Part 16 (1/2)

”But I have no sawdust, nor do I know where to get it,” answered the child.

”The Queen has a house full of it in the village. Give us the key and we will help ourselves,” said the doll.

”The Queen must have taken the key with her,” returned Dot, helplessly; ”I know nothing about it.”

”Then we shall break down the door,” declared the doll, and stamping her feet with anger she rushed back to her companions.

When they learned that the Queen had carried away the key to the sawdust house the dolls became much excited and ran off with loud shouts to tear down the door of the house.

Dot was both vexed and worried, for Twinkle declared the Queen would be much provoked if her pretty house was battered and broken.

”Let's call out the army,” exclaimed Tot, suddenly.

”That's a good idea, Tot,” said the girl, and at once sent Scollops to order the pewter soldiers to march into the village and preserve order. But the rag boy soon returned with the news that the soldiers refused to obey.

”They are not used to fighting,” explained Scollops, ”and they fear the dolls will treat them as they did the pewter band. Besides, they declare the Queen detests fighting, and would blame them for interfering with the people of the village.”

”The soldiers are toys and the people are dolls,” added Twinkle; ”so they sympathize with each other.”

”They didn't seem to sympathize with the band,” said Dot.

”No, but the band had no right to play cla.s.sical music in public.”

”Perhaps you are right,” said Dot, thoughtfully.

She saw now that she must let the naughty dolls have their own way; but she went down the street with Tot and Scollops and watched the crowd break down the door of the house. They took away quant.i.ties of the Queen's sawdust and carried it to their homes, where they made it into pies and cakes and feasted merrily upon this queer food.

This gave them something to do and made them happy for a while, and Dot was profoundly grateful for a period of rest and quiet; but she feared the dolls would break forth into more mischief before the day pa.s.sed, and so it proved.

For toward evening they again became restless, and as there was no music to be had they decided to make some of their own. So they gathered up a lot of tin pans for drums and pot covers for cymbals, and several of the dolls got combs and put paper over them. When they blew upon these combs and hummed a tune it sounded almost like music; so they formed a procession, with the doll musicians at the head of it, and marched all over the village, singing loudly:

Tum, tum--tum!

Tum, tum--tum!

Here comes the band with a tin-pan drum; Here come the cymbals, clangety-clang!

Here come the combs with their tw.a.n.g, tw.a.n.g, tw.a.n.g!

Here come the marchers, happy and gay, Strangers must keep out of our way!

Tum, tum--tum!

Tum, tum--tum!

Clatter the cymbals and bang the drum!

They marched up to the palace gate and back again, and when they came to the house in which was the big music box, one of the cried, ”Let us break the door down and start the music!”

”Good, we will!” screamed some of the most mischievous dolls.

”What do we care for the Queen?” yelled others.