The first doll Take took out was a very grand lady doll, dressed in stiff silk robes, embroidered with chrysanthemums.
"Here's the Empress," she cried; she set the Empress doll up
against the trunk. Then she ran to get her dear everyday doll.
She called her everyday doll "Morning Glory," and sometimes just
"Glory" for short. Glory was still asleep in Take's bed.
"Why, you sleepy head!" Take said. "Don't you know you are going to have company to-day? Where are your manners, child?"
She took Glory to the trunk and put her down on her knees before the Empress. "Make your bow," she said. Glory bowed so low that she fell over on her nose!
"Oh, my dear child!" said Take. "I must take more pains with you! Your manners are frightful! You will wear out your nose if you bow like that!"
She reached into the box and carefully lifted out the Emperor doll. He was dressed in stiff silk, too. He sat up very straight against the trunk beside the Empress.
Take made Morning Glory bow to the Emperor, too. This time Glory didn't fall on her nose.
These dolls had belonged to Take's Grandmother. She had played with them on her birthdays, and then Take's Mother had played with them on her birthdays, and still they were not broken or torn; they had been so well cared for.
They were taken out only once in the whole year, and that time was called the "Feast of Dolls."
Take's Mother had covered the five steps with a beautiful piece of silk. Take placed the Emperor and Empress in the middle of the top step. Then she ran back to the trunk to get more dolls.