Ranger Fawn led Sophie’s class down another brick path. They came to another little white house and walked in. It reminded Sophie of something….

But what?

Then it hit her. The Seven Dwarfs’ cottage!

Inside was a big table. On it were jugs and wooden bowls. Along one wall was a big fireplace. An orange fire glowed inside.

“Look!” Sophie told Kate. She pointed to a stick broom. “It’s just like the one that Snow White used.”

“This is George Washington’s kitchen,” Ranger Fawn told the class. “As you can see, it is in a separate building. Do you know why the kitchen was so far from the main house?”

Sophie bit her lip. Usually, she would have said something like “Because they forgot the kitchen when they built the house?” or “So when George Washington’s dad made egg salad, it didn’t stink up the house?”

But Sophie had to be honest. So when Ranger Fawn pointed at her, she shook her head. “No, I don’t know at all!” she said.

The ranger smiled and pointed to Kate next.

“So when George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage, it didn’t stink up the house?” Kate said.

Ranger Fawn laughed. “I don’t think George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage. But yes. To keep smells out of the house. That was one reason,” she said.

Sophie could not believe it. “I almost said that!” she almost said.

“But there is another reason, too. Can anyone guess?” Ranger Fawn went on.

Sophie raised her hand. Yes. Sure! She could guess.

But Ranger Fawn did not point at her again. She pointed at Mindy instead.

“I know! I know!” Mindy said. “It was so the fire didn’t make the house too hot in the summer. Or burn it down.”

“Right-o,” Ranger Fawn said.

Mindy took a little bow. “I learned that the last time I was here,” she said.

Sophie rolled her eyes. She wondered if Mindy was trying to make her sick.

“What else do you see that’s different from the kitchen in your house?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Twenty hands shot up at once. And twenty answers came out in a hurry.

There was no dishwasher. Or fridge. Or stove. Or sink.

There was no microwave for making popcorn. There was no blender for making milk shakes.

All the water came in buckets, from a well outside.

All the cooking was done in the fireplace, in big black pots and pans.

It seemed like a lot of trouble to Sophie.

“Did George Washington’s family eat out a lot?” she asked.

Ranger Fawn grinned and shook her head. “Nope,” she said. “They made all of their meals right here — including George Washington’s favorite breakfast: hoecakes with butter and honey. Hey! Who would like to make George Washington’s favorite breakfast right now, right here?”

“Me!” the whole class cheered. And that included Sophie, even though she did not know what a hoecake was. She did know that she liked butter and honey!

“Great!” Ranger Fawn said. “Let’s split into two groups. One group will make the hoecakes, and the other group will make the butter.”

She moved over to a tall wooden bucket. It had a lid with a hole in the middle and a long pole sticking out of the top.

“Who has used a butter churn before?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Mindy’s hand shot up. Of course. So did Lily’s. They waved their hands like they were experts. But Sophie was not so sure about that.

Still, it was hard for Sophie to be honest right then. What if the ranger only picked the experts to churn the butter? Sophie really wanted to try it! It was not easy to keep her hand down.

“Okeydokey,” Ranger Fawn said. She pointed to Mindy and Lily. “Since you two have done this before, you can make hoecakes. I want to let kids who have not churned butter have a chance.”

Mindy’s face got pinchy mad. Lily’s face did, too. But Sophie was too busy pumping her fist to look at them.

Being honest was awesome!

Ranger Fawn picked Sophie for butter churning. Then — yay! — she picked Kate, too.

Then she picked a bunch of their other friends.

Then she picked Toby and Archie.

Too bad.

Their group gathered around the butter churn. Ranger Fawn poured a big jug of cream into it.

She showed them how to move the stick up and down. That was easy.

Then she told them to have fun and take turns. That was hard.

Grace’s mom was in charge of their group. She tried to make it work, but she had never been in charge of Toby and Archie before.

Toby and Archie were very bad at taking turns.

“Me first!” Archie yelled.

“No, me first!” Toby hollered.

They both grabbed the butter churn handle — and they did not let go.

“Boys, boys, boys,” Grace’s mom said gently.

“Everyone will have a turn. Let your friend go first,” she told Toby. “Then you can go.”

Sophie shared a look with Kate. Grace’s mom did not know Archie and Toby at all!

Toby looked at her and shrugged. He let Archie grab the handle. Then Archie started churning the butter as fast as he could.

“Okay, next,” Grace’s mom told him.

But Archie did not stop. So Toby grabbed his arms to pull him away. The butter churn rocked….

“Boys!” Grace’s mom yelled. She did not sound gentle anymore. “That’s it! You’re done!”

A few other kids went. Then at last it was Sophie’s turn. She couldn’t wait! She gripped the handle tightly. And she churned and churned and churned….

Then she stopped.

Boy, were her arms tired! Churning butter was much harder than it looked.

“What’s the matter, Sophie? Tired already?” Toby jeered.

Sophie glared at him. She wanted to say no, but she could not lie. She was Sophie the Honest, after all.

“Yes,” she muttered. Then she started to stick out her tongue.

But before she could, Ranger Fawn was there.

“The hoecakes are done,” she said. “How’s the butter coming?”

Sophie wiped her forehead. “I think it’s ready,” she said.

She stood back and let Ranger Fawn lift the lid. The ranger dipped a scoop into the churn, and Sophie grinned. She could not wait to see the homemade butter!

But what came out did not look like butter. It looked like melted ice cream.

“Aw …” Sophie sighed.

So did Kate, and Grace, and some others.

Then Mindy looked over.

“She should have let the experts do it,” Mindy said, rolling her eyes.

Not everybody heard Mindy. But Sophie sure did. She put her hands on her hips. “Mind your own beeswax, Mindy!” she said.

Then she spun around fast. She’d churn that butter and show Mindy! The only thing was … she forgot that the butter churn was right there behind her.

If only the lid had been on it. Then maybe all the white stuff would not have spilled out when Sophie knocked it over. But it did spill out. Everywhere. Even on Ranger Fawn’s black boots and Grace’s mom’s silvery shoes.

Oops.

Sophie had a rule. She did not cry at school. But Sophie was not at school. She was in George Washington’s kitchen.

She could feel her throat get tight. Her eyes got hot and leaky.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Ranger Fawn’s.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Accidents happen,” Ranger Fawn told her.

That’s the truth! Sophie thought.

She sniffed and felt a little better.

While Grace’s mom shook out her shoes, Ranger Fawn got a mop and a bucket. She dried the floor and her boots. Then she poured more cream into a jar.

Everyone took a turn shaking it. By the time they were done, the cream had changed. A lot.

“Is that butter?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, sirree!” said Ranger Fawn.

She set the hoecakes on the table. The other group had made them with cornmeal, water, and salt. They looked a little bit like pancakes. But they did not taste like them at all.

Thank goodness for butter and honey! Sophie thought.

“So, what do you think of the hoecakes?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Sophie spoke up. “To be honest, they taste like they came from the workshop.”

“Oh, Sophie …” Ms. Moffly shook her head.

But Ranger Fawn grinned and nodded. “The truth is, I don’t like them much, either. How about we go out to the barn now?” she said. “We can see some animals. Then you guys can have lunch.”

“Yay!” the class cheered.

As they walked outside, Kate took Sophie’s arm.

“The barn—that reminds me! I have to tell you something big, Sophie!” Kate whispered.

Something big?

Sophie looked at her. “What?” she asked at once.

Kate started to speak. Then she looked around and closed her mouth.

“I better tell you in private — so no one else hears. After school,” she said.