The Story of a China Cat | Page 2

the shelf, from the front part of the
store, a little man wearing a blue coat, dark red trousers, and a hat with
a long, sweeping plume. I say he was a little man, but I mean he was a
toy, dressed up like a man such as you see in fairy stories. In his hand
he carried a little golden trumpet.
As he walked along the shelf, where the other toys stood, the
Trumpeter, for such he was, blew another blast on his golden
instrument.
And the blast was such a jolly one that every toy in the store felt like
dancing or singing. The Jumping Jack worked his arms and legs faster
than they had ever jerked about before. The Talking Doll swayed on
her feet as though waltzing, and even the China Cat beat time with her
tail.
"That certainly was very nice," said the Talking Doll, when the
Trumpeter had finished the tune. "Did you say you just came here to be
one of us?"
"Just to-day," was the answer. "I came in a large box, straight from the
workshop of Santa Claus, at the North Pole, and I--"

"Oh! The North Pole!" suddenly mewed the China Cat.
"What's the matter? Does it make you chilly to hear about the North
Pole, where I came from?" asked the Trumpeter.
"No," answered the Cat. "I was just thinking of a friend of mine who
once lived there. You remember him," she added, turning to the
Jumping Jack. "I mean the Nodding Donkey."
"Of course I remember him!" said the Jumping Jack. "I should say I did!
A most jolly chap, always bowing to you in the most friendly way. He
isn't here any more."
"No, he was bought for a little lame boy who had to go on crutches,"
said the Talking Doll. "I remember the Nodding Donkey very well. I
say he was bought for a little lame boy. But the truth of the matter is
that the lame boy got well, and now is just like other boys. Once the
Nodding Donkey's leg was broken and he was brought back here for
Mr. Mugg to fix."
"Who is Mr. Mugg?" asked the Trumpeter, as he rubbed his horn to
make it more shiny. "Excuse me for asking, but I have not been here
very long, you know," he added.
"Mr. Horatio Mugg is the man who keeps this toy store," explained the
China Cat. "He and his daughters, Angelina and Geraldine, keep us
toys in order, dust us off and sell us whenever any one comes in to buy
playthings."
"Then it seems I am not to stay here always," went on the Trumpeter.
"Well, I like a jolly life, going about from place to place. I had fun at
the North Pole, and now I hope I shall have some fun here. That's why I
blew my trumpet--to start you toys into life."
"We always come to life after dark, and make believe we are alive
when no one sees us," explained the China Cat. "That is one of the
things we are allowed to do. But as soon as daylight shines, or when
any one comes into the store to look at us, we must turn back into toys

that can move only when we are wound up. That is, all except me. I
have no springs inside me--I move of myself whenever make-believe
time comes," she added, and she switched her tail from side to side.
"Well, I have springs inside me," said the Talking Doll, "and also a
little phonograph. When it is wound up I can say 'papa' and 'mama' and
'I am hungry.' But when we are by ourselves, as we are now, I can say
what I please."
"I, too, have springs inside me," said the Trumpeter. "That is how I
blow my trumpet. But now, as we are by ourselves and it is night, why
not have some fun? Let's do something. Perhaps, as a newcomer, I
should let some one else start it. But I could not bear to lie on the shelf,
doing nothing, especially when it is so near the jolly Christmas season.
So I just blew my trumpet to awaken you all."
"And I'm glad you did," said the Jumping Jack. "I say let's have some
fun! Shall I show you how well I can jump?" he asked. "If this is your
first night here," he said to the Trumpeter, "you do not know all the
tricks I can do."
"I should be most happy to see you do some," replied the Trumpeter.
"Oh, that Jumping Jack. He thinks he is the only one who can jump!"
whispered a Jack in the Box to Tumbling Tom. "If I could get out of
this box I'd