"Isn't it wonderful?" exclaimed Polly. "I should like to see my spool, dear mother."
The woman took the girl to the back of the machine and showed her her own life-spool. The ribbon was very small, but the guide detached it and gave it to the child to read. As she unwound it, she read: "I wish that God would punish all the wicked people I know!" Polly dropped the spool and hid her face: these were her own words.
"Do not feel badly, dear Polly," whispered the mother, "and do not look now for any more bad records of yourself; but fill the rest of the spool with good words and good deeds, and in the end your record will be rewritten, made bright and clear." She then picked the girl up and held her to her breast, kissing her tenderly.
At this moment Polly heard the disks ring out: "Polly!" and she cried, "Goodie! Goodie!"
It was her mother calling her for breakfast. Polly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, mamma—where is the mother witch? Where is Harry?"
Her mother looked puzzled at first, but she quickly realized that her little daughter had been dreaming. "I'll be the mother witch, my dear," she said, "and we will find Harry some day soon."