Little Threads || A Review

Little Threads was written by Elizabeth Prentiss in 1863. It has a copyright date of 2005 by Mark Hamby, and was published by Lamplighter Publishing as a part of the Lamplighter Rare Collector’s Series. It can be found on the Lamplighter Publishing website at www.lamplighter.net.

Little Threads is set in England in the mid-1800s. It tells the story of two very different girls, one called “Tangle Thread” and the other, “Golden Thread”.

Tangle Thread was a beautiful child, and had been small since birth. Her family was wealthy, and she was provided everything a little girl could ever need. Though Tangle Thread was cheerful and contented while she got her way, the moment her will was challenged, she would throw a fit and scream. She challenged her mother and nurse until they were all exhausted and the house was filled with her screams and outbursts. Who would have guessed that such a small child could hold such a strong will?

Tangle Thread’s mother was a sweet, godly woman. Coming from a wealthy family herself, she had never known want. Though she had wealth and friends and much admiration from those around her, she did not become proud. Rather, she was a friend of the poor and brokenhearted. She listened as they told her their troubles, and never did they leave her home empty-handed. On the day this woman had a baby, her dear little one, whom she referred to as “the Baby”, totally captivated her life.

Soon the household was to find that Baby had a will of her own, and liked to express it. It caused the mother much heartache as she struggled to break Baby of her will, and she continually leaned on the LORD and asked Him for wisdom in raising such a strong-willed child. Because of the trouble and anxiety Baby caused her poor mother, Baby’s father began to refer to her as “Tangle Thread”. Everyone began calling her this, for as she grew taller and stronger, so did her will—no matter what her parents did to discipline her.

So with every day that passed, Tangle Thread would throw her fits and cross her mother’s wishes; and her mother would continue to pray and to train up her daughter as she knew best, though nothing would seem to make Tangle Thread obedient and submissive. And every night Tangle Thread would go to bed miserable and wondering why nobody did as she wished them to do, only to wake the next morning just as cross and miserable as the day before.

In the same bustling city as this wealthy family, lived another mother and child, with quite a different story. This mother had been on her own in the streets since she was eight years old. Since then she’d worked and cared for herself, and one day she’d gotten married. God blessed her with sweet Golden Thread before her husband left after using up all their money. Golden Thread was a bright ray of sunshine in the dreary world in which this woman lived. The woman still worked and cared for herself, and for the sweet, happy daughter who made her life worth living. This daughter grew steadily and stronger every day. But unlike Tangle Thread, little Golden Thread never complained or spoke an angry word, and she never crossed her mother’s will or got into trouble.

The day came when this mother had to leave her Golden Thread alone at home so that she could work to provide for them. For now Golden Thread was three years old, and too big to carry along to the homes where her mother did laundering. These were lonely days for Golden Thread, even though the neighbors did check on her from time to time. But Golden Thread never once complained, and always greeted her mother in the same cheerful way, joyous to see her mother come home in the evening.

Then Golden Thread was old enough to go to school, and her lonely days were ended. She was the best girl in her class, even if she wasn’t the fastest to learn, and this brought joy to her mother, who had never had an education. Golden Thread was content, even though—like every poor girl—she did have secret wishes and desires deep within her heart. Through all her life, she sought to lift her mother’s burden in every way she could. Eventually, her mother earned enough to furnish their small rented home and even set money aside as savings.

But one day, Golden Thread’s hard-working mother falls off a ladder while whitewashing for an employer. The pail of whitewash pours all over her face and into her eyes. Unable to use her eyes, she—with the help of Golden Thread—makes it to a doctor, who promises great things for fixing her eyes. In the end, Golden Thread and her mother run out of money in paying the quack doctor and are forced to pawn off some of their possessions, and eventually even Golden Thread’s shoes. Her mother still cannot use her now weary eyes, and Golden Thread must withdraw from school to aid her nearly-blind mother.

Will Tangle Thread remain a cross and strong-willed daughter, or will she come to be a submissive child who learns the happiness found in obedience?

Can Golden Thread remain cheerful and content as she stays home to care for her mother? With the proper care, can her mother’s eyesight, without which she cannot work, be restored?

And when these two girls’ paths cross, what effect will they have on each other’s lives?

As Elizabeth Prentiss weaved her tale of two Threads, her desire was not to write a book merely for a child’s amusement. Rather, she hoped to make a difference in turning hearts of children to do right in becoming good and submissive like the Lord Jesus. Throughout the book, the author frequently addresses her child audience, encouraging them in this direction.

I enjoyed reading Little Threads and about the lives of Tangle Thread and Golden Thread. I found this book unique in the way it was directed towards children, asking its audience to look into their own lives honestly, and decide which they are—a Tangle Thread, or a Golden Thread. I would recommend this book as one that shows the reader that she needs to continually seek God’s help in becoming a good and obedient daughter.

Blessings and Love,

Georgie Grace