But out of school , Ye gods and little fishes ! how Tommy did carouse ! He wound fat Asia up in her own clothes line against the post , and left here there to fume and scold for half an hour one busy Monday morning . He dropped a hot cent down Mary Ann 's back as that pretty maid was waiting at table one day when there were gentlemen to dinner , whereat the poor girl upset the soup and rushed out of the room in dismay , leaving the family to think that she had gone mad . He fixed a pail of water up in a tree , with a bit of ribbon fastened to the handle , and when Daisy , attracted by the gay streamer , tried to pull it down , she got a douche bath that spoiled her clean frock and hurt her little feelings very much . He put rough white pebbles in the sugar-bowl when his grandmother came to tea , and the poor old lady wondered why they did n't melt in her cup , but was too polite to say anything . He passed around snuff in church so that five of the boys sneezed with such violence they had to go out . He dug paths in winter time , and then privately watered them so that people should tumble down . He drove poor Silas nearly wild by hanging his big boots in conspicuous places , for his feet were enormous , and he was very much ashamed of them . He persuaded confiding little Dolly to tie a thread to one of his loose teeth , and leave the string hanging from his mouth when he went to sleep , so that Tommy could pull it out without his feeling the dreaded operation . But the tooth would n't come at the first tweak , and poor Dolly woke up in great anguish of spirit , and lost all faith in Tommy from that day forth . The last prank had been to give the hens bread soaked in rum , which made them tipsy and scandalized all the other fowls , for the respectable old biddies went staggering about , pecking and clucking in the most maudlin manner , while the family were convulsed with laughter at their antics , till Daisy took pity on them and shut them up in the hen-house to sleep off their intoxication . These were the boys and they lived together as happy as twelve lads could , studying and playing , working and squabbling , fighting faults and cultivating virtues in the good old-fashioned way . Boys at other schools probably learned more from books , but less of that better wisdom which makes good men . Latin , Greek , and mathematics were all very well , but in Professor Bhaer 's opinion , self knowledge , self-help , and self-control were more important , and he tried to teach them carefully . People shook their heads sometimes at his ideas , even while they owned that the boys improved wonderfully in manners and morals . But then , as Mrs. Jo said to Nat , `` it was an odd school . '' CHAPTER III . SUNDAY The moment the bell rang next morning Nat flew out of bed , and dressed himself with great satisfaction in the suit of clothes he found on the chair . They were not new , being half-worn garments of one of the well-to-do boys ; but Mrs. Bhaer kept all such cast-off feathers for the picked robins who strayed into her nest .
They were hardly on when XXXXX appeared in a high state of clean collar , and escorted Nat down to breakfast .
Ann Bhaer Tommy douche hour intoxication morning sugar-bowl tweak violence