Mary Frances found her thimble, and threaded the glowing needle, although she feared it would scorch the thread,—but it seemed like any other needle except that she didn’t have to try twice to put in the thread.
“I wonder how it is different?” she thought as she started to sew.
Then the most wonderful thing happened. She found the needle darting ahead of her hand, making the stitches just as fast as she could touch the eye with her silver thimble.
In a minute the apron was hemmed.
In another minute the apron was gathered.
In another minute the strings were hemmed.
Then the Needle-of-Don’t-Have-to-Try stopped dead still and wouldn’t move.
“Oh! ho!” cried Mary Frances. “What have I done? What have I done?”
“Nothing, dear child,” said Fairy Lady. “But the Needle-of-Don’t-Have-to-Try cannot do for you anything you have not yet learned; so use your own needle and set the gathers of the apron into the band.”
