"Clickety-clack! clickety-clack!" went the loom, as the colored thread
was woven over and under over and under. Before long it was made into
beautiful plaid cloth.

Then the little girl's mother cut and made the dress. It was a beautiful
plaid dress, and the little girl loved to wear it. Every time she put it
on, she thought of her friends who had helped her,--the sheep, the
shearers, the carders, the spinners, the dyers, the weavers, and her own
dear mother.




THE GODDESS OF THE SILKWORM


Hoangti was the emperor of China. He had a beautiful wife whose name was
Si-ling. The emperor and his wife loved their people and always thought
of their happiness.

In those days the Chinese people wore clothes made of skins. By and by
animals grew scarce, and the people did not know what they should wear.
The emperor and empress tried in vain to find some other way of clothing
them.

One morning Hoangti and his wife were in the beautiful palace garden.
They walked up and down, up and down, talking of their people.

Suddenly the emperor said, "Look at those worms on the mulberry trees,
Si-ling. They seem to be spinning."