“Exactly！“saidmother。“They’llhavetofindoutwearerunningourownbusiness；butI’msorryitfelltoLaddietoshowthem。
Youcouldhavedoneitbetter。Itwillcomeoutallright。ThePrincessisnotgoingtoloseamanlikeLaddieonaccountofhowhemakeshismoney。“
“Don’tbetooconfident，“saidfather。“Withpeopleoftheirstripe，howmuchmoneyamancanearn，andatwhatoccupation，constitutethewholeoflife。“
Shewasn’ttooconfident。Yesterdayshehadbeensohappyshealmostflew。To-dayshekeptthingsgoing，andsangalot，butnearlyeverytimeyoulookedatheryoucouldseeherlipsdrawtight，afrowncrossherforehead，andherheadshake。Prettysoonweheardaracketontheroad，sowewentout。TherewasLaddiewiththematchedteamofcarriagehorsesandaplow。Now，indreadfullybusytimes，fatherletNedandJoworkalittle，butnotverymuch。Theywerenotplowhorses；theywereroadsters。Theylikedtoprance，andbowtheirnecksanddancetothecarriage。Itshamedthemtobehitchedtoaplow。Theydroopedtheirheadsandslunkalonglikedogscaughtsuckingeggs。Buttheywereasightonthelandscape。Theywereleanandslenderandyetroundtoo，matcheddapplegrayonflankandside，withlongsnow-whitemanesandtails。Nowondermotherdidn’twantthemtowork。Laddiehadreachedthroughthegardenfenceandhookedabunchofredtulipsandyellowdaffodils。TheredwasatJo’sear，andtheyellowatNed’s，andtheydidlookfine。Sodidhe！Big，strong，clean，aredflowerinhisfloppystrawhatband；andafterhedrovethroughthegate，hebeganashrill，fifelikewhistleyoucouldhaveheardahalfmile：
“Seethemerryfarmerboy，trampthemeadowsthrough，Swinghishoeincarelessjoy，whiledashingoffthedew。