“Pooh!thatisnotanything。Youbeginnowandrummagethebarn，andI’llwaithereforyou。Grannyiscackling，soyou’resuretofindonesomewhere，“andTommythrewhimselfdownonthehaywithaluxurioussenseofhavingmadeagoodbargain，anddoneafriendlything。
Natjoyfullybeganhissearch，andwentrustlingfromlofttolofttillhefoundtwofineeggs，onehiddenunderabeam，andtheotherinanoldpeckmeasure，whichMrs。Cockletophadappropriated。
“YoumayhaveoneandI’llhavetheother，thatwilljustmakeupmylastdozen，andto-morrowwe’llstartfresh。
Here，youchalkyouraccountsupnearmine，andthenwe’llbeallstraight，“
saidTommy，showingarowofmysteriousfiguresonthesideofanoldwinnowingmachine。
Withadelightfulsenseofimportance，theproudpossessorofoneeggopenedhisaccountwithhisfriend，wholaughinglywroteabovethefigurestheseimposingwords，“T。Bangs&；Co。“
PoorNatfoundthemsofascinatingthathewaswithdifficultypersuadedtogoanddeposithisfirstpieceofportablepropertyinAsia’sstore-room。
Thentheywentonagain，andhavingmadetheacquaintanceofthetwohorses，sixcows，threepigs，andoneAlderney“Bossy，“ascalvesarecalledinNewEngland，TommytookNattoacertainoldwillow-treethatoverhunganoisylittlebrook。Fromthefenceitwasaneasyscrambleintoawidenichebetweenthethreebigbranches，whichhadbeencutofftosendoutfromyeartoyearacrowdofslendertwigs，tillagreencanopyrustledoverhead。Herelittleseatshadbeenfixed，andahollowplaceaclosetmadebigenoughtoholdabookortwo，adismantledboat，andseveralhalf-finishedwhistles。
“ThisisDemi’sandmyprivateplace；wemadeit，andnobodycancomeupunlesswelet’em，exceptDaisy，wedon’tmindher，“saidTommy，asNatlookedwithdelightfromthebabblingbrownwaterbelowtothegreenarchabove，wherebeesweremakingamusicalmurmurastheyfeastedonthelongyellowblossomsthatfilledtheairwithsweetness。
“Oh，it’sjustbeautiful!“criedNat。“Idohopeyou’llletmeupsometimes。
Ineversawsuchaniceplaceinallmylife。I’dliketobeabird，andliveherealways。“
“Itisprettynice。YoucancomeifDemidon’tmind，andIguesshewon’t，becausehesaidlastnightthathelikedyou。“
“Didhe？“andNatsmiledwithpleasure，forDemi’sregardseemedtobevaluedbyalltheboys，partlybecausehewasFatherBhaer’snephew，andpartlybecausehewassuchasober，conscientiouslittlefellow。
“Yes；Demilikesquietchaps，andIguessheandyouwillgetonifyoucareaboutreadingashedoes。“
PoorNat’sflushofpleasuredeepenedtoapainfulscarletatthoselastwords，andhestammeredout，­；
Ican’treadverywell；Ineverhadanytime；Iwasalwaysfiddlinground，youknow。“
“Idon’tloveitmyself，butIcandoitwellenoughwhenIwantto，“
saidTommy，afterasurprisedlook，whichsaidasplainlyaswords，“A
boytwelveyearsoldandcan’tread!“
“Icanreadmusic，anyway，“addedNat，ratherruffledathavingtoconfesshisignorance。
“Ican’t；“andTommyspokeinarespectfultone，whichemboldenedNattosayfirmly，­；
“ImeantostudyrealhardandlearneverythingIcan，forIneverhadachancebefore。DoesMr。Bhaergivehardlessons？“
“No；heisn’tabitcross；hesortofexplainsandgivesyouaboostoverthehardplaces。Somefolksdon’t；myothermasterdidn’t。Ifwemissedaword，didn’twegetrapsonthehead!“andTommyrubbedhisownpateasifittingledyetwiththeliberalsupplyofraps，thememoryofwhichwastheonlythinghebroughtawayafterayearwithhis“othermaster。“
“IthinkIcouldreadthis，“saidNat，whohadbeenexaminingthebooks。
“Readabit，then；I’llhelpyou，“resumedTommy，withapatronizingair。
SoNatdidhisbest，andflounderedthroughapagewithmayfriendly“boosts“fromTommy，whotoldhimhewouldsoon“goit“aswellasanybody。
Thentheysatandtalkedboy-fashionaboutallsortsofthings，amongothers，gardening；forNat，lookingdownfromhisperch，askedwhatwasplantedinthemanylittlepatcheslyingbelowthemontheothersideofthebrook。
“Theseareourfarms，“saidTommy。“Weeachhaveourownpatch，andraisewhatwelikeinit，onlyhavetochoosedifferentthings，andcan’tchangetillthecropisin，andwemustkeepitinorderallsummer。“
“Whatareyougoingtoraisethisyear？“
“Wal，Icattleatedtohevbeans，astheyareabouttheeasiestcropa-goin’。“
Natcouldnothelplaughing，forTommyhadpushedbackhishat，puthishandsinhispockets，anddrawledouthiswordsinunconsciousimitationofSilas，themanwhomanagedtheplaceforMr。Bhaer。
“Come，youneedn’tlaugh；beansareeversomucheasierthancornorpotatoes。Itriedmelonslastyear，butthebugswereabother，andtheoldthingswouldn’tgetripebeforethefrost，soIdidn’thavebutonegoodwaterandtwolittle’mushmellions，’“saidTommy，relapsingintoa“Silasism“withthelastword。
“Cornlooksprettygrowing，“saidNat，politely，toatoneforhislaugh。
“Yes，butyouhavetohoeitoverandoveragain。Now，sixweeks’beansonlyhavetobedoneonceorso，andtheygetripesoon。I’mgoingtotry’em，forIspokefirst。Stuffywanted’em，buthe’sgottotakepeas；theyonlyhavetobepicked，andheoughttodoit，heeatssuchalot。“
“IwonderifIshallhaveagarden？“saidNat，thinkingthatevencorn-hoeingmustbepleasantwork。
“Ofcourseyouwill，“saidavoicefrombelow，andtherewasMr。Bhaerreturnedfromhiswalk，andcometofindthem，forhemanagedtohavealittletalkwitheveryoneoftheladssometimeduringtheday，andfoundthatthesechatsgavethemagoodstartforthecomingweek。
Sympathyisasweetthing，anditworkedwondershere，foreachboyknewthatFatherBhaerwasinterestedinhim，andsomewerereadiertoopentheirheartstohimthantoawoman，especiallytheolderones，wholikedtotalkovertheirhopesandplans，mantoman。WhensickorintroubletheyinstinctivelyturnedtoMrs。Jo，whilethelittleonesmadehertheirmother-confessoronalloccasions。
Indescendingfromtheirnest，Tommyfellintothebrook；beingusedtoit，hecalmlypickedhimselfoutandretiredtothehousetobedried。
ThisleftNattoMr。Bhaer，whichwasjustwhathewished，and，duringthestrolltheytookamongthegardenplots，hewonthelad’sheartbygivinghimalittle“farm，“anddiscussingcropswithhimasgravelyasifthefoodforthefamilydependedontheharvest。Fromthispleasanttopictheywenttoothers，andNathadmanynewandhelpfulthoughtsputintoamindthatreceivedthemasgratefullyasthethirstyearthhadreceivedthewarmspringrain。Allsuppertimehebroodedoverthem，oftenfixinghiseyesonMr。Bhaerwithaninquiringlook，thatseemedtosay，­；“I
likethat，doitagain，sir。“Idon’tknowwhetherthemanunderstoodthechild’smutelanguageornot，butwhentheboyswereallgatheredtogetherinMrs。Bhaer’sparlorfortheSundayeveningtalk，hechoseasubjectwhichmighthavebeensuggestedbythewalkinthegarden。
AshelookedabouthimNatthoughtitseemedmorelikeagreatfamilythanaschool，fortheladsweresittinginawidehalf-circleroundthefire，someonchairs，someontherug，DaisyandDemionthekneesofUncleFritz，andRobsnuglystowedawayinthebackofhismother’seasy-chair，wherehecouldnodunseenifthetalkgotbeyondhisdepth。
Everyonelookedquitecomfortable，andlistenedattentively，forthelongwalkmaderestagreeable，andaseveryboythereknewthathewouldbecalleduponforhisviews，hekepthiswitsawaketobereadywithananswer。
“Onceuponatime，“beganMr。Bhaer，inthedearold-fashionedway，“therewasagreatandwisegardenerwhohadthelargestgardeneverseen。
Awonderfulandlovelyplaceitwas，andhewatchedoveritwiththegreatestskillandcare，andraisedallmannerofexcellentandusefulthings。Butweedswouldgroweveninthisfinegarden；oftenthegroundwasbadandthegoodseedssowninitwouldnotspringup。Hehadmanyundergardenerstohelphim。Somedidtheirdutyandearnedtherichwageshegavethem；
butothersneglectedtheirpartsandletthemruntowaste，whichdispleasedhimverymuch。Buthewasverypatient，andforthousandsandthousandsofyearsheworkedandwaitedforhisgreatharvest。“
“Hemusthavebeenprettyold，“saidDemi，whowaslookingstraightintoUncleFritz’sface，asiftocatcheveryword。
“Hush，Demi，it’safairystory，“whisperedDaisy。
“No，Ithinkit’sanarrygory，“saidDemi。
“Whatisaarrygory？“calledoutTommy，whowasofaninquiringturn。
“Tellhim，Demi，ifyoucan，anddon’tusewordsunlessyouarequitesureyouknowwhattheymean，“saidMr。Bhaer。
“Idoknow，Grandpatoldme!Afableisaarrygory；it’sastorythatmeanssomething。My’Storywithoutanend’isone，becausethechildinitmeansasoul；don’tit，Aunty？“criedDemi，eagertoprovehimselfright。
“That’sit，dear；andUncle’sstoryisanallegory，Iamquitesure；
solistenandseewhatitmeans，“returnedMrs。Jo，whoalwaystookpartinwhateverwasgoingon，andenjoyeditasmuchasanyboyamongthem。
Demicomposedhimself，andMr。BhaerwentoninhisbestEnglish，forhehadimprovedmuchinthelastfiveyears，andsaidtheboysdidit。
“Thisgreatgardenergaveadozenorsooflittleplotstooneofhisservants，andtoldhimtodohisbestandseewhathecouldraise。Nowthisservantwasnotrich，norwise，norverygood，buthewantedtohelpbecausethegardenerhadbeenverykindtohiminmanyways。Sohegladlytookthelittleplotsandfelltowork。Theywereallsortsofshapesandsizes，andsomewereverygoodsoil，someratherstony，andallofthemneededmuchcare，forintherichsoiltheweedsgrewfast，andinthepoorsoilthereweremanystones。“
“Whatwasgrowinginthembesidestheweeds，andstones？“askedNat；
sointerested，heforgothisshynessandspokebeforethemall。
“Flowers，“saidMr。Bhaer，withakindlook。“Eventheroughest，mostneglectedlittlebedhadabitofheart’s-easeorasprigofmignonetteinit。Onehadroses，sweetpeas，anddaisiesinit，“­；herehepinchedtheplumpcheekofthelittlegirlleaningonhisarm。“Anotherhadallsortsofcuriousplantsinit，brightpebbles，avinethatwentclimbinguplikeJack’sbeanstalk，andmanygoodseedsjustbeginningtosprout；
for，yousee，thisbedhadbeentakenfinecareofbyawiseoldman，whohadworkedingardensofthissortallhislife。“
Atthispartofthe“arrygory，“Demiputhisheadononesidelikeaninquisitivebird，andfixedhisbrighteyeonhisuncle’sface，asifhesuspectedsomethingandwasonthewatch。ButMr。Bhaerlookedperfectlyinnocent，andwentonglancingfromoneyoungfacetoanother，withagrave，wistfullook，thatsaidmuchtohiswife，whoknewhowearnestlyhedesiredtodohisdutyintheselittlegardenplots。
“AsItellyou，someofthesebedswereeasytocultivate，­；thatmeanstotakecareofDaisy，­；andotherswereveryhard。Therewasoneparticularlysunshinylittlebedthatmighthavebeenfulloffruitsandvegetablesaswellasflowers，onlyitwouldn’ttakeanypains，andwhenthemansowed，well，we’llsaymelonsinthisbed，theycametonothing，becausethelittlebedneglectedthem。Themanwassorry，andkeptontrying，thougheverytimethecropfailed，allthebedsaid，was，’Iforgot。’“
Hereagenerallaughbrokeout，andeveryonelookedatTommy，whohadprickeduphisearsattheword“melons，“andhungdownhisheadatthesoundofhisfavoriteexcuse。
“Iknewhemeantus!“criedDemi，clappinghishands。“Youaretheman，andwearethelittlegardens；aren’twe，UncleFritz？“
“Youhaveguessedit。NoweachofyoutellmewhatcropIshalltrytosowinyouthisspring，sothatnextautumnImaygetagoodharvestoutofmytwelve，no，thirteen，plots，“saidMr。Bhaer，noddingatNatashecorrectedhimself。
“Youcan’tsowcornandbeansandpeasinus。Unlessyoumeanwearetoeatagreatmanyandgetfat，“saidStuffy，withasuddenbrighteningofhisround，dullfaceasthepleasingideaoccurredtohim。
“Hedon’tmeanthatkindofseeds。Hemeansthingstomakeusgood；
andtheweedsarefaults，“criedDemi，whousuallytooktheleadinthesetalks，becausehewasusedtothissortofthing，andlikeditverymuch。
“Yes，eachofyouthinkwhatyouneedmost，andtellme，andIwillhelpyoutogrowit；onlyyoumustdoyourbest，oryouwillturnoutlikeTommy’smelons，­；allleavesandnofruit。Iwillbeginwiththeoldest，andaskthemotherwhatshewillhaveinherplot，forweareallpartsofthebeautifulgarden，andmayhaverichharvestsforourMasterifweloveHimenough，“saidFatherBhaer。