earer shearing the sheep]

"We will," cried the carders. "We will comb it out straight and smooth."

Soon they held up the wool, carded straight and smooth, and they cried,
"The little girl wants a new dress. The sheep has given his wool. The
shepherd has washed the wool. The shearers have cut it, and we have
carded it. Who else will help?"

"We will," said the spinners. "We will spin it into thread."

"Whirr, whirr!" How fast the spinning wheels turned, singing all the
time.

Soon the spinners said, "The little girl wants a new dress. The sheep
has given his wool. The shepherd has washed the wool. The shearers have
cut it. The carders have carded it, and we have spun it into thread. Who
else will help?"

"We will," said the dyers. "We will dye it with beautiful colors."

Then they dipped the woven threads into bright dye, red and blue and
green and brown.

As they spread the wool out to dry, the dyers called: "The little girl
wants a new dress. The sheep has given his wool. The shepherd has washed
the wool. The shearers have cut it. The carders have carded it. The
spinners have spun it, and we have dyed it with bright beautiful colors.
Who else will help?"

"We will," said the weavers. "We will make it into cloth."

[Illustration: Weaver at loom]

"Clickety-clack! clickety-clack!" went the loom, as the colored thread
was woven over and under over and under. Before long it was made into
beautiful plaid cloth.

Then the little girl's mother cut and made the dress. It was a beautiful
plaid dress, and the little girl loved to wear it. Every time she put it
on, she thought of her friends who had helped her,--the sheep, the
shearers, the carders, the spinners, the dyers, the weavers, and her own
dear mother.

THE GODDESS OF THE SILKWORM

Hoangti was the emperor of China. He had a beautiful wife whose name was
Si-ling. The emperor and his wife loved their people and always thought
of their happiness.

In those days the Chinese people wore clothes made of skins. By and by
animals grew scarce, and the people did not know what they should wear.
The emperor and empress tried in vain to find some other way of clothing
them.

One morning Hoangti and his wife were in the beautiful palace garden.
They walked up and down, up and down, talking of their people.

Suddenly the emperor said, "Look at those worms on the mulberry trees,
Si-ling. They seem to be spinning."

Si-ling looked, and sure enough, the