“And now comes the best part of the story. What do you think happened to those lovely doll clothes?”
“Don’t stop!” cried Allspice. “Do tell us!”
“As the lad slept, there came a chattering and whisking about. In a moment dozens of monkeys came down from the trees. They gobbled up the crumbs, and then turned to the doll clothes. Almost before you could say ‘Jack Robinson,’ they were robed in the tiny garments, and such a sight you never saw. They looked like a lot of gnomes dressed for a party. They played all sorts of games and raced wildly about in the greatest glee. Suddenly Enrico opened his eyes on the scene.
“‘The doll clothes. The doll clothes,’ he wailed. ‘Give them back!’
“The monkeys saucily nodded their heads and quickly climbed into the trees. Swinging from the branches with their tails curled about the limbs, they chattered as though crying, ‘Get them if you can! Get them if you can!’
“This was serious, and Enrico sat watching and wondering what he could do, for he must have the clothes at once.
“Suddenly he remembered the monkey’s desire to imitate. In the long ago his father had told him how they did just what they saw people do.
“It was worth trying, and the boy arose and threw off his cap.
“At once hats and bonnets were snowed down upon him. Enrico gathered them up and placed them in his basket.