"This great gardener gave a dozen or so of little plots to one of his
servants, and told him to do his best and see what he could raise.
Now this servant was not rich, nor wise, nor very good, but he
wanted to help because the gardener had been very kind to him in
many ways. So he gladly took the little plots and fell to work. They
were all sorts of shapes and sizes, and some were very good soil,
some rather stony, and all of them needed much care, for in the
rich soil the weeds grew fast, and in the poor soil there were many
stones."

"What was growing in them besides the weeds, and stones?" asked
Nat; so interested, he forgot his shyness and spoke before them all.

"Flowers," said Mr. Bhaer, with a kind look. "Even the roughest,
most neglected little bed had a bit of heart's-ease or a sprig of
mignonette in it. One had roses, sweet peas, and daisies in it," here
he pinched the plump cheek of the little girl leaning on his arm.
"Another had all sorts of curious plants in it, bright pebbles, a vine
that went climbing up like Jack's beanstalk, and many good seeds
just beginning to sprout; for, you see, this bed had been taken fine
care of by a wise old man, who had worked in gardens of this sort
all his life."

At this part of the "arrygory," Demi put his head on one side like
an inquisitive bird, and fixed his bright eye on his uncle's face, as
if he suspected something and was on the watch. But Mr. Bhaer
looked perfectly innocent, and went on glancing from one young
face to another, with a grave, wistful look, that said much to his
wife, who knew how earnestly he desired to do his duty in these
little garden plots.