Dorothy’s Father Fixes the Sawdust Doll
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When the shopping was finished the little girl went down in the elevator with her mother. The Calico Clown and the Bold Tin Soldier, as well as the other toys, wished they might call out a “good-bye� to the Sawdust Doll as they saw her being carried away. And they wished they might tell her to come again. But they did not dare, with all the people around.
One day when it was snowing so hard that Dorothy and her brother could not go out to play, Dick climbed into a rocking chair in the middle of the playroom floor.
“I’m going to make believe this is a rocking horse,� he said. “I’m going to take a long ride,� and he swayed to and fro. “Do you want to ride with me, Dorothy?� he asked.
“Thank you, no. I am going to make a new dress for my Sawdust Doll,� was the answer. “I’ll leave her here a minute till I get some thread.�
Dorothy, leaving her doll down on the floor, went to the sewing-room, where her mother and Martha, the maid, were busy. Dick began to sway backward, and forward in the rocking chair.
“Gid-dap!� cried the boy. “Go fast, Rocking Horse!�
Then, all of a sudden, the chair swung to one side and one of the rockers went right over the Sawdust Doll. It tore a hole in her back and the sawdust began to run out.
“Oh, my!� cried Dick, when he saw the accident. “Oh, what will Dorothy say? Oh, I’m sorry!�
He got down off the chair and looked at the Doll on the floor. A little stream of sawdust was running out over the carpet.