“Bring on the next!” ordered the King. Margaret showed him her gingham dress and a pearl button with four tiny holes in it. “Come here,” the King then said to a medium-sized Stitcher who was then harnessed with white cotton thread doubled. When the knot was made they were ready to begin. “Cross the center,” the King said to the Fairy, who stepped from the wrong side of the dress through to the right side and up through one of the tiny holes in the button which Margaret was holding for him. Then he crossed over the center to the opposite hole and slid down through to the wrong side again. “Now up through the other hole and cross again,” said Sir Bodkin which the Stitcher did and slid back to the wrong side again. “See how neat that looks,” said the King to Margaret when it was sewed on, as she and Stitcher wound the thread round and round underneath the button to make a shank for it to play on, and then fastened the thread. [Illustration: Ornamental shank pearl] “A pretty way to sew on pearl buttons for trimming is to come out one hole every time and go in the other three from it like this,” he said taking his toe and pointing on the button. “Now for that bone button, clumsy but useful,” said the King. It had two holes and was sewed on the under-waist, with the thread doubled, the same way as the pearl one. “Now for the pretty pink pearl!” cried Sir Bodkin who was very fond of that color. Margaret brought her dress and the button which was cut with a shank on it. It belonged down the front of her dress in a row with many other buttons. “This goes on very much like the shoe-button, but doesn’t have to be sewed so strong, for it is only an ornament,” Sir Bodkin explained. [Illustration: Bone] [Illustration: Covered button] When this one was on Margaret brought her coat and a pretty cloth covered button, all smooth on top and metal underneath, with a funny little round place of cloth to sew through. “You must not show on the wrong side where the button is sewed on a coat. If you want to make it very strong you may sew through a tiny little pearl button, the same color as your coat, on the wrong side. But this one we shall fasten on the right side blindly but quite strong.” The thick Stitcher was harnessed with heavy dark thread doubled and waxed and knotted. “Catch your thread on the coat, first on the spot where the button is to go and then, second, sir, as you know, step through the sewing-place underneath the button. Third, through the coat again and so on. But whatever you do, don’t step through to the wrong side so it will show!” said Sir Bodkin. Then the button was sewed securely and the thread fastened and snipped. Stitcher rested in the pincushion. “You haven’t sung to-day!” Margaret said to the One-Eyed Fairies. “To be sure we haven’t, My Lady!” their King said. Then one of the little Stitchers came out of the pincushion and began to sing: