y persuade
her father to let her study medicine. She will make a capital doctor,
for she has courage, strong nerves, a tender heart, and an intense love
and pity for the weak and suffering."

Mr. Bhaer smiled at first, but agreed to try, and gave Nan an
herb-garden, teaching her the various healing properties of the plants
she tended, and letting her try their virtues on the children in
the little illnesses they had from time to time. She learned fast,
remembered well, and showed a sense and interest most encouraging to
her Professor, who did not shut his door in her face because she was a
little woman.

She was thinking of this, as she sat in the willow that day, and when
Daisy said in her gentle way,

"I love to keep house, and mean to have a nice one for Demi when we grow
up and live together."

Nan replied with decision

"Well, I haven't got any brother, and I don't want any house to fuss
over. I shall have an office, with lots of bottles and drawers and
pestle things in it, and I shall drive round in a horse and chaise and
cure sick people. That will be such fun."

"Ugh! how can you bear the bad-smelling stuff and the nasty little
powders and castor-oil and senna and hive syrup?" cried Daisy, with a
shudder.

"I shan't have to take any, so I don't care. Besides, they make people
well, and I like to cure folks. Didn't my sage-tea make Mother Bhaer's
headache go away, and my hops stop Ned's toothache in five hours? So
now!"

"Shall you put leeches on people, and cut off legs and pull out teeth?"
asked Daisy, quaking at the thought.

"Yes, I shall do every thing; I don't care if the people are all smashed
up, I shall mend them. My grandpa was a doctor, and I saw him sew a
great cut in a man's cheek, and I held the sponge, and wasn't frightened
a bit, and Grandpa said I was a brave girl."

"How could you? I'm sorry for sick people, and I like to nurse them,
but it makes my legs shake so I have to run away. I'm not a brave girl,"
sighed Daisy.

"Well, you can be my nurse, and cuddle my patients when I have given
them the physic and cut off their legs," said Nan, whose practice was
evidently to be of the heroic kind.

"Ship ahoy! Where are you, Nan?" called a voice from below.

"Here we are."

"Ay, ay!" said the voice, and Emil appeared holding one hand in the
other, with his face puckered up as if in pain.

"Oh, what's the matter?" cried Daisy, anxiously.

"A confounded splinter in my thumb. Can't