So, leaving the Sawdust Doll in his kennel, Carlo ran back to the house. He wagged his tail as he thought of the good things the boys and girls might give him. And they sometimes did give him good things. As soon as he trotted in through the kitchen, where the door had been left open to bring in another freezer of ice cream, Carlo found a piece of cake on the floor. That made him wag his tail harder than before.
But the poor Sawdust Doll! Think of her left all alone out in the straw of the dog’s kennel, with her new rose-colored silk dress on! Wasn’t that too bad?
“This certainly is an adventure!� said the Sawdust Doll to herself. “I’m glad this straw is nice and warm, or I might get cold. But I don’t exactly like it here. It was better even on the closet shelf with Jack-in-the-Box, though he did have to talk through a crack to me.�
For some time the Sawdust Doll lay in the straw of the dog kennel. She sat up and looked about her, for, there being no one there with human eyes to watch, the toy could do as she pleased. She even got up and walked about, though it was hard work because the long pieces of straw were tangled in her feet. She went to the door of the kennel and looked out, first making sure no one was in the yard to see her.
“Dear me! I never could walk back to the house through the snow,� said the Sawdust Doll to herself. “If it were summer time I might try it after dark, when every one had gone to bed. But I never could do it now in the snow. I’d simply catch cold and have the sawdust fever. No, I shall have to stay here until some one comes for me. I hope that nice girl Dorothy misses me soon, and comes and gets me.�
And, surely enough, Dorothy did miss her doll shortly after that. The cake, ice cream, and other good things had been eaten, and after some games had been played by the boys and girls, Dorothy said:
“Now let’s get my new doll again, girls! She must be lonesome waiting for us to get through with our cake and ice cream.�
“Yes, we’ll get your doll,� said another girl.
Dorothy ran to the table where she had put her Sawdust Doll.
“Why! Why!� cried the little girl. “She isn’t here! She’s gone!�