Cream the butter and sugar together; stir in the molasses and water. Sift together the flour, soda. Drop by heaping teaspoonsfuls onto well buttered cookie sheets. Bake 11-12 minutes. Loosen immediately from the pan, using a spatula, but wait until the cookies have slightly cooled before transferring them to a cookie rack. Store when cold, in a tightly covered container. NOTE: to make Nantucket Ginger Cookies, add 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Pat Dwigans ----