By four o'clock the cookie jar had already practiced a tiny bow for its lid. The cookies lined up inside, greeted the milk, nodded to the saucer, and only then did one of them come out for tea.
We asked at the kiosk. "I used to lift the lid in a hurry," said a neighbor with a teacup. "Now I wait. The lid bows. The cookies say hello to the milk. Then tea begins, and not a crumb sooner."
The next afternoon the same saucer came back a little warmer at the rim and waited for its nod again. The milk kept quiet until the bow was finished.