one afternoon mrs. fussy, who lived next door, came to call on dorothy’s mamma. when they had exchanged greetings mrs. fussy exclaimed:
“dear, dear, what shall i do! cook has left me without a moment’s notice—the third this month. it is really discouraging.”
dorothy was drinking in every word that fell from the visitor’s lips, and mamma said, “run away, dear, and play with your dolls.”
dorothy ran to her play-room and took down all her dolls and toys to have a real good time. she decided to play house, so she said, “now i’m going to be mrs. fussy.”
she gazed earnestly at her dolls and sighed, “dear, dear, what shall i do! cook has left without a moment’s notice—the third this month. it is really ’raging.”
suddenly all the dolls jumped up and began to roll up their sleeves.
“we’ll help,” they cried, and dorothy was so surprised that she could not speak for a minute.
“i’m glad you are so willing,” said the little girl at last. “suppose you go into the kitchen and cook the dinner, dinah.”
“yeth, ma’am,” replied dinah with a sweeping bow and hurriedly left the room.
“susan ida may go into the laundry and iron, while you, kathleen, had better dust the hall.”
“what shall i do?” asked jessop with his usual grin, and his little mistress told him to make himself generally useful.
when they had gone to do their work dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and said, “i think i’ll rest a minute.” she took out her mother goose and was so very much interested in little bo-peep that she did not notice anything going on around her. but when she raised her eyes from her book she was surprised to find herself quite alone.
“why, where are all my toys?” exclaimed dorothy. “i sent the dolls to work, but those naughty toys had no business to leave this room.”
then she decided to go into the kitchen and see how dinah was getting along with the dinner. she tripped down-stairs and the minute she opened the kitchen door there was a strong odor of something burning. but worse than that, there stood her tin soldier with his arm around dinah’s waist. dorothy ran for the tin soldier, but he dodged her and jumped out of the window. dinah threw back her head and began to swing a soup ladle, while her indignant little mistress exclaimed, “i’m ashamed of you, dinah, and you can go to your room at once.” dinah sulked out of the kitchen and dorothy took up the burned potatoes.
“now i’m going to give dinah a good whipping,”104 said dorothy; but the minute she opened the kitchen door she heard loud voices on the stairs. hurrying to the spot, there stood kathleen (her quiet, gentle kathleen) brandishing a feather duster in the most threatening manner at jessop.
dorothy was astonished. “why, kathleen,” she cried, “what is the matter?”
“well, he isn’t going to call me doll-faced,” said kathleen, looking very angry at jessop.
“she said i was a clown,” shouted jessop, “and i won’t stand it.”
“go to your room both of you; not another word,” exclaimed dorothy shaking her finger at kathleen, who walked off with her head in the air.
“well, i declare,” sighed the mistress, “i wonder what will happen next!” she started for the laundry to see how susan ida was getting along, and found her crying bitterly and no work done.
“why, susan ida, what have you been doing all this time?”
“nothing, ma’am,” was the answer. “it’s all his fault. boo-hoo-o!” and she pointed to dorothy’s toy rooster, who was calmly standing on the table watching them.
“what are you doing here, dick?” asked dorothy, turning to the rooster; “the idea of coming into the laundry!”
“he came to crow over me, ma’am,” exclaimed susan ida between her sobs.
“i don’t care,” cried dick; “she said she’d take my head off.”
“get out both of you,” and dorothy made a rush for the bad toys, but they nearly fell over each other in their efforts to get out of the kitchen.
“i’ll go up-stairs and give them a good whipping and put them to bed,” said dorothy; but when she reached the stairs she stopped in amazement. there was toto her toy monkey106 sliding down the banister, while her toy puppy barked with all his might. a toy broom was whacking the stairs at a grinning jack-in-the-box, who was trying to stand on his head.
“toto,” cried dorothy, and she was just going to catch him, when her toy cat flew past chasing the toy mouse.
“goodness! he must not catch my mouse,” cried dorothy, and she caught up the toy broom and hurried after the toy cat. the toy puppy and the monkey followed, and the jack came out of his box and joined in the chase. across the hall they flew, and as the door happened to be opened, down the steps and into the yard. it was the strangest race you ever saw, and as they ran through the street people came to the windows and shouted at them. a great many soldiers left their barracks in the toy shops and hurried after the procession.
on and on they ran through the street, into another, across vacant lots, over stones and hedges, through the green fields, up the hills, down the lanes, and never stopped until they came to toy-land.
the minute they got there the mouse was still, the cat curled himself like a ball and went to sleep, the puppy stretched out and began to snore, the jack-in-the-box remained perfectly quiet, and the monkey sat upright and scratched his head.
dorothy sank into a toy chair exclaiming, “such an exciting race i never had in my life.”
“you must be tired,” said a voice at her elbow, and dorothy turned and there stood little bo-peep.
“how do you do?” said dorothy. “have you found the sheep that were lost?”
“not yet,” replied bo-peep, “but i am looking for them.”
“i will help you,” cried dorothy, and she jumped up and taking little bo-peep’s hand108 walked all over toy-land looking for the lost sheep. suddenly they met the old woman who lived in a shoe with her whole brood of children hurrying along.
“whither away so fast, good woman?” asked dorothy.
“to the grand parade, my dear,” was the answer, while little bo-peep exclaimed, “sure enough, it is the first of april, the birthday of our dear mother goose, you know.”
“let us go too,” cried dorothy, and they hurried after the old woman.
they passed little boy blue fast asleep under a hay-mow, but bo-peep gave him a little shake and he awoke and followed them.
they reached a bridge just in time to see mother goose and all her followers passing along. all toy-land clapped and shouted; and what with dogs barking and cocks crowing there was a merry time.
dorothy was delighted, and the toy soldiers who marched in the procession were straighter than any real soldiers that she had ever seen.
“what beautiful times you have in toy-land!” exclaimed dorothy.
but bo-peep did not answer, she was looking at the end of the procession.
“there they are now!” she cried, and dorothy saw the lost sheep following the crowd. “i must hide,” said bo-peep and she tried to stand behind dorothy, but the sheep spied their little friend and they all ran to her and began to frisk about. it made dorothy laugh to see them, but when a great black sheep tried to stand on his head dorothy was afraid and ran away.
she tripped over the fields until she came to the village green where she found mother goose and the whole procession resting.
as she approached, dorothy saw that they were all watching something in the center of the green. she turned to simple simon who was standing near, and asked him what they were all waiting for.
“to see the cow jump over the moon, of course,” replied simple simon, grinning at dorothy.
just then the cow rose in the air and gave a great jump to the sky and right over the moon. everybody laughed, even dorothy’s little toy dog; and simple simon rolled on the grass, he thought it was so funny.
dorothy ran off laughing and turned into a street that was called doll avenue. beautiful doll houses lined both sides of the street, and dorothy met several lovely dolls who were out taking an airing. all at once dorothy came to the end of doll avenue and found a pond where toy swans were sailing around. the dearest little doll that dorothy had ever seen was all alone, throwing pebbles into the pond.
“what is your name, dear?” asked dorothy, walking up to the doll.
“my name is rosy,” said the doll; and dorothy exclaimed, “o, you are just lovely, i’d like to take you home with me!”
“i can go with you,” replied rosy, “if you don’t step on dirt.”
“good,” cried dorothy, clapping her hands. “i know what you mean. you must step on stones, if you walk on the earth you’re poisoned. i’ve played that game very often.”
dorothy took rosy in her arms and started to walk home.
“you shall be my best doll,” whispered dorothy, “and i’ll make you a lovely silk dress.” she crossed and recrossed stones and rocks, being careful not to touch the ground. she was getting along nicely when all at once she tripped and her feet touched the earth. in a second rosy was on the ground running away from her as fast as she could.
“come back, come back,” shouted dorothy; but rosy only ran the faster.
dorothy started after the lovely little doll, but all at once she was stopped by a great toy policeman.
“what is the matter?” asked he of the blue coat and brass buttons.
“i want to catch that doll. o, please let me get her,” said dorothy.
“does she belong to you?” shouted the policeman in a gruff voice.
“n-no, not exactly; that is,”—said dorothy, beginning to explain.
but the policeman looked very angry and said, “i arrest you for trying to take something that does not belong to you.”
“but please, mr. policeman, i didn’t know i was doing wrong,” sobbed dorothy.
“neither did i,” roared the policeman.
“but i never was arrested before,” cried dorothy.
“that isn’t my fault,” said the policeman.
just then little bo-peep came along with all her sheep.
“why, what is the trouble?” asked little bo-peep, looking from dorothy to the toy policeman.
“he’s going to arrest me,” answered dorothy.
“you mustn’t do that,” cried bo-peep; “she’s a friend of mine.”
“but she was breaking the law,” said the policeman.
“that’s too bad,” whispered bo-peep, putting her arm around dorothy’s neck.
“you know, dear, that you can break everything in toy-land except the law.”
“however,” she continued, “as you are a visitor you cannot be arrested.”
“i think i had better go home now,” said dorothy, “i wonder where all my animals are?”
“i’ll blow my whistle,” said the policeman, “and they will come.”
114 no sooner did the whistle sound than all her animals appeared.
the policeman locked them up in noah’s ark, but dorothy stepped into a train of toy cars and was soon safe home.
