  School had begun, and Margaret was so busy for the first few weeks with her lessons, her play, and her friends, that she had not seen much of her little One-Eyed Fairy friends. “It’s much better for her to be outdoors a lot this nice weather than sitting indoors sewing. Plenty of time for that later on,” said the King one day. “Of course it’s very fine to know how to sew, but ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,’” he quoted to his shining subjects in the work-basket. They all agreed with him. “She’ll be needing one of us some day soon, you’ll see,” said the Crewel One knowingly to the others. Coming up the stairs singing to herself “My new dress is finished and ready to wear to school when the weather gets cooler. Mother says it should have a bright trimming on it. She thought that perhaps you could think of something pretty, Sir Bodkin,” said “A-hem! Let me think!” replied Sir Bodkin wisely as he stood on her hand. He was always so proud when she asked his advice. He shone all over with pleasure. “Let me see now; your dress is blue serge, isn’t it? How would you fancy a scarlet trimming of some kind of stitchery? Crewel can step off a pretty chain of silk stitches for you,” the King said. “Oh! that would be lovely, I think!” cried Margaret delightedly. Chain-stitch “Very well, if you have some scarlet floss, we can begin at once,” Sir Bodkin answered, hopping down into the work-basket to call the Crewel One. That fancy fellow was listening to the conversation and was ready to come out. Margaret laid the new dress on a chair and ran off to tell her mother what was needed to trim it. Presently she returned with some glistening red silk floss ready to work. When the Crewel One was harnessed with a proper length of it in his eye he took three running steps and a back step on the wrong side to hold it fast. Then he stepped through the cloth to the right side of the dress, one inch from the edge of the neck. He was ready to work and began to sing: Hold it with your thumb. Back I jump, step in again, Out through the loop I come. Pulling after me the floss, To make a loop again, Looping, stepping, right along We make a pretty chain.” Around the neck one inch from the edge frolicked the Crewel One with the floss in his eye and the pink fingers of Margaret’s right hand holding him. In her left hand she held the dress. Looping and stepping along their way a pretty trimming was soon formed. When the chain was finished, the floss was fastened securely on the wrong side of the dress. “That looks good. Now do the armholes the same way. Be sure you link the two ends of the chain together on the underneath side of each armhole before you fasten the floss,” said the King. “Yes, Sire,” answered the Crewel One respectfully. He and Margaret worked busily for a while. “Now they are both done and my dress is trimmed. I must say it looks wonderful!” said Margaret at last. Crewel skipped away to the table-top and began to jump rope with the strand of floss that was left over. “I didn’t know you liked to jump rope as we girls do,” said Margaret to him, laughing. “I must keep myself in trim, you know,” he said very seriously. Margaret giggled at this and took up her dress to go out of the room. “I thank you both very much,” she said hurrying away to show her mother how pretty the new dress looked finished. “Sir Bodkin and the Crewel One are very fine friends for my little daughter to have. How charming your dress looks now it is trimmed with that scarlet chain-stitching!” said her mother. “We had a ‘Crewel Frolic,’” laughed Margaret catching the punning habit from her One-Eyed friends. “And I certainly think they say comical things, don’t you?” “Yes,” answered her mother, “they are very wonderful, indeed.” |
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