piece
sharp

1. The next thing that the children saw was a grindstone turning round
very, very fast.

2. A man put the bits of wire into a thing which was fixed just over the
grindstone, and both ends were quickly rubbed sharp.

3. 'Now you see the points of the needles,' said the man, as the wire
came out again.

'But there are no heads yet!' said Harry.

'And no eyes!' said Dora.

'Well, come along to the stamping-room,' said their uncle.

4. In this room they found a block of stone that had iron on the top of
it. Over it hung a heavy hammer. A man who stood there took one of the
wires, put it on the block, and made the hammer come down upon it.

5. The moment the hammer went up again the wire fell into a pan, and the
children were allowed to look at it.

6. Still there were no eyes or heads! All that could be seen were two
little dents, one on each side of the middle of the wire.

7. 'But, look again!' said uncle. 'Don't you see a tiny dot in each
dent? That is where the eye is going to be.'