the butchers in the market all knew me , they soon got used to me and stopped laughing at me once they saw that i was unaffected by their ridicule , even began to offer me cups of tea when i was ready for a break or slip me a pound of mince or braising steak to take home ; i liked to think that through my work the butchers had learned to see a beauty which they had previously missed , that they , at least , grasped a little of the meaning of modern art .