frequent meetings with Mr. Toil's brothers. (3)
Daffydowndilly's slowness in discovering
another brother in the person of his companion.
(4) Their travelling all day in a circle.

If the story is literally untrue or improbable,
what object might Hawthorne have had in view in
writing it? Perhaps he wished to teach some
lesson; perhaps there is a meaning hidden
beneath the story.

Let us discover what that hidden meaning is?
What does the name "Toil" suggest to you? Work.

What, then, may Mr. Toil represent? Work.

And what may his brothers represent? Different
kinds of work.

With this idea in mind, we shall now try to
understand what each adventure really means.
How are we prepared for Daffydowndilly's
troubles with the schoolmaster and for his
later unpleasant experience? The author tells
us that he "took no delight in labour of any
kind".

What flower did he resemble? The daffodil. The
boy's name is another form of the name of the
flower.

In what respect is he said to resemble a
flower? He "loved to do only what was beautiful
and agreeable, and took no delight in labour of
any kind".

Why is Mr. Toil first represented as a
schoolmaster? Because it is at school that a
boy is first introduced to real work. (This
might be given a still more extended meaning.
The school represents the preparation for our
future vocation, whether it be in the
school-room, or in an apprenticeship, or
elsewhere. This involves hard work, and hence
is, to some extent, at least, unpleasant.)

What is meant by saying that Mr. Toil "had done
more good ... than anybody else in the world"?
Work does everybody good: (1) It keeps us out
of mischief. Criminals often become so because
of the lack of profitable employment. (2) It
improves character. The people of the best and
strongest character are those who have had to
work hard. (3) It makes the world happier. The
most miserable people are those who have
nothing to do.

"A very worthy character." Is "character" used
in its usual sense here? It usually means what
a person really _is_.