on.

The collar was a little jagged at the edge, and so came the long
scissors to cut off the jagged part.

"Oh!" said the collar, "you are certainly the first opera dancer. How
well you can stretch your legs out! It is the most graceful
performance I have ever seen. No one can imitate you."

"I know it," said the scissors.

"You deserve to be a baroness," said the collar. "All that I have is a
fine gentleman, a boot-jack, and a hair-comb. If I only had the
barony!"

"Do you seek my hand?" said the scissors; for she was angry; and
without more ado, she _cut him_, and then he was condemned.

"I shall now be obliged to ask the hair-comb. It is surprising how
well you preserve your teeth, Miss," said the collar. "Have you never
thought of being betrothed?"

"Yes, of course! you may be sure of that," said the hair comb. "I _am_
betrothed--to the boot-jack!"

"Betrothed!" exclaimed the collar. Now there was no other to court,
and so he despised it.

A long time passed away, then the collar came into the rag chest at
the paper mill; there was a large company of rags, the fine by
themselves, and the coarse by themselves, just as it should be. They
all had much to say, but the collar the most; for he was a real
boaster.

"I have had such an immense number of sweet-hearts!" said the collar,
"I could not be in peace! It is true, I was always a fine starched-up
gentleman! I had both a bootjack and a hair-comb, which I never used!
You should have seen me then, you should have seen me when I lay
down!--I shall never forget _my first love_--she was a girdle, so
fine, so soft, and so charming, she threw herself into a tub of water
for my sake! There was also a widow, who became glowing hot, but I
left her standing till she got black again; there was also the first
opera dancer, she gave me that cut which I now go with, she was so
ferocious! my own hair-comb was in love with me, she lost all her
teeth from the heart-ache; yes, I have lived to see much of that sort
of thing; but I am extremely sorry for the garter--I mean the
girdle--that went into the water-tub. I have much on my conscience, I
want to become white paper!"

And it became so, all the rags were turned into white paper; but the
collar came to be just this very piece of white paper we here see, and
on which the story is printed; and that was because it boasted so
terribly afterwards of what had never happened to it. It would be well
for us to beware, that we