and near it a cupboard made out of an old clothes-press , with dishes in it , and flour , sugar , raisins , spices , rolling-pin , `` aerating egg-beater , '' yellow bowls , wooden spoons , and everything that could be needed in cooking for a very large family .