"I was about ten years old then. But from always it was heavy on my heart the worries for the house as if I was mother. I knew that the landlord came that morning hollering for the rent," Chapter 1, p. 1.

"But the more people get, the more they want. We no sooner got used to regular towels than we began to want toothbrushes, each for himself like Mashsh. We got the toothbrushes and we began wanting toothpowder to brush our teeth with, instead of ashes. And more and more we wanted more things, and really needed more things the more we got them," Chapter II, p. 29.

"Ach! I was thinking to myself, if only we didn't have to pull out the torn bedding from its hiding place to sleep—the rags to dress ourselves—if only we didn't have to dirty up the new whiteness of...