It's situational irony.
Both the husband and wife sell the thing most valuable to them, but the gifts they get for each other are useless with the valuable things gone.
I loved this story, I hope this helps. :)
B. To desire/want our neighbors goods
It kinda looks like abandoning patriotism
The emphasized quality is that Ben was a perseverant, hard-working young boy and besides that he liked to read in paragraph one says: From a child I was fond of Reading. "All the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books". In paragraph two the author says that Ben didn't like his job with his father's soap and candle shop but it helped him learn the importance of hard work. In paragraph four it says that Mr. Franklin sent Ben to work with his older brother James who owned a print shop. Although James was often harsh with his little brother, Ben enjoyed the printing business.
