The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-08-26
THE CARPET.NEEDLE.

HERE, Elsie, Salu Mrs. Hunt hand
ing her little daughter half a paper of
shining new pins. " Put these in my
cushion on the bureau
Yes, mamma" said Elsie, climbing
a cricket TO reach the cushion. " How
bright and pretty they look, mamma"
she said, as she arranged them in rows.
In the cushion there was sticking long,
slim darning-needle, and quite near 1t
short, stumpy carpetneedle, much dscol
ored, looking quite black beside its many
shining companions.
"Oh, mamma, what an ugly-looking
needle" said Elsie. Cant | throw it
away? 1t spoils the looks of the cush-
ion"
"No, you mustn't throw it away,
Elsie. It 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
buzzing sound on the bureau. 1t came
from the cushion. The pins were having
social chat among themselves. They
( soon became acquainted with the tall
| darning-necdle, who was quite proud of
! her slim waist and large eye, and as all
the little pins looked up to her with ad-
miration she condescended to talk with
them.
For my part" said Darning- needle
| giving a scornful look out of her eye at
poor Carpet needle, who couldn't see it on
account of piece of carpet-thread which
had been in her cJc for some time"
think Elsie was right, and the sooner such
| a hOmelv thing % that o"rPot- needle is
out of the way the better One really feels
as if their own brightness wTs being
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, ''I 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 carpet-needle
Now Elsie, in her hurry to get out to play
seized the slim darning needle by mistake
and handed it to her mother running off
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
up stairs and brought down the carpet
needle.
"Well, it is rather 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"
| Carpetneedle 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- g-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
81 thought, mamma, you would throw
away that horrid- looking needle and get a
new one," she said.
"But did not" said Mrs. Hunt. "That
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 ap.
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- WatcltDsnn and Reflector.