They right-wheeled and left-wheeled and halted and went on the double-quick and then they all stood up and fired their guns—make-believe, of course, for the guns were only of tin, and had no powder in them, not even talcum powder.
“But it’s lots of fun to make believe!� said the Sawdust Doll, when the parade had ended.
“Yes, it certainly is!� said the Calico Clown. “And, speaking of fun, reminds me of a joke. What part of a doll’s house is hot and cold at the same time?�
“Ho! Such a thing can’t be!� exclaimed the White Rocking Horse. “Nothing can be hot and cold at the same time.�
“Yes, it can!� said the Calico Clown. “It’s the front door of the doll’s house. The outside part of the door is cold, and the inside part, nearest the fire, is hot. Ha, Ha!� and he rattled his cymbals like anything.
And so the make-believe party of the toys went on in the night. It was make-believe only to such persons as you and me and the watchman. To the toys the party was real enough, for they could talk among themselves, and move and jump about. But if any one had looked at them, even a little baby, the toys would have been as still and quiet as a hairpin. That’s the funny part of it.
The Sawdust Doll was just having a little dance with the Calico Clown, and the Monkey on a Stick was asking the White Rocking Horse to give him a ride around the floor when, all of a sudden, the Lamb on Wheels came rolling back from where she had gone to look out of a window.
“The sun is coming up! The sun is coming up!� cried the Lamb. “Back to your places, every one of you. It will soon be daylight and the people will begin coming in.�
And, surely enough, a little while after that, when all the toys were back in their places, the store opened, the clerks took their stand behind counters and in front of shelves, and once more the busy shopping day began.
“I wonder if anything will happen to me to-day,� thought the Sawdust Doll as she sat on her shelf, with other dolls and toys around her. “I wonder if I shall ever have any adventures. I wonder——�