Many of Mrs. Jo 's friends who had nurseries sent her they toys of which their children so soon tired , and in mending these Nat found an employment that just suited him . He was very neat and skillful with those slender fingers of his , and passed many a rainy afternoon with his gum-bottle , paint-box , and knife , repairing furniture , animals , and games , while Daisy was dressmaker to the dilapidated dolls . As fast as the toys were mended , they were put carefully away in a certain drawer which was to furnish forth a Christmas-tree for all the poor children of the neighborhood , that being the way the Plumfield boys celebrated the birthday of Him who loved the poor and blessed the little ones . Demi was never tired of reading and explaining his favorite books , and many a pleasant hour did they spend in the old willow , revelling over `` Robinson Crusoe , '' `` Arabian Nights , '' `` Edgeworth 's Tales , '' and the other dear immortal stories that will delight children for centuries to come . This opened a new world to Nat , and his eagerness to see what came next in the story helped him on till he could read as well as anybody , and felt so rich and proud with his new accomplishment , that there was danger of his being as much of a bookworm as Demi . Another helpful thing happened in a most unexpected and agreeable manner . Several of the boys were `` in business , '' as they called it , for most of them were poor , and knowing that they would have their own way to make by and by , the Bhaers encouraged any efforts at independence . Tommy sold his eggs ; Jack speculated in live stock ; Franz helped in the teaching , and was paid for it ; Ned had a taste for carpentry , and a turning-lathe was set up for him in which he turned all sorts of useful or pretty things , and sold them ; while Demi constructed water-mills , whirligigs , and unknown machines of an intricate and useless nature , and disposed of them to the boys . `` Let him be a mechanic if he likes , '' said Mr. Bhaer . `` Give a boy a trade , and he is independent . Work is wholesome , and whatever talent these lads possess , be it for poetry or ploughing , it shall be cultivated and made useful to them if possible . '' So , when Nat came running to him one day to ask with an excited face : `` Can I go and fiddle for some people who are to have a picnic in our woods ? They will pay me , and I 'd like to earn some money as the other boys do , and fiddling is the only way I know how to do it . '' Mr. Bhaer answered readily : `` Go , and welcome . It is an easy and a pleasant way to work , and I am glad it is offered you . '' Nat went , and did so well that when he came home he had two dollars in his pocket , which he displayed with intense satisfaction , as he told how much he had enjoyed the afternoon , how kind the young people were , and how they had praised his dance music , and promised to have him again . `` It is so much nicer than fiddling in the street , for then I got none of the money , and now I have it all , and a good time besides . I 'm in business now as well as Tommy and Jack , and I like it ever so much , '' said Nat , proudly patting the old pocketbook , and feeling like a millionaire already . He was in business truly , for picnics were plenty as summer opened , and Nat 's skill was in great demand . He was always at liberty to go if lessons were not neglected , and if the picnickers were respectable young people .
For Mr. XXXXX explained to him that a good plain education is necessary for everyone , and that no amount of money should hire him to go where he might be tempted to do wrong .
Bhaer Crusoe Edgeworth Franz Nights Plumfield Tommy centuries independent nurseries