“Look out or you’ll tear your clothes!” cried Margaret to her brother Jim one day as they climbed through a barbed-wire fence out in the fields.

They were visiting Auntie’s farm. It was great fun to go swimming, hunt eggs, feed chickens, ride on top of the big hay-loads and just be outdoors all the time. Both children had exactly the right clothes for such good times—middy and bloomers for Margaret, blouse and overalls for Jim. Besides these, not much else was needed, for Auntie let them run barefoot most of the time.

“Oh, pshaw! now I’ve done it! Ouch! I’m caught!” the next minute Jim cried out to his sister, who was herself clambering very carefully over the wire so the sharp little barbs would do no damage.

“Wait! I’ll get you loose!” Margaret exclaimed coming to his rescue. With pulling and tugging he was soon free, but a big ugly hole was torn in the seat of his overalls.

“Would you look at that! And the last clean ones I have, too,” Jim said in despair. It certainly was a sad accident, for this was their last day on the farm and there were lots of things to do for the last time.

“Never mind. I’ll mend them for you,” Margaret said. “Jump into your bathing-suit and while you’re taking a swim I’ll be mending these. Boys certainly are a care,” she said to herself with a sigh on her way up to her room. But in her heart she was really quite delighted at the chance to show her sewing skill.

“Sir Bodkin!” she called when she was up-stairs in her bedroom. All the One-Eyes were hiding in a pretty sewing-bag that she had made to carry them in when travelling. She loosened the drawing-string and out popped Sir Bodkin.

“Well, well, I wondered when you’d be calling us out this trip,” he said shaking himself and walking around the bureau-top to stretch his legs.

“What’s the trouble now? I s’pose it’s trouble or you wouldn’t be needing us on a vacation,” he went on to say.

“Yes,” laughed Margaret, “it’s trouble and it needs to be doctored right away.” She held up the torn overalls for him to see.

“Well, I should say so. Patching is the thing for that big tear. Take your scissors and cut off the ragged edges to make the hole as round as you can. Have you some of the same goods for a patch?” he asked.

“I think Auntie has. I’ll go see,” and Margaret ran off to inquire.

Sure enough, Auntie had something in her scrap-bag that would do very well. Margaret ran back eager to begin patching.