d when the boy praised it. There were almost too
many patches on the face of the girl for her to be considered strictly
beautiful, for one cheek was yellow and the other red, her chin blue,
her forehead purple and the center, where her nose had been formed and
padded, a bright yellow.

"You ought to have had her face all pink," suggested the boy.

"I suppose so; but I had no pink cloth," replied the woman. "Still, I
cannot see as it matters much, for I wish my Patchwork Girl to be useful
rather than ornamental. If I get tired looking at her patched face I can
whitewash it."

"Has she any brains?" asked Ojo.

"No; I forgot all about the brains!" exclaimed the woman. "I am glad you
reminded me of them, for it is not too late to supply them, by any
means. Until she is brought to life I can do anything I please with this
girl. But I must be careful not to give her too much brains, and those
she has must be such as are fitted to the station she is to occupy in
life. In other words, her brains mustn't be very good."

"Wrong," said Unc Nunkie.

"No; I am sure I am right about that," returned the woman.

"He means," explained Ojo, "that unless your servant has good brains she
won't know how to obey you properly, nor do the things you ask her to
do."

"Well, that maybe true," agreed Margolotte; "but, on the contrary, a
servant with too much brains is sure to become independent and
high-and-mighty and feel above her work. This is a very delicate task,
as I said, and I must take care to give the girl just the right quantity
of the right sort of brains. I want her to know just enough, but not too
much."

With this she went to another cupboard which was filled with shelves.
All the shelves were lined with blue glass bottles, neatly labeled by
the Magician to show what they contained. One whole shelf was marked:
"Brain Furniture," and the bottles on this shelf were labeled as
follows: "Obedience," "Cleverness," "Judgment," "Courage," "Ingenuity,"
"Amiability," "Learning," "Truth," "Poesy," "Self Reliance."

"Let me see," said Margolotte; "of those qualities she must have
'Obedience' first of all," and she took down the bottle bearing that
label and poured from it upon a dish several grains of the contents.
"'Amiability' is also good and 'Truth.'" She poured into the dish a
quantity from each of these bottles. "I think that will do," she
continued, "for the other qualities are not needed in a servant."

Unc Nunkie, who w