ned to her. The sealing-wax had come off, and she
had turned black; but black makes one look slender, and she thought
herself finer even than before.

"Here comes an eggshell sailing along!" said the boys; and they stuck
the Darning-needle fast in the eggshell.

"White walls, and black myself! that looks well," remarked the
Darning-needle. "Now one can see me. I only hope I shall not be
seasick!" But she was not seasick at all. "It is good against
seasickness, if one has a steel stomach, and does not forget that one
is a little more than an ordinary person! Now my seasickness is over.
The finer one is, the more one can bear."

"Crack!" went the eggshell, for a wagon went over her.

"Good Heavens, how it crushes one!" said the Darning-needle. "I'm
getting seasick now--I'm quite sick."

But she was not really sick, though the wagon went over her; she lay
there at full length, and there she may lie.

* * * * *

THUMBELINA

BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

She had a little house of her own, a little garden too, this woman of
whom I am going to tell you, but for all that she was not quite happy.

"If only I had a little child of my own," she said, "how the walls
would ring with her laughter, and how the flowers would brighten at
her coming. Then, indeed, I should be quite happy."

And an old witch heard what the woman wished, and said, "Oh, but that
is easily managed. Here is a barley-corn. Plant it in a flower-pot and
tend it carefully, and then you will see what will happen."

The woman was in a great hurry to go home and plant the barley-corn,
but she did not forget to say "thank you" to the old witch. She not
only thanked her, she even stayed to give her six silver pennies.

Then she hurried away to her home, took a flower-pot and planted her
precious barley-corn.

And what do you think happened? Almost before the corn was planted, up
shot a large and beautiful flower. It was still unopened. The petals
were folded closely together, but it looked like a tulip. It really
was a tulip, a red and yellow one, too.

The woman loved flowers. She stooped and kissed the beautiful bud.
As her lips touched the petals, they burst open, and oh! wonder of
wonders! there, in the very middle of the flower, there sat a little
child. Such a tiny, pretty little maiden she was.

They called her Thumbelina. That was because she was no bigger than
the woman's thumb.

And where do you thin