THE TALE OF THE STOLEN DOLL CLOTHES
Nutmeg cried: “I know a grand one! It happened right in a forest near where I grew.
“You know those woods are full of monkeys, and they have great times. One of their traits is to mimic. They usually do what they see others do, and a good thing it was for the boy I’m going to tell you about.
“The boy’s name was Enrico. He lived with his widowed mother at the edge of the forest. They were very poor and had tried in many ways to earn money without success.
“The mother was handy with her needle, and one day a neighbour child came in with her naked doll.
“‘I’ll dress it,’ said the mother, and from her scrap bag produced cloth which she soon fashioned into a quaint gown for the doll.
“‘Mother!’ cried Enrico, much excited, ‘there are many dolls in the town, without clothes. Could you not make them and I will sell them? I know I can.’
“‘We’ll try,’ said Mother. She emptied her purse, ran to the store, and soon returned heavily laden with gay materials, from which she fashioned coats, gowns, petticoats, bonnets, hats and all sorts of things for dolls.
“Enrico could scarcely wait for the time to come when he could go and try his luck at selling them. One morning he started with his basket well filled.
“His eyes shone, and his heart beat fast as he hurried along. He had to pass through the forest to reach the town. It was a long walk, and a hot day.
“‘I think it is time to eat my lunch,’ he presently said to himself as he sat down under the trees. He was obliged to empty the basket as the lunch was underneath the garments.
“He laid them in a neat pile and found the sandwiches and fruit which his mother had carefully prepared. He had barely finished when his head toppled over against a tree and he was fast asleep.
“And now comes the best part of the story. What do you think happened to those lovely doll clothes?”
“Don’t stop!” cried Allspice. “Do tell us!”
“As the lad slept, there came a chattering and whisking about. In a moment dozens of monkeys came down from the trees. They gobbled up the crumbs, and then turned to the doll clothes. Almost before you could say ‘Jack Robinson,’ they were robed in the tiny garments, and such a sight you never saw. They looked like a lot of gnomes dressed for a party. They played all sorts of games and raced wildly about in the greatest glee. Suddenly Enrico opened his eyes on the scene.
“‘The doll clothes. The doll clothes,’ he wailed. ‘Give them back!’
“The monkeys saucily nodded their heads and quickly climbed into the trees. Swinging from the branches with their tails curled about the limbs, they chattered as though crying, ‘Get them if you can! Get them if you can!’
“This was serious, and Enrico sat watching and wondering what he could do, for he must have the clothes at once.
“Suddenly he remembered the monkey’s desire to imitate. In the long ago his father had told him how they did just what they saw people do.
“It was worth trying, and the boy arose and threw off his cap.
“At once hats and bonnets were snowed down upon him. Enrico gathered them up and placed them in his basket.
“Then off came his coat. Coats of all sorts now dropped about him.
“Chuckling to himself, Enrico now removed his other garments, and immediately tumbled down the gay-coloured gowns and snowy underwear.
“Enrico gathered them up as fast as he could, fearing the monkeys might descend upon him and once more rob him of his treasures.
“He then dressed himself and hurried on. He found a ready sale for his wares in the market, and with a purse full of money, and requests for many more garments of the same sort, he hastened home to tell his mother of his good fortune.
“There was great rejoicing in the little home, and the day came when Enrico was selling doll clothes in his own little shop in the heart of the city.
“A dear little shop it was with a home in the back where his mother cooked and sewed on the dainty garments.
“Enrico never tired of telling the children who came to buy, how he almost lost the first lot of doll clothes he ever started out to sell.”
General applause followed this interesting story, while the chairman cried, “Splendid! Splendid! It was most entertaining, and now I think the hour has arrived when we should hear from Beef and her creamy companion, both of whom remind me of Mary and her lamb, because where one goes the other follows.”