Both boys, indeed, worked so hard and fast that their mother reminded them of an old saying:
In mid-July when cocoon-spinning time was approaching, the boys arranged branches and twigs upon the shelves, so that the silkworms might have something to which they could attach their silken threads. This was an anxious time, and, moreover, it was the time of wheat harvest, when Ugo, having cut the golden grain, needed the help of the boys to put it into shocks. Margaretta, too, gave a helping hand in the field one warm, sunny morning. The harvesters all sang as they worked; the two girls, busily braiding straw on the veranda, could hear the harvest song.