If he had known how it weighed upon his hearer 's heart , he would have held his peace ; but she hid her sorrow till she had sent him to bed , comforted and calm ; then she cried her heart out , to the great dismay of Fritz and Laurie , till they heard the tale and could mourn with her ; after which they all cheered up and took counsel together how best to help this worst of all the ` catastrophes ' the year had brought them . Chapter 21 . ASLAUGA 'S KNIGHT It was curious to see the change which came over Dan after that talk . A weight seemed off his mind ; and though the old impetuous spirit flashed out at times , he seemed intent on trying to show his gratitude and love and honour to these true friends by a new humility and confidence very sweet to them , very helpful to him . After hearing the story from Mrs Jo , the Professor and Mr Laurie made no allusion to it beyond the hearty hand-grasp , the look of compassion , the brief word of good cheer in which men convey sympathy , and a redoubled kindness which left no doubt of pardon . Mr Laurie began at once to interest influential persons in Dan 's mission , and set in motion the machinery which needs so much oiling before anything can be done where Government is concerned . Mr Bhaer , with the skill of a true teacher , gave Dan 's hungry mind something to do , and helped him understand himself by carrying on the good chaplain 's task so paternally that the poor fellow often said he felt as if he had found a father . The boys took him to drive , and amused him with their pranks and plans ; while the women , old and young , nursed and petted him till he felt like a sultan with a crowd of devoted slaves , obedient to his lightest wish . A very little of this was enough for Dan , who had a masculine horror of ` molly-coddling ' , and so brief an acquaintance with illness that he rebelled against the doctor 's orders to keep quiet ; and it took all Mrs Jo 's authority and the girls ' ingenuity to keep him from leaving his sofa long before strained back and wounded head were well . Daisy cooked for him ; Nan attended to his medicines ; Josie read aloud to while away the long hours of inaction that hung so heavily on his hands ; while Bess brought all her pictures and casts to amuse him , and , at his special desire , set up a modelling-stand in his parlour and began to mould the buffalo head he gave her . Those afternoons seemed the pleasantest part of his day ; and Mrs Jo , busy in her study close by , could see the friendly trio and enjoy the pretty pictures they made . The girls were much flattered by the success of their efforts , and exerted themselves to be very entertaining , consulting Dan 's moods with the feminine tact most women creatures learn before they are out of pinafores . When he was gay , the room rang with laughter ; when gloomy , they read or worked in respectful silence till their sweet patience cheered him up again ; and when in pain they hovered over him like ' a couple of angels ' , as he said . He often called Josie ` little mother ' , but Bess was always ` Princess ' ; and his manner to the two cousins was quite different . Josie sometimes fretted him with her fussy ways , the long plays she liked to read , and the maternal scoldings she administered when he broke the rules ; for having a lord of creation in her power was so delightful to her that she would have ruled him with a rod of iron if he had submitted . To Bess , in her gentler ministrations , he never showed either impatience or weariness , but obeyed her least word , exerted himself to seem well in her presence , and took such interest in her work that he lay looking at her with unwearied eyes ; while Josie read to him in her best style unheeded . Mrs Jo observed this , and called them ` Una and the Lion ' , which suited them very well , though the lion 's mane was shorn , and Una never tried to bridle him . The elder ladies did their part in providing delicacies and supplying all his wants ; but Mrs Meg was busy at home , Mrs Amy preparing for the trip to Europe in the spring , and Mrs Jo hovering on the brink of a ` vortex ' -- for the forthcoming book had been sadly delayed by the late domestic events . As she sat at her desk , settling papers or meditatively nibbling her pen while waiting for the divine afflatus to descend upon her , she often forgot her fictitious heroes and heroines in studying the live models before her , and thus by chance looks , words , and gestures discovered a little romance unsuspected by anyone else . The portiere between the rooms was usually drawn aside , giving a view of the group in the large bay-window -- Bess at one side , in her grey blouse , busy with her tools ; Josie at the other side with her book ; and between , on the long couch , propped with many cushions , lay Dan in a many-hued eastern dressing-gown presented by Mr Laurie and worn to please the girls , though the invalid much preferred an old jacket ` with no confounded tail to bother over ' .
He faced Mrs XXXXX 's room , but never seemed to see her , for his eyes were on the slender figure before him , with the pale winter sunshine touching her golden head , and the delicate hands that shaped the clay so deftly .
ASLAUGA Daisy Jo Josie Nan Professor afflatus left mane scoldings