It proved of excellent advantage to me now, that when I was a boy, I used to take great delight in standing at a basket-maker’s, in the town where my father lived, to see them make their wicker-ware; and being, as boys usually are, very officious to help, and a great observer of the manner in which they worked those things, and sometimes lending a hand, I had by these means full knowledge of the methods of it, and I wanted nothing but the materials, when it came into my mind that the twigs of that tree from whence I cut my stakes that grew might possibly be as tough as the sallows, willows, and osiers in England, and I resolved to try.
Algunas veces les echaba una mano y así aprendí perfectamente el método de esta labor, para la cual tan solo necesitaba materiales. Pensé entonces que los vástagos de aquel árbol del que había cortado las estacas que retoñaron podrían ser tan resistentes como el cetrino, el mimbre o el sauce de Inglaterra y decidí probarlo.