Raggedy Ann Stories | Page 9

reached up and
took Raggedy Ann down from the shelf.
"Look at this rag doll, Jim," he said to one of the other painters, "She's
a daisy," and he took Raggedy Ann by the hands and danced with her
while he whistled a lively tune. Raggedy Ann's heels hit the floor
thumpity-thump and she enjoyed it immensely.
The other dolls sat upon the shelf and looked straight before them, for it
would never do to let grown-up men know that dolls were really alive.
"Better put her back upon the shelf," said one of the other men. "You'll
have the little girl after you! The chances are that she likes that old rag
doll better than any of the others!"
But the young painter twisted Raggedy Ann into funny attitudes and

laughed and laughed as she looped about. Finally he got to tossing her
up in the air and catching her. This was great fun for Raggedy and as
she sailed up by the shelf the dolls all smiled at her, for it pleased them
whenever Raggedy Ann was happy.
But the young fellow threw Raggedy Ann up into the air once too often
and when she came down he failed to catch her and she came down
splash, head first into a bucket of oily paint.
"I told you!" said the older painter, "and now you are in for it!"
"My goodness! I didn't mean to do it!" said the young fellow, "What
had I better do with her?"
"Better put her back on the shelf!" replied the other.
So Raggedy was placed back upon the shelf and the paint ran from her
head and trickled down upon her dress.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
After breakfast, Mistress came into the nursery and saw Raggedy all
covered with paint and she began crying.
The young painter felt sorry and told her how it had happened.
"If you will let me," he said, "I will take her home with me and will
clean her up tonight and will bring her back day after tomorrow."
So Raggedy was wrapped in a newspaper that evening and carried
away.
All the dolls felt sad that night without Raggedy Ann near them.
"Poor Raggedy! I could have cried when I saw her all covered with
paint!" said the French doll.

"She didn't look like our dear old Raggedy Ann at all!" said the tin
soldier, who wiped the tears from his eyes so that they would not run
down on his arms and rust them.
"The paint covered her lovely smile and nose and you could not see the
laughter in her shoe-button eyes!" said the Indian doll.
And so the dolls talked that night and the next. But in the daytime when
the painters were there, they kept very quiet.
The second day Raggedy was brought home and the dolls were all
anxious for night to come so that they could see and talk with Raggedy
Ann.
At last the painters left and the house was quiet, for Mistress had been
in and placed Raggedy on the shelf with the other dolls.
"Tell us all about it, Raggedy dear!" the dolls cried.
"Oh I am so glad I fell in the paint!" cried Raggedy, after she had
hugged all the dolls, "For I have had the happiest time. The painter took
me home and told his Mamma how I happened to be covered with paint
and she was very sorry. She took a rag and wiped off my shoe-button
eyes and then I saw that she was a very pretty, sweet-faced lady and she
got some cleaner and wiped off most of the paint on my face.
[Illustration]
"But you know," Raggedy continued, "the paint had soaked through my
rag head and had made the cotton inside all sticky and soggy and I
could not think clearly. And my yarn hair was all matted with paint.
"So the kind lady took off my yarn hair and cut the stitches out of my
head, and took out all the painty cotton.
"It was a great relief, although it felt queer at first and my thoughts
seemed scattered.
"She left me in her work-basket that night and hung me out upon the

clothes-line the next morning when she had washed the last of the paint
off.
"And while I hung out on the clothes-line, what do you think?"
"We could never guess!" all the dolls cried.
"Why a dear little Jenny Wren came and picked enough cotton out of
me to make a cute little cuddly nest in the grape arbor!"
"Wasn't that sweet!" cried all the dolls.
"Yes indeed it was!" replied Raggedy Ann, "It made me very happy.
Then when the lady took me in the house again she stuffed me with
lovely nice new cotton, all the way