"Turn in, then; but wait a minute."
He stepped aside into the house, returning presently with two baskets.
"Here," he said, presenting them both. "These are pretty nearly of a size. Go ahead, now, and let's see what you can do."
Needless to say, Crow proved a great success as fig-picker. The very sugary figs that old Mr. Cary had panted for and reached for in vain lay bursting with sweetness on top of both baskets.
The old gentleman and his wife were delighted, and the boy was quickly engaged to come every morning.
And this was how Crow went into the fig business.
Crow was a likable boy—"so bright and handy and nimble"—and the old people soon became fond of him.
They noticed that he always handed in the larger of the two baskets, keeping the smaller for himself. This seemed not only honest, but generous.
And generosity is a winning virtue in the very needy—as winning as it is common. The very poor are often great of heart.
But this is not a safe fact upon which to found axioms.