The desire of Dot for long golden curls was something no one could understand. All her dolls had to have yellow hair and she was always sighing for long, springy curls instead of the short, thick dark hair that covered her head. Now she carefully put on a circlet of pasteboard to which she had pinned long streamers of yellow crepe paper twisted to look something like curls.
“You look crazy,” said Bobby frankly, but Twaddles withered him with a look.
“A heap you know about a princess,” he said scornfully. “They always have long hair. Go on, Dot.”
Dot curled herself into the trunk and Twaddles stood by it. He rapped with his wand three times and up rose the princess, slowly and gracefully, her yellow curls dangling half-way to her waist.
“Now go back!” commanded the witch-man, striking the trunk with his wand again to make the princess disappear.
She disappeared, but more quickly than she had intended. Twaddles’ stick had jarred the heavy lid of the trunk and it crashed down, hiding the princess from view, but not shutting out her shrieks of fright.
“Mother!” screamed poor Dot. “Mother! Ow! Open it, Twaddles!”
“You’re a fine witch-man,” scolded Bobby, rushing for the trunk; but Mother Blossom and Norah reached it first.
CHAPTER VIII
CHRISTMAS AT SCHOOL
WELL, Dot wasn’t hurt, and Mother had her out of the trunk in a jiffy. Dot, between her sobs, managed to remember that it was the end of the play, anyway, and that made her feel better. And after Twaddles had explained that he did not mean to knock so hard, they all went downstairs.