Kurus: The King of the Cannibal Islands.
By
Maggie Browne.
It certainly was the very ugliest doll you ever saw. It hadn't a bit of wax about it. It was a rag doll, a brown rag doll with black woolly hair, beads for eyes, and—horror of horrors—a ring through its nose! Then its clothes—no pretty pink frock and clean pinafore, no clothes to take off and on—it had only a black fur rug round its waist.
Mollie was nearly in tears as she stared at it, and Geoffrey's cheeks were very red.
It had come in a most promising cardboard box, wrapped up in the cleanest of tissue-paper; and when Mollie opened the parcel she had felt sure that the doll would have pink cheeks, blue eyes, and lovely golden hair—and then to find such a thing!
"It is too bad of Uncle Percy," said Mollie; "it is almost unkind."
"I think it is more 'curous' than pretty," said Geoffrey solemnly; "I should call it 'Kurus.'" He had been trying for several minutes to think of something to say to comfort Mollie.
"But I wanted to call it Evelina," said Molly; "I can't call that thing Evelina. Why, I can't even show it to Bessie."
Geoffrey began to dig the hole.
Now, Bessie was the little girl next door, Mollie's own well-beloved playmate.
"I don't think I should show it to anyone," said Geoffrey, and then he began to think.
Mollie was thinking too.
"Mary Selina Trewin," said Geoffrey solemnly.
Mollie jumped. When her Mother called her Mary Selina she knew something serious was coming.
"Mary Selina Trewin," said Geoffrey, "who has seen that doll?—Nobody. Who saw the postman bring it?—Nobody. Who knows it is here?—Nobody."
"What are you talking about?" said Mollie, much puzzled.
"Mary Selina Trewin," said Geoffrey, "who shall see it? Who shall know it is here?—Why, nobody. We will get rid of that doll; we will hide it." And then he whispered mysteriously: "We will bury it this very minute. Come along." And Mollie went, just pushing the doll into the box with all the papers, and hiding it under her pinafore.
They reached the garden without being seen, and Geoffrey began to dig the hole.
"It must be deep as deep as deep," said Mollie.
"Deeper than that," said Geoffrey.
But it is not easy to dig with a stick, and the hole was anything but deep when Nurse's voice was heard calling: "Miss Mollie! Master Geoffrey!"
"What shall we do?" said Geoffrey.
"Put it in quickly, cover it up, and we'll make the hole deeper after tea," said Mollie.
So the box and doll were popped in the hole and covered up, and Mollie and Geoffrey ran in to Nurse. Nurse wanted to make them tidy for tea. Never had the two children stood so quietly to have their faces washed and their hair brushed.
At tea-time they talked so little that Mother began to suspect that something was wrong.
"I wonder the doll doesn't come from Uncle Percy, Mollie," she said. "I expect he is searching for the very prettiest of all the dollies."
Molly nearly choked over her bread-and-butter; but Geoffrey said never a word.
He was staring out of the window, staring at Snap, who was tearing up and down the lawn, carrying something brown in his mouth.
"What has Snap found?" said Mother. "Is it a rabbit? Really I must ask Jane to——"
"I'll go, Mother," said Geoffrey, and he was down from his chair without waiting for Mother to say "Yes" or "No."
"Oh, oh, oh!" cried Mollie. "Look at Snap!"
"What can it be?" said Mother. "Ah! Geoffrey has caught him. Now we shall see what it was."
But Geoffrey came back into the room with the reddest of cheeks and the emptiest of hands.
"What had the dog got, Geoffrey?" asked Mother. "Mollie, what is the matter?"
Certainly Mollie's conduct was peculiar. She was making signs to Geoffrey, pointing out of the window, opening her mouth, and shaking her head.
"T-t-t—" stammered Mollie, and then there was a knock at the front door.
"Who can that be?" said Mother.
A voice was heard in the hall, a voice they all knew.
"Uncle Percy himself," cried Mother; "then, Mollie, he must have brought your doll."
Uncle Percy came into the room and was welcomed warmly by Mother, but very quietly by the children. As soon as they could they slipped out of the room and made their way into the garden. "We shall have to tell now," said Mollie. "Where did you put it?"
"I threw it behind the laurel-bush," said Geoffrey. "I suppose I had better get it."
He ran to the laurel-bush and Mollie followed.
"Mary Selina Trewin," said Geoffrey, "it isn't there." And though they searched and hunted they couldn't find any trace of the ugly doll.
"Oh, dear," said Mollie, "what are we to do?"
This time she began to cry really.
"Well, you are a queer girl," said Geoffrey; "you nearly cried when it came, and now you really cry when it is gone."
"But what will Uncle Percy say?" said Mollie.
"Well, the only thing to do," said Geoffrey, "is to tell Mother all about it."
"Oh, Geoffrey," said Mollie, "we may find it."
But Geoffrey was quite decided. "Snap must have eaten the old thing up. Come along."
The children found their Mother and Uncle Percy sitting by the fire talking busily. What they were saying neither Mollie nor Geoffrey heard; they were too busy to listen, for on the table lay an open cardboard box, and in the box lay a lovely doll—blue eyes, pink cheeks, golden hair, dressed in the prettiest of dresses and cleanest of pinafores.
"Oh!" said Mollie.
"Oh!" said Geoffrey.
"There you are, young people," said Uncle Percy. "Yes, Mollie, that is the doll I promised you. Do you think you will like it?"
"But the other?" said Geoffrey.
"Oh, you heard what we were saying, did you, young man?" said Uncle Percy. "Well, I'm sorry I sent the wrong parcel, but Mother will send it back as soon as——"
"But she can't send it back," said Mollie.
"Snap has eaten it," said Geoffrey.
"What?" cried Uncle Percy.
And then, of course, out came the whole story. They were scolded, they were punished, they were comforted and kissed, and Mollie went to bed that night hugging Evelina, the rosy-cheeked beauty, very tightly.
And the other! Uncle Percy said it didn't matter; he had only bought it to play a joke on someone. Mother and Mollie and Geoffrey and Jane and everybody hunted everywhere for it, but they didn't find it. A few days later a letter came from Bessie asking "Geoffrey and Mollie to come to tea with the King of the Cannibal Islands."
"The gardener found him in the garden," said Bessie, as Geoffrey and Mollie stared at Bessie's new doll. "Someone must have thrown him away, for he was ragged and torn; but Mother mended him, and, though he's queer, I like him the best of all my dolls."
"He is curous," said Geoffrey.
"I think I will call him Kurus, the King of the Cannibal Islands," said Bessie.
Mollie and Geoffrey were not very cheerful that afternoon, but Bessie did not notice it; she was so pleased with Kurus.
As the two children went home they felt very solemn and sad.
"It was it," said Mollie.
"Of course," said Geoffrey. "Snap, you know."
"What shall we do?" said Mollie.
"Tell Mother," said Geoffrey; "she'll help."
And Mother did help. She talked to Uncle Percy and to the children; but nobody said a word to Bessie, and, though she still has Kurus and is very fond of him, she does not know all the queer things that happened to him.