"I'm going to have this Horse!" shouted the rude boy, as he rocked to and fro. "I'm going to make my mother buy him for me for Christmas. Go 'long! Gid-dap!"
"Oh, I never could stand belonging to this boy!" thought the poor
White Rocking Horse. "I should want to run away!"
While the unpleasant boy was still in the saddle, swaying to and fro and banging his heels, a lady came walking down the aisle of the toy department.
"Here's the Horse I want!" the boy cried to her. "He's a dandy! He has real hair in his tail and mane, and the saddle is real leather! Buy me this Horse!"
"No, Reginald, I cannot buy you this Horse," said the lady. "It costs too much, and you have a rocking horse at home now."
"Yes, but that one has no ears, his leg is broken, and he has no saddle or bridle," cried the boy. "I want this horse!"
"Your horse was as good as this one when it was new," said the boy's mother. "If you had taken care of it, it would be a good horse yet."
"Well, I couldn't help it 'cause his ears pulled off! I wanted him to stop rocking and he wouldn't!" grumbled the rude boy. "I had to pull his ears!"
"Gracious! Think of pulling off the ears of a rocking horse because he wouldn't stay quiet!" said the Bold Tin Soldier to himself. "I hope our White Horse doesn't get this boy for a master."
"I want this Horse! I want this one!" cried the boy, again banging his heels on the side of the toy.