John laughed at him , and Jo called him ` Mr. Toodles ' . He was possessed with a mania for patronizing Yankee ingenuity , and seeing his friends fitly furnished forth . So each week beheld some fresh absurdity . Everything was done at last , even to Amy 's arranging different colored soaps to match the different colored rooms , and Beth 's setting the table for the first meal . `` Are you satisfied ? Does it seem like home , and do you feel as if you should be happy here ? '' asked Mrs. March , as she and her daughter went through the new kingdom arm in arm , for just then they seemed to cling together more tenderly than ever . `` Yes , Mother , perfectly satisfied , thanks to you all , and so happy that I ca n't talk about it , '' with a look that was far better than words . `` If she only had a servant or two it would be all right , '' said Amy , coming out of the parlor , where she had been trying to decide whether the bronze Mercury looked best on the whatnot or the mantlepiece . `` Mother and I have talked that over , and I have made up my mind to try her way first . There will be so little to do that with Lotty to run my errands and help me here and there , I shall only have enough work to keep me from getting lazy or homesick , '' answered Meg tranquilly . `` Sallie Moffat has four , '' began Amy . `` If Meg had four , the house would n't hold them , and master and missis would have to camp in the garden , '' broke in Jo , who , enveloped in a big blue pinafore , was giving the last polish to the door handles . `` Sallie is n't a poor man 's wife , and many maids are in keeping with her fine establishment . Meg and John begin humbly , but I have a feeling that there will be quite as much happiness in the little house as in the big one . It 's a great mistake for young girls like Meg to leave themselves nothing to do but dress , give orders , and gossip . When I was first married , I used to long for my new clothes to wear out or get torn , so that I might have the pleasure of mending them , for I got heartily sick of doing fancywork and tending my pocket handkerchief . '' `` Why did n't you go into the kitchen and make messes , as Sallie says she does to amuse herself , though they never turn out well and the servants laugh at her , '' said Meg . `` I did after a while , not to ` mess ' but to learn of Hannah how things should be done , that my servants need not laugh at me . It was play then , but there came a time when I was truly grateful that I not only possessed the will but the power to cook wholesome food for my little girls , and help myself when I could no longer afford to hire help .
You begin at the other end , Meg , dear , but the lessons you learn now will be of use to you by-and-by when XXXXX is a richer man , for the mistress of a house , however splendid , should know how work ought to be done , if she wishes to be well and honestly served . ''
Amy Hannah John Meg Moffat Mother Sallie first pinafore week