Sometimes when Mr. Poodle was making a toy he would be singing such a funny song that Tommy and Helen had to stop their play and have a good laugh. Then Mr. Poodle would look at them over the tops of his spectacles, and make believe he felt very cross because they laughed. But Tommy and Helen could see the twinkle that went jumping around in Mr. Poodle’s eyes, so they knew he wasn’t one bit cross; he wasn’t either, for he thought it fine to hear little boys and girls laugh. Why, sometimes he would be so glad that he would take his brush and paint a smile right on the face of one of the toys he was making, and the smile would always stay there, so the toy could be very happy as long as it lived. That was the kind of a man Mr. Poodle was.
Of course, Mr. Poodle’s toys were not the common everyday sort. No, indeed! why some of them looked as if they could truly walk and talk like real people. Mr. Poodle said that really and truly toys could walk and talk.
Tommy and Helen laughed when Mr Poodle spoke that way, and Tommy said: “Why, Mr. Poodle, toys can’t talk, they haven’t any tongues.” Then you should have heard Mr. Poodle laugh. “Prut,” he said, “didn’t you know toys don’t have to have tongues to talk? Now you listen and I will ask Master Rolie Polie to sing for you.” Master Rolie Polie was the name of a little clown. Mr. Poodle had a name for every one of his toys; he said boys and girls {13} wouldn’t like to go through the world without names, and neither did toys; and moreover, having names made them much more sociable. Then Mr. Poodle introduced the clown to Helen and Tommy: “Master Rolie Polie,” he said, “this lady and gentleman would like to have you sing them a song. Let it be something funny, something jolly.”
Tommy and Helen now listened very quietly, and Mr. Poodle tilted back his chair and beat time with his finger while he hummed the words of a little song, just as if he were repeating them after the clown. When he finished, he nodded his head approvingly and said: “Very good! Very good, indeed! Thank you, Master Rolie Polie; that was a fine song and no mistake.”
Helen and Tommy laughed at the funny song, and thanked Mr. Poodle. “We liked the song very much,” said Tommy. “But I think, Mr. Poodle, we never would have heard one single word if you had not been singing also.”
Mr. Poodle then patted both of them on the head very kindly and said: “Never mind, it certainly is a little hard in the beginning to hear what the toy people say, because not having any tongues they cannot talk plainly. But by and by, if you only try to learn and are patient, you will get to know the toy language, and then you can understand every bit as well as I do.”
Helen and Tommy thought that would be fine, and said they were sure they could be patient.
After that, Mr. Poodle had two little soldiers, Captain Hinkle Pinkle of the infantry and Captain Noddle Poddle of the cavalry, lead their armies in a wonderful battle.
During the excitement of this battle no one noticed the entrance of a stranger. Had Tommy looked, he would {14} have seen the man to be that same big ruffian who had chased him through the dark street the night he came to the toy shop. A sly look appeared in the man’s eyes as he caught sight of Tommy, and a wicked smile twisted the corners of his mouth. Then he turned to the door, and, lifting the latch, quickly left the toy shop.
