Ellen. Oh! mamma, I am so sorry! Look at my poor doll. I let baby play with it, and she has thrown it upon the floor, and broken its nose.
MAMMA'S DOLL
Mamma. Poor doll! You do look a sad figure, indeed.
Ellen. I did not like to be unkind to baby, you know, mamma, and so I gave it to her for a little while, when she held out her hands to take it. But I did not think she would throw it upon the floor.
Mamma. Do not cry, my dear. Come and sit upon my knee, and I will tell you a story. I hope you were not very angry with baby. She is too young to know that a doll is not to be thrown upon the floor.
Ellen. No, mamma, I was not angry. Baby did not know any better. But I cannot help crying for my pretty doll.
Mamma. Let me wipe away that tear. Now hear my story. I am going to tell you about my doll, when I was a little girl.
Ellen. Oh! mamma, had you a doll, once? And was it as large as mine? Was it a wax doll, mamma?
Mamma. It was a large wax doll much larger than yours; and it had blue eyes and dark brown hair. When I was a little older than you are, I went with my mamma and my aunt to spend some weeks in a fine old city; and one day while we were there, my mamma took me into a shop, and bought this doll for me. She said I must dress it myself, and my aunt showed me the proper way to make its frocks. With this help I was able to dress it very nicely. And my mamma said to me, "This is the last doll that I intend to buy for you; for, if you take care of it, it will not spoil like your other dolls."