Chapter IXMagic and Mystery

Illustrated Chapter HeadingChapter IXMagic and Mystery“CanItalk?”“I’M Cross Patch, Cross Patch!Nobody dares to lift the latch!I’m Cross Patch, Cross Patch!Click—ety—clatch!Cross Patch!”Mary Frances heard this outside the sewing room door.“My,” she thought, “that sounds like the scissors—I really believe it is!” She peeped in, and this is what she saw:Scissors Shears was strutting on tip-toe up and down the sewing table, closing up each time to take a step.“Why,” said Mary Frances, slipping in, “can you talk, too?”“Can you talk?”“I canevencutmyself!”“Can I talk?” exclaimed Scissors Shears in a growling voice. “Can I talk? Yes, and walk, too! As if I weren’t years older than that Sewing Bird— Rip ’er up the back! Rip ’er up the back! That conceited thing thinks she knows everything,—why I could tell you all about how to cut out anything. Why, I know all about cutting things out! I can even cut myself!”Click—click, came his legs together.“Well, well,” laughed Mary Frances. “If that is so, perhaps Sewing Bird will let you explain some things to me.”“It cuts me to the quick to be cut like this,” he started again,—then Sewing Bird began to sing,“If anything you’d like to do,To prove yourself so very true—Immediately to work—don’t brag!Cut outPattern 1.—Doll’s Laundry BagCut bag twelve inches long, and five inches wide.“What goods, what goods?” asked Scissors Shears, excitedly.“Cut it out of that pretty calico on the table,” said Sewing Bird.That pretty calico on the table“Hurrah!” shouted Scissors Shears, and dived into the calico.“Whenyou wantmeotherwise”“There!” he exclaimed proudly. “Isn’t that perfect?”“That’s very even,” said Mary Frances gravely, trying to act as though she were an excellent judge.“What next?” she asked Sewing Bird.“When you want me otherwiseThan as a little bird,Put your hand over your eyes,And say this secret word:Magic and Mystery,Give my wish to me.”Mary Frances did so; and there was Fairy Lady once again in the doll’s rocking chair, who smiled and said,Dived into the calico“Whenever you particularly want ‛this me’ to come, all you have to do is to put your hands over your eyes, and say to yourself quickly,Magic and Mystery,Give my wish to me,and I’ll come at once.”Magic and Mystery!” exclaimed Mary Frances“I’ll comeatonce”“Oh, how lovely!” said Mary Frances.“And if you wantmeto turn into anything, you say as fast as you can,Nimble, nimble,Turn my thimble,”said Thimble, looking up at Mary Frances with a comical smile.“And if you wantmeto turn into some one else, snap your fingers three times and say, faster yet,Scissors-and-Shears,Scissors-and-Shears,Now change your ears,Now change your ears.”“I’ll do it now,” laughed Mary Frances, and when she said,“Nimble, nimble, Turn my thimble”“Nimble, nimble,Turn my thimble,”there sprang up the cutest little soldier, with needles in his hands for swords.“At yourservice!”“Salute!” he shouted in a very thin silvery voice, making a military bow to Fairy Lady.“At your service!” he said, turning to Mary Frances, who was looking on with amazement.“Are you really my own thimble?” she asked, looking at the second finger of her right hand.“It’s me—I, I mean—I’m he—it, I mean—well, anyhow, I’m Thimble, your Seamstress-ship,” he answered, making another bow.“Well, well,” said Mary Frances delightedly, “if you are, you can obey my orders.“Stand there!” pointing to the left side of Fairy Lady. Then,“Scissors-and-Shears,Now change your ears,”she repeated.“Scissors and Shears,Now change your ears”Therewere twolong earsClick! came the feet of the shears, and before Mary Frances saw how it happened, there were two long ears on the handles, looking comically like a rabbit’s.“What long ears you have!” laughed the little girl.“The better to hear your directions, your Seamstress-ship,” replied Scissors in a rather sharp voice, clicking his way to the other side of the rocking chair.Then Fairy Lady said:“Dear little Lady Seamstress, we are all from Thimble Land—we are the Thimble People; there are many more of us, oh, many more. It is our joy to be able to help you learn to sew. Thimble and Scissors Shears and the other Thimble People will come help us when anything becomes very puzzling or difficult; but all through these lessons you may call uponmeat any time; and I shall do my best to give you happy sewing lessons.”“Oh, thank you, dear Fairy Lady,” exclaimed Mary Frances. “I am living in Fairyland, and it is real!”“The way to find Fairyland real.”“The way to find Fairyland real,” smiled Fairy Lady, “is to do your very best from day to day, andto do it happily. The fairies always help the people who try to do this.”“Whattwoddle-doddle!”“Oh, pshaw!” exclaimed Scissors Shears in a cutting tone, “what twoddle-doddle! Even if I don’t make fine speeches, I know all about cutting.”“Cut it out!” exclaimed Thimble, raising his sword-needle.“Slang,” began Scissors Shears, crossly flapping his ears back; but Fairy Lady leaned forward in her chair, and, reaching out with her bodkin wand, touched him on the ear, and down he fell flat at her feet.Pushing him aside, she said, “I can control him when I have my wand. If he’s ever rude, and you want me, say the magic verse I taught you.”“Oh, thank you,” said Mary Frances, smiling to herself.“I guess if I pulled his ears real hard, he’d be good anyhow,” she thought, “but I’ll not let Sewing Bird know. All rabbits are controlled by their ears, and I’m sure he looks more like a rabbit than any other animal I can think of.”“Well,” smiled Fairy Lady, “we have the dolly’s laundry bag all cut out: now, to learn,“Cut it out!”17.—Hemming on Muslin1. First learn to turn a hem on paper.2. Cut the paper seven inches long and three and one-half inches wide.3. Draw a line one-quarter of an inch from lower edge of paper and turn up and crease along this line.4. One inch above that, draw a line. Turn up and crease along that line.5. Follow same directions on muslin. Baste and hem.“Iunderstandnow!”“Good!” she nodded, as Mary Frances held up the folded paper. “You remember the hemming stitch on canvas. This is the same kind of stitch; only, as you have already observed, no doubt, it is a very zig-zag stitch, and is taken from the single through the folded part of the goods.“Wait a minute, I’ll mark it to show you,” and taking the pencil, she marked the paper as shown on this page.“Now try it on muslin.”“Oh,” exclaimed Mary Frances. “I understand now!”First learn to turn a hem on paper“Only one thing more,” said Fairy Lady, “the way to hide the starting of the thread. You put the needle in between the fold and the cloth, and tuck it down. Then put it in, or ‘insert’ it, at 1, and push it out at 2, and pull it through. Can you do it on the ends of the laundry bag?”“Yes, I think I can,” said Mary Frances.“One minute,” said Fairy Lady, as Mary Frances started.“First, you must turn in the edges. Here is a piece of paper the size of the laundry bag.“On the longer edge, turn up and crease a quarter of an inch fold as you did in preparing the paper hem. Now, turn the hem on each end as I have already shown you.“That’s it!—and that’s all for to-day’s lesson. It was a tech-ni-cal lesson,” she said.Now, turn the hem on each end as I have already shown you.”

Illustrated Chapter Heading

“CanItalk?”

“I’M Cross Patch, Cross Patch!Nobody dares to lift the latch!I’m Cross Patch, Cross Patch!Click—ety—clatch!Cross Patch!”

“I’M Cross Patch, Cross Patch!

Nobody dares to lift the latch!

I’m Cross Patch, Cross Patch!

Click—ety—clatch!

Cross Patch!”

Mary Frances heard this outside the sewing room door.

“My,” she thought, “that sounds like the scissors—I really believe it is!” She peeped in, and this is what she saw:

Scissors Shears was strutting on tip-toe up and down the sewing table, closing up each time to take a step.

“Why,” said Mary Frances, slipping in, “can you talk, too?”

“Can you talk?”

“I canevencutmyself!”

“Can I talk?” exclaimed Scissors Shears in a growling voice. “Can I talk? Yes, and walk, too! As if I weren’t years older than that Sewing Bird— Rip ’er up the back! Rip ’er up the back! That conceited thing thinks she knows everything,—why I could tell you all about how to cut out anything. Why, I know all about cutting things out! I can even cut myself!”

Click—click, came his legs together.

“Well, well,” laughed Mary Frances. “If that is so, perhaps Sewing Bird will let you explain some things to me.”

“It cuts me to the quick to be cut like this,” he started again,—then Sewing Bird began to sing,

“If anything you’d like to do,To prove yourself so very true—Immediately to work—don’t brag!Cut out

“If anything you’d like to do,

To prove yourself so very true—

Immediately to work—don’t brag!

Cut out

Pattern 1.—Doll’s Laundry Bag

Cut bag twelve inches long, and five inches wide.

“What goods, what goods?” asked Scissors Shears, excitedly.

“Cut it out of that pretty calico on the table,” said Sewing Bird.

That pretty calico on the table

“Hurrah!” shouted Scissors Shears, and dived into the calico.

“Whenyou wantmeotherwise”

“There!” he exclaimed proudly. “Isn’t that perfect?”

“That’s very even,” said Mary Frances gravely, trying to act as though she were an excellent judge.

“What next?” she asked Sewing Bird.

“When you want me otherwiseThan as a little bird,Put your hand over your eyes,And say this secret word:Magic and Mystery,Give my wish to me.”

“When you want me otherwise

Than as a little bird,

Put your hand over your eyes,

And say this secret word:

Magic and Mystery,

Give my wish to me.”

Mary Frances did so; and there was Fairy Lady once again in the doll’s rocking chair, who smiled and said,

Dived into the calico

“Whenever you particularly want ‛this me’ to come, all you have to do is to put your hands over your eyes, and say to yourself quickly,

Magic and Mystery,Give my wish to me,

Magic and Mystery,

Give my wish to me,

and I’ll come at once.”

Magic and Mystery!” exclaimed Mary Frances

“I’ll comeatonce”

“Oh, how lovely!” said Mary Frances.

“And if you wantmeto turn into anything, you say as fast as you can,

Nimble, nimble,Turn my thimble,”

Nimble, nimble,

Turn my thimble,”

said Thimble, looking up at Mary Frances with a comical smile.

“And if you wantmeto turn into some one else, snap your fingers three times and say, faster yet,

Scissors-and-Shears,Scissors-and-Shears,Now change your ears,Now change your ears.”

Scissors-and-Shears,

Now change your ears,

Now change your ears.”

“I’ll do it now,” laughed Mary Frances, and when she said,

“Nimble, nimble, Turn my thimble”

“Nimble, nimble,Turn my thimble,”

“Nimble, nimble,

Turn my thimble,”

there sprang up the cutest little soldier, with needles in his hands for swords.

“At yourservice!”

“Salute!” he shouted in a very thin silvery voice, making a military bow to Fairy Lady.

“At your service!” he said, turning to Mary Frances, who was looking on with amazement.

“Are you really my own thimble?” she asked, looking at the second finger of her right hand.

“It’s me—I, I mean—I’m he—it, I mean—well, anyhow, I’m Thimble, your Seamstress-ship,” he answered, making another bow.

“Well, well,” said Mary Frances delightedly, “if you are, you can obey my orders.

“Stand there!” pointing to the left side of Fairy Lady. Then,

“Scissors-and-Shears,Now change your ears,”

“Scissors-and-Shears,

Now change your ears,”

she repeated.

“Scissors and Shears,Now change your ears”

Therewere twolong ears

Click! came the feet of the shears, and before Mary Frances saw how it happened, there were two long ears on the handles, looking comically like a rabbit’s.

“What long ears you have!” laughed the little girl.

“The better to hear your directions, your Seamstress-ship,” replied Scissors in a rather sharp voice, clicking his way to the other side of the rocking chair.

Then Fairy Lady said:

“Dear little Lady Seamstress, we are all from Thimble Land—we are the Thimble People; there are many more of us, oh, many more. It is our joy to be able to help you learn to sew. Thimble and Scissors Shears and the other Thimble People will come help us when anything becomes very puzzling or difficult; but all through these lessons you may call uponmeat any time; and I shall do my best to give you happy sewing lessons.”

“Oh, thank you, dear Fairy Lady,” exclaimed Mary Frances. “I am living in Fairyland, and it is real!”

“The way to find Fairyland real.”

“The way to find Fairyland real,” smiled Fairy Lady, “is to do your very best from day to day, andto do it happily. The fairies always help the people who try to do this.”

“Whattwoddle-doddle!”

“Oh, pshaw!” exclaimed Scissors Shears in a cutting tone, “what twoddle-doddle! Even if I don’t make fine speeches, I know all about cutting.”

“Cut it out!” exclaimed Thimble, raising his sword-needle.

“Slang,” began Scissors Shears, crossly flapping his ears back; but Fairy Lady leaned forward in her chair, and, reaching out with her bodkin wand, touched him on the ear, and down he fell flat at her feet.

Pushing him aside, she said, “I can control him when I have my wand. If he’s ever rude, and you want me, say the magic verse I taught you.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Mary Frances, smiling to herself.

“I guess if I pulled his ears real hard, he’d be good anyhow,” she thought, “but I’ll not let Sewing Bird know. All rabbits are controlled by their ears, and I’m sure he looks more like a rabbit than any other animal I can think of.”

“Well,” smiled Fairy Lady, “we have the dolly’s laundry bag all cut out: now, to learn,

“Cut it out!”

17.—Hemming on Muslin

1. First learn to turn a hem on paper.2. Cut the paper seven inches long and three and one-half inches wide.3. Draw a line one-quarter of an inch from lower edge of paper and turn up and crease along this line.4. One inch above that, draw a line. Turn up and crease along that line.5. Follow same directions on muslin. Baste and hem.

1. First learn to turn a hem on paper.

2. Cut the paper seven inches long and three and one-half inches wide.

3. Draw a line one-quarter of an inch from lower edge of paper and turn up and crease along this line.

4. One inch above that, draw a line. Turn up and crease along that line.

5. Follow same directions on muslin. Baste and hem.

“Iunderstandnow!”

“Good!” she nodded, as Mary Frances held up the folded paper. “You remember the hemming stitch on canvas. This is the same kind of stitch; only, as you have already observed, no doubt, it is a very zig-zag stitch, and is taken from the single through the folded part of the goods.

“Wait a minute, I’ll mark it to show you,” and taking the pencil, she marked the paper as shown on this page.

“Now try it on muslin.”

“Oh,” exclaimed Mary Frances. “I understand now!”

First learn to turn a hem on paper

“Only one thing more,” said Fairy Lady, “the way to hide the starting of the thread. You put the needle in between the fold and the cloth, and tuck it down. Then put it in, or ‘insert’ it, at 1, and push it out at 2, and pull it through. Can you do it on the ends of the laundry bag?”“Yes, I think I can,” said Mary Frances.“One minute,” said Fairy Lady, as Mary Frances started.“First, you must turn in the edges. Here is a piece of paper the size of the laundry bag.“On the longer edge, turn up and crease a quarter of an inch fold as you did in preparing the paper hem. Now, turn the hem on each end as I have already shown you.“That’s it!—and that’s all for to-day’s lesson. It was a tech-ni-cal lesson,” she said.

“Yes, I think I can,” said Mary Frances.

“One minute,” said Fairy Lady, as Mary Frances started.

“First, you must turn in the edges. Here is a piece of paper the size of the laundry bag.

“On the longer edge, turn up and crease a quarter of an inch fold as you did in preparing the paper hem. Now, turn the hem on each end as I have already shown you.

“That’s it!—and that’s all for to-day’s lesson. It was a tech-ni-cal lesson,” she said.

Now, turn the hem on each end as I have already shown you.”

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