All the dolls felt and were surprised to find it polished so highly inside, while the outside was so coarse and rough. With the help of Uncle Clem and Henny, Raggedy Andy turned the shell upon its back, so that all the dolls might look in.
The coloring consisted of dainty pinks, creamy whites and pale blues, all running together just as the coloring in an opal runs from one shade into another. Raggedy Andy, stooping over to look further up inside the pretty shell, heard something.
"It's whispering!" he said, as he raised up in surprise.
All the dolls took turns putting their ears to the mouth of the beautiful shell. Yes, truly it whispered, but they could not catch just what it said.
Finally Raggedy Andy suggested that all the dolls lie down upon the floor directly before the shell and keep very quiet.
"If we don't make a sound we may be able to hear what it says!" he explained.
So the dolls lay down, placing themselves flat upon the floor directly in front of the shell and where they could see and admire its beautiful coloring.
Now the dolls could be very, very quiet when they really wished to be, and it was easy for them to hear the faint whispering of the shell.
This is the story the shell told the dolls in the nursery that night: