When Huck lived with his Pap, Pap always taught him that it was ok to borrow, and by borrow he meant steal, from people as long as you have intentions to pay them back. The widow explained to Huck that this was just a nice way of his Pap telling him to steal. Huck knows stealing is wrong, but he knows what it is to be without and to be in need, and he knows how he was raised.