"Bow wow! Gurr-r-r-r-r!" growled the poodle dog, as he shook and tossed the fuzzy thing. And as it fell near Dick the boy looked and saw that, indeed, it was only a piece of fur, as Mary had said.
"I thought it was a mouse," said Dorothy. "And I guess Carlo did, too."
"If it had been I could have made it run back to its hole when I banged my pop gun at it!" declared Dick. "Now I guess I'll play I'm a soldier captain on a horse. I'm going to ride my Rocking Horse," he went on, as he hurried back to the playroom.
"I'll take my Sawdust Doll," said Dorothy, "and we'll have some fun."
All day long the children played, and after supper, when it was time for them to go to bed, Dick pulled his Rocking Horse out into the hall.
"Are you going to leave him there all night?" asked his mother.
"Yes," he answered. "I want to put my railroad track down in the playroom in the morning, and there isn't room if I have the Rocking Horse in there too. I'll make believe the hall is his stable."
"Then I'll not leave my Sawdust Doll out there, for she cannot sleep in a stable," said Dorothy.
Dick's mother intended to move the White Rocking Horse out of the way, for it took up too much room in the hall, but she forgot about it when callers came that evening, and, when the family went to bed, the Horse was still out near the head of the stairs that led down to the first floor.
The house became quiet, only a dim light gleaming in the upper hall, and the White Rocking Horse drew a long breath.