Chapter V Sewing Bird Teases Dick Canary
Mary Frances heard this through the sewing-room door:
“Peep! sweet, sw-e-et! Che-e-ep!”
“Great kind of bird,
Upon my word!
Who cannot do a thing
But sing and eat,
And then sing sweet,
And then again sing-sing.”
“Peep! Sweet, sw-e-et! Che-e-ep!” sang Dick Canary.
“Of course, you have a pretty voice;
Of course, you love to make a noise—
If this rhyme sounds a bit contrary,
It’s good enough for a canary;
But, Dick, what I’d really like to know,
Is this: why don’t you learn to sew?”
Then Mary Frances stepped in.
“Oh, Sewing Bird,” she said, “I didn’t think you could be such a tease.”
“And hold some sewing for his Miss”
“Good afternoon!
‘Tease,’ did you say?
I wasn’t teasing—
It was only play:
I thought perhaps that pretty bird
Would listen to a little word,
And hold some sewing for his Miss—
The way I can; See, Dick—like this!”
holding up a piece of goods in her glistening beak.
“Oh, no,” laughed Mary Frances. “I fear Dick would never be able to understand such a useful use of his bill—he’s no tailor-bird!”
“Of course, it
Truly must be so—
He certainly could
Not learn to sew;
I see that he
Is surely meant,
Only to be
An ornament,”
sang Sewing Bird. “But our next lesson—is your canvas ready, child? Yes? This time I’m going to count by threads instead of holes, when I give directions for
7.—Half Back Stitching on Canvas
“Curiosity,” smiled Mary Frances
1. Commence as in Stitching.
2. One running stitch, under two threads.
3. Point needle downward through hole to the right of hole from which the cotton hangs; under three threads: pull through.
4. Repeat to end of row. Fasten.”
“There!” said Mary Frances, finishing the row. “That seems like ‘two steps backward and one forward,’ or rather, ‘two forward and one backward.’”
“That’s about the way it is!” said Sewing Bird. “But half back-stitching and back-stitching are both very strong stitches. Why, when your grandma was little, she stitched all seams by hand. Sewing machines were a great cu-cur—”
“Curiosity,” smiled Mary Frances.
“Peep—peep,” giggled Dick Canary.
“Peep— peep”
“Thank you, Miss Mary Frances,” said Sewing Bird,
“Perhaps that little yellow bird
Thought I didn’t know the word;
It’s funny that it seems a joke
When anybody stops to choke—
Ahem! Ahem! Ahem! Ahack!
Pat-me-on-the-back!
Pat-me-on-the-back! Quick!”
“Better?” asked Mary Frances, smiling to herself, and patting the little bird’s back.
After a minute she said, “Excuse me, but is—the next stitch—is the next stitch a fancy one?”
“It is!” said Sewing Bird, “and is called
1. At left hand end of canvas, count four holes down and four to the right.
2. From under side, point needle upward: pull through.
3. Count three holes down and three to the right. Point needle down and under this, one hole to the left: pull through.
4. Count four holes to the right of first stitch. Point needle down through next hole to the left: pull through.
“Is that right?” asked Mary Frances.
“My, no,” said Sewing Bird. “That is all wrong.
Hold the work here near my beak. There, let the thread
hang this way:
“Now, pull it through. In taking the next
stitch, let the thread hang this way:
“There, that is better.”
“Oh, I see, now,” said Mary Frances. “Isn’t that
a beautiful stitch!”
“Yes,” said Sewing Bird,—then, suddenly,
“Beware! Beware!
Beware! Beware!
I hear your Grandma
On the stair—
Good-bye!”