among the mountain pastures and valleys that lie in the centre of france there dwelt a mischievous kind of spirit . it was this spirit 's delight to play tricks on everybody , and particularly on the shepherds and the cowboys . they never knew when they were safe from him , as he could change himself into a man , woman or child , a stick , a goat , a ploughshare . indeed , there was only one thing whose shape he could not take , and that was a needle . at least , he could transform himself into a needle , but try as he might he never was able to imitate the hole . every woman would have found him out at once , and this he knew . now the hour oftenest chosen by this naughty sprite ( whom we will call puck ) for performing his pranks was about midnight . this was just when the shepherds and cowherds , tired out with their long day 's work , were sound asleep . then he would go into the cowsheds and unfasten the chains that fixed each beast in its own stall , and let them fall with a heavy clang to the ground . the noise was so loud that it was certain to awaken the cowboys , however fatigued they might be . they dragged themselves wearily to the stable to put back the chains . but no sooner had they returned to their beds than the same thing happened again , and so on till the morning . or perhaps puck would spend his night in plaiting together the manes and tails of two of the horses , so that it would take the grooms hours of labour to get them right in the morning . puck , hidden among the hay in the loft , would peep out to watch them , enjoying himself amazingly all the time .
a needle .
what couldn't the spirit change into ?
what couldn't the spirit change into ?