Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. "Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse." Then were the king's scribes called, and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, unto the Jews, unto every province and unto every people according to their writing, and according to their language. And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them. The story of Esther as told here is taken from the book of Esther in the Bible. It has been abridged slightly, and a few words changed. THE DARNING-NEEDLE By Hans Christian Andersen There was once a Darning-Needle who thought herself so fine, she imagined she was an embroidering needle. "Take care, and mind you hold me tight!" she said to the Fingers which took her out. "Don't let me fall! If I fall on the ground I shall certainly never be found again, for I am so fine!" "That's as it may be," said the Fingers; and they grasped her round the body. "See, I'm coming with a train!" said the Darning-Needle, and she drew a long thread after her, but there was no knot in the thread. The Fingers pointed the needle just at the cook's slipper, in which the upper leather had burst, and was to be sewn together. "That's vulgar work," said the Darning-Needle. "I shall never get through. I'm breaking! I'm breaking!" And she really broke. "Did I not say so?" said the Darning-Needle; "I'm too fine." "Now it's quite useless," said the Fingers; but they were obliged to hold her fast, all the same; for the cook dropped some sealing wax upon the needle, and pinned her kerchief about her neck with it. "So now I'm a breastpin!" said the Darning-Needle. "I knew very well that I should come to honor; when one is something, one comes to something." And she laughed quietly to herself--and one can never see when a Darning-Needle laughs. There she sat, as proud as if she were in a state coach, and looked all about her. "May I be permitted to ask if you are gold?" she inquired of the Pin, her neighbor. "You have a very pretty appearance, and a peculiar head, but it is only little. You must take pains to grow, for it's not every one that has sealing wax dropped upon him."