“That was very funny,” said the little girl; “it made me laugh very much.”
“It made all the Toys laugh,” said the Marionette—“except the Hansom-driver himself. And, perhaps, he might be excused for not doing so.”
“He was a vain thing,” said the little girl.
“He was,” the Marionette agreed. “However, we must not be too severe on him. He had his good points after all. He was not bad-tempered, for example, like poor Claribelle, who at one time was quite unbearable, and made herself disliked by everyone. Though in the end, poor creature, she became, it is true, an altered character.”
“‘Poor Claribelle!’ Who was she?”
“A young lady doll whose bad temper, unfortunately for her, brought her great sorrow.
“I should like to hear about her,” said the little girl.
The little Marionette mused a moment. “I should not do wrong to tell you,” she remarked. “The story of this poor, proud creature may perhaps serve as a lesson and warning to some other haughty and fanciful young lady. Yes, you shall hear to-morrow evening of Claribelle.” And so the next evening, in a grave voice that befitted the tale, she told the story of