“What is it used for?” asked Peggy.
“It is used for going to the top of, dear,” replied Wooden. “You get a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and when you have looked at it you come down again.”
It was not long before they reached the outskirts of Dolltown. On either side of the river were rows of houses in which the poorer dolls, mostly wooden and rag, lived. The weather was warm, and many of the fronts of the houses stood wide open, showing the inside of the four rooms into which each of them was divided. There were generally a kitchen and a dining-room on the ground floor, and a drawing-room and a bedroom above. None of these houses had staircases, and it was puzzling to think how the dolls could get into the upstairs rooms. Wooden explained, when Peggy asked her, that the dolls either climbed in through the windows, or, if the house-front was open, put a kitchen chair on the kitchen table, and scrambled up somehow. Those who were not strong enough to do so had to spend the night sitting on chairs in the kitchen or dining-room.
“Isn’t that rather uncomfortable for them?” asked Peggy.
“Well, dear, perhaps it is rather,” said Wooden. “But, you see, we’re not so particular as you are, so we don’t feel it so much.”
“But didn’t you say there wasn’t any night in Toyland?” asked Peggy.
“Perhaps, I did, dear. I say so many things in the course of time that I can’t possibly remember all of them. But there is one thing I should never do, and that is tell a lie.”
Peggy looked at her quickly, fearing that she might be offended, but her face still wore its amiable sweet-tempered expression, and when Peggy gave her a kiss, just in case she might have said something to hurt her, she kissed her back, and called her a precious lamb.
Some of the dolls’ houses that they were passing were quite well furnished. Others had furniture a good deal too large for the rooms, but the dolls seemed all to be of one size, and Wooden told Peggy that, however large or small a doll might be in the nursery, when it got home to Toyland it became as large as life.
All the inhabitants of these small houses came thronging down to the banks of the river to see the procession of animals, and to cheer the royal ark as it passed along. Peggy noticed that the wooden dolls cheered more heartily than the wax dolls and china dolls and composition dolls. In fact one party of Dutch dolls became so excited as the ark passed that they all fell into the river, and had to be rescued by Mr. Noah’s youngest son, who was attending to the elephants. All were got safely to land, except the father of the Dutch doll family, who swam out and clung to the ark, and was dragged on board by Mr. Noah himself.