Charlie's Playthings.
Charlie, tired out with play, fell asleep on the nursery rug one winters afternoon. “Hullo, Charlie!” said his sister's biggest doll, walking up and patting him familiarly on the back. “Look,” she said, “there goes the omnibus to Fleet Street; let us go and see if there's room for us.”
Charlie very soon found himself riding on the top of his toy omnibus, with the conductor driving and shouting, and a wooden doll calling out “Fare, sir; fare a penny!” He drove along too through his own toy village. “Thisisn't Fleet Street!” he said.
“No,” said the doll; “we are now driving to the Zoo.”
Charlie wondered more and more, but he said nothing until the omnibus stopped and all the dolls got down. He found himself then hustled into a tiny train, the engine of which whistled loudly, and had a piece of cotton wool coming out of its funnel for smoke.
“Here is the Zoo,” said the doll; “and there are the animals going to bed.”
Charlie looked. Why, the Zoo was his Noah's ark, and the animals belonged to it! “Thisisn't the Zoo!” said Charlie.
At this point up came a very grandly dressed gentleman doll with an eye-glass.
“This gentleman would like a game of nine-pins, Lady Arabella,” he said; “pray come this way,” and he led them to a lawn where a set of nine-pins were.
“Those are my nine-pins,” cried Charlie.
“Nonsense!” said the doll. “They belong to this gentleman.”
“You are a very rude doll,” observed the possessor of the eye-glass to Charlie. “How dare you say my things are yours!”
“So they are,” shouted Charlie; “and I'm not a doll, and youareone, and you belong to my sister, and you are made of wax, so there!”
The gentleman doll grew very angry at this. “How dare you!” he said loudly. “Policeman! hi! Policeman!” and one came hurrying across the street.
Charlie laughed; he recognised one of the little wooden policemen in his toy box.
“Hush!” cried the doll; “the soldiers are coming!”
Marching down the street came Charlie's tin soldiers, all with drawn swords, and most of them on horseback.
Charlie boldly advancing laid his hand on the bridle of the general's horse. Immediately there was a great clatter of arms, and Charlie would have been cut to pieces if just then he had not woke up to find himself on the nursery rug.
Edith Grabham.
Edith Grabham.
Edith Grabham.
Edith Grabham.
Scavengers of the Desert.
Scavengers of the Desert.
Scavengers of the Desert.
Watching for his Prey.
Watching for his Prey.
Watching for his Prey.