American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-09-04
THE CARPET.NEEDLE.

ssHERE, Elsie,n said Mrs. Hunt, hand
| ing her little daughter half paper OF
shining new pins. 6 Put these in my
cushion on the bureau"
Yes, mamma" said Elsie, climbing
| cricket to reach the cushion. " How
bright and pretty they look, mamma, y
she said, as she arranged them in rows.
In the cushion there was sticking long,
slim darning- needle, and quite near 1t a
short, stumpy carpet-needle, much discol-
| ored, looking quite black beside its many
shining companions.
ooh, mamma, what an ugly-looking
| needle" said Elsie. Cant I throw it
aways 1t spoils the looks of the cush-
| ion.''
"No, you mustn't throw it away,
| Elsie. 1t is the only carpetneedle have.
I may wish to use it some day"
So Elsie stuck it into the corner of the
cushion, pushing it out of sight as far as
she could.
Soon after Elsie and her mother went
down to tea, and it was quite dark and
still in the room. Pretty soon there was a
buzzing sound on the ibureau. 1t came
from the cushion. The pins were having
social chat among themselves. They
soon became acquainted with the tall
her slim waist and large eye, and as all
the little pins looked up to her with adj
miration she condescended to talk with
them.
"For my part" said Darning-needle-
giving scornful look out of her eye at
poor Carpet needle, who couldn't see it on
account of piece of carpetthread which
had been in her eye for some time"
think Elsie was right, and the sooner such
homely thing as that carpet-needle is
out of the way the better. One really feels
sr1,f hofv, ~
dimmed by having to stay near such, !"
and she gave Carpet-needle another look
out of her eye, which, although she could
not see, she felt, it was SO sharp and cut
ting.
The pins all agreed to what Darning-
needle had said, while poor Carpetneedle
tried to sink further down into the cushion,
feeling very much troubled by the unkind
remarks of her companions. "Oh, if some
one would only give me some work to
do" she sighed, az would be as bright as
anyone"
Mrs Hunt and Elsie now returned to
the room, and there was silence on the
cushion.
A few days after this Mrs. Hunt found
quite rip in the dining room carpet, and
sent Elsie upstairs for the carpetneedle.
Now Elsie, in her hurry to get out to play,
seized the slim darning- needle by mistake
as fast as she could to her play.
Mrs Hunt thought she would try and
make it do, and save her tired feet jour
ney up two flights of stairs. She had
taken only few stitches when Darning-
needle, unused to such hard work,
snapped in two at the waist Throwing
it out of the window, Mrs. Hunt went
upstairs and brought down the carpet
needle.
"Well, it is rather a forlorn- looking
needle" said Mrs. Hunt, as she pulled out
the bit of thread from its eye, and re-
threaded it, &" but must make you do"
Carpet-needle had rather a hard time
taking the first few stitches, but pretty
soon it worked easier and began to bright
en- up as Mrs. Hunt put it rapidly in and
out the carpet. When the rip was sewed
Carpet-needle was as bright and shining
as brand-new one. When Mrs. Hunt put
it back into the cushion she did not push
it out of sight-in fact, she put it just where
Darning-needle had stood, right in the
middle of the cushion.
As little Elsie was undressing that night
she put some pins in the cushion, and as
she did so she noticed the bright needle
cleaning so brightly in the gas-light.
g thought, mamma, you would throw
away that horrid-looking needle and get a
new one," she said.
is the same needle. Use has frightened
it,
Then she talked with her little girl,
taking the needle for a subject, and telling
her if she wished to be a bright and shin
ing light she must make good and constant
use of the faculties God had given her,
and be willing to do any work, however
humble it might be, that she was called
to do.
Do not judge people and things, Elsie,
too soon and too much by outward APP
pearance. Remember it is better to be
useful than beautiful, if you cannot be
both, and also remember that usefulness
will help to beautify.'
Elsie said she would try and remember
what her mother had said, and was soon
fast asleep Waterman and Reflector.