Читать книгу The One-Eyed Fairies - Georgia Eldridge Hanley - Страница 7

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“Sir Bodkin! Sir Bodkin!” called Margaret next day to the King of the One-Eyed Fairies, who lived in her work-basket.

“I’m coming, My Lady!” she heard a tiny voice answering from the needle-book.

Margaret looked very much excited, for this was the first time she had called her wonderful new friends, the One-Eyed Fairies, to help her.

Sir Bodkin came sliding quickly out of the work-basket and climbed upon the table beside his little mistress. With a smile on her face she was watching him, for he was a very dignified little fellow indeed. Holding himself up straight and bending his body forward stiffly he made her a low bow.

“Good day, My Lady Dear,” he said; “what may I do to-day to help your Ladyship?”

“What can you do?” asked Margaret.

“I can run the ribbons in your doll’s dresses, put the drawing-strings in a marble-bag or a sewing-bag. I can draw the ribbons and tapes through your pretty underwear and lots of other things too numerous to mention. Just put a piece of ribbon in my one eye and watch me work!” he answered eagerly to his new friend.

“Indeed I will this minute!” cried Margaret. She jumped up and ran to her doll’s bureau to get a pretty dress trimmed with lace beading around the waist and sleeves. Then she took a roll of narrow pink satin ribbon from her own bureau and hurried back to the table.

“Here we are,” she said to the tiny King, holding up the dress and ribbon for him to see.

“Very pretty, very pretty. Now measure how much ribbon you’ll need to run around the waist and to tie in a bow at the back when finished,” said Sir Bodkin.

After Margaret had measured the ribbon the right length she cut it from the roll with her new scissors.

“Put it neatly in my eye and then we’ll start,” the Fairy King told her. No sooner said than done.

“Put your right fingers on my head,” ordered he. Margaret did as she was bidden. Holding the dress in her left hand, she put her pink fingers on Sir Bodkin’s head and off he stepped; slipping his foot through the slits in the lace beading at the back of the little dress where it fastened he sang:

“In and out, in and out,

I hold the ribbon nice and flat,

I gently pull it after me,

And soon we’re finished, one, two, three!”

Running ribbon in beading

Sir Bodkin hopped out at the end.

“How’s that for fast?” he said jumping back to the table-top.

“That’s splendid!” cried Margaret. Then she cut the ribbon for the sleeves after carefully measuring how much was needed to go around the beading and tie in a bow when finished. Each piece was put in the King’s eye one at a time and run through the lace beading nice and flat. Sir Bodkin’s blunt toe made it easy to go in and out the openings without catching in the lace. At last the ribbon was all in and the dress slipped on the doll. The tiny King stood off to see how sweet she looked in her dainty dress after her little mother had tied the bows.

“I never did that so quickly before,” said Margaret.

“It’s all in knowing how,” replied Sir Bodkin looking very wise indeed out of his long one eye.

“To be sure,” said his little mistress, “and I’m so happy because soon I’m going to know how to sew and make lots of pretty things.”

“Indeed you are, My Lady,” said Sir Bodkin; “just call on us and you’ll always find us ready. But don’t forget that:

“Every little housewife should be a seamstress, too,

Call the One-Eyed Fairies, when there’s needle-work to do.

Clean white fingers guide us, helped by thimble trusty,

Slip us through an emery-bag, if you find us rusty.”

“I’ll remember that,” Margaret promised. “Oh! Sir Bodkin, look at all your subjects!” she said laughing. The King turned around and saw all the shining, glinting little One-Eyed Fairies peeping out curiously from the work-basket.

“Stick to us, stick to us,

Then you’ll never, never fuss,”

they were singing in a happy chorus.

“To your places!” ordered their King and they all disappeared. Then he made a low bow to Margaret and slipped away into the work-basket. Margaret laughed happily and ran off to show her mother what Sir Bodkin had helped her to do.