Raggedy Ann Stories | Page 3

Jumping Jack and held him up
to the door; then Jack slid up his stick and unlocked the door.
Then the dollies all pushed and the door swung open.
My! Such a scramble! The dolls piled over one another in their desire
to be the first at the goodies.
They swarmed upon the pantry shelves and in their eagerness spilled a
pitcher of cream which ran all over the French dolly's dress.

The Indian doll found some corn bread and dipping it in the molasses
he sat down for a good feast.
A jar of raspberry jam was overturned and the dollies ate of this until
their faces were all purple.
The tin soldier fell from the shelf three times and bent one of his tin
legs, but he scrambled right back up again.
Never had the dolls had so much fun and excitement, and they had all
eaten their fill when they heard the click of the front gate.
[Illustration]
They did not take time to climb from the shelves, but all rolled or
jumped off to the floor and scrambled back to their room as fast as they
could run, leaving a trail of bread crumbs and jam along the way.
Just as their mistress came into the room the dolls dropped in whatever
positions they happened to be in.
"This is funny!" cried Mistress. "They were all left sitting in their
places around the room! I wonder if Fido has been shaking them up!"
Then she saw Raggedy Ann's face and picked her up. "Why Raggedy
Ann, you are all sticky! I do believe you are covered with jam!" and
Mistress tasted Raggedy Ann's hand. "Yes! It's JAM! Shame on you,
Raggedy Ann! You've been in the pantry and all the others, too!" and
with this the dolls' mistress dropped Raggedy Ann on the floor and left
the room.
When she came back she had on an apron and her sleeves were rolled
up.
She picked up all the sticky dolls and putting them in a basket she
carried them out under the apple tree in the garden.
There she had placed her little tub and wringer and she took the dolls
one at a time, and scrubbed them with a scrubbing brush and soused

them up and down and this way and that in the soap suds until they
were clean.
Then she hung them all out on the clothes-line in the sunshine to dry.
There the dolls hung all day, swinging and twisting about as the breeze
swayed the clothes-line.
"I do believe she scrubbed my face so hard she wore off my smile!"
said Raggedy Ann, after an hour of silence.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
"No, it is still there!" said the tin solder, as the wind twisted him around
so he could see Raggedy. "But I do believe my arms will never work
without squeaking, they feel so rusted," he added.
Just then the wind twisted the little Dutch doll and loosened his
clothes-pin, so that he fell to the grass below with a sawdusty bump and
as he rolled over he said, "Mamma!" in a squeaky voice.
Late in the afternoon the back door opened and the little mistress came
out with a table and chairs. After setting the table she took all the dolls
from the line and placed them about the table.
They had lemonade with grape jelly in it, which made it a beautiful
lavender color, and little "Baby-teeny-weeny-cookies" with powdered
sugar on them.
After this lovely dinner, the dollies were taken in the house, where they
had their hair brushed and nice clean nighties put on.
Then they were placed in their beds and Mistress kissed each one good
night and tiptoed from the room.
All the dolls lay as still as mice for a few minutes, then Raggedy Ann
raised up on her cotton-stuffed elbows and said: "I have been thinking!"

"Sh!" said all the other dollies, "Raggedy has been thinking!"
"Yes," said Raggedy Ann, "I have been thinking; our mistress gave us
the nice dinner out under the trees to teach us a lesson. She wished us
to know that we could have had all the goodies we wished, whenever
we wished, if we had behaved ourselves. And our lesson was that we
must never take without asking what we could always have for the
asking! So let us all remember and try never again to do anything
which might cause those who love us any unhappiness!"
"Let us all remember," chimed all the other dollies.
[Illustration]
And Raggedy Ann, with a merry twinkle in her shoe-button eyes, lay
back in her little bed, her cotton head filled with thoughts of love and
happiness.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]

RAGGEDY ANN AND THE WASHING
"Why, Dinah! How could you!"
Mamma looked out of