But she didn’t refer to Aunt Phoebe’s crow as just a stuffed crow. He was a play crow, you know. There is a great distinction, even though you may not know it.
Henry wasn’t interested in paper dolls or paper doll furniture. But Katherine was. Henry sniffed. “Oh, I don’t care for Magic Books that make paper dolls,” but Katherine wanted to look at them all. So did Mother. Finally, Mother decided to take Katherine over to the couch and let Jimsi and Henry play the shadow motion pictures—at least examine them. Katherine sat on a stool beside Mother, and Mother watched to see that no paper dolls were torn by clumsy little fingers that didn’t know how easily paper tears.
Aunt Phoebe had brought her fancy work pattern down to show Mother. She had a work-basket and was prepared to start her fancy work.
Oh, but wasn’t this splendid!
They had afternoon tea out in The Happy Shop, too. Jimsi and Henry and Katherine had cocoa—but Mother and Aunt Phoebe had tea, and the Good Crow had to be brought in and put close to the tea-table. Aunt Phoebe talked for him as she had on the night of Jimsi’s arrival. And the crow always said, “Caw-caw,” when he was addressed by any member of the circle. He was a beautiful play crow. Katherine would have liked to kiss him, but kissing him as hard as Katherine kissed would hurt, Aunt Phoebe explained. She let the baby stroke the glossy plumage and say, “Pretty, pretty!” (You know an ordinary crow isn’t exactly pretty, but his plumage is a beautiful satiny black—all glossy. And Jimsi insisted that Caw Caw was beautiful.)
Henry said he didn’t think Caw Caw was pretty, but he thought the crow was good, all right. Henry, you see, was ever so interested in the motion pictures crow had invented, and he had to fix all the different plays that Jimsi had cut out and arrange the scenery on the motion picture screen. He thought this the greatest amusement. He wanted to try the play with a candle. Jimsi and he went off to a dark corner to work the motion pictures and they played Alice in Wonderland and made the White Rabbit run about in a most realistic way. Then, before they knew it was so late, they were called to dinner. How time does fly!
Just when they had finished dinner and desert was being served, Henry happened to look up at the crow perched on the shelf where Aunt Phoebe had put him—and if the crow didn’t have a letter in his bill!
“Why, look-look!” exclaimed Henry. “Look!” There was nothing to do, once having seen it, but to jump up from the table right then and there to go get that letter.
It proved to be a letter to Henry. He read it aloud.
