She would buy a thing one day and change it, or
send it back, the next.
"And when I came to her as a Christmas present, she happened to have a
little China Dog. I guess she thought the dog might bark at me. Anyhow,
she sent me back to the store, only she sent me here instead of to the
store where the Calico Clown and the other toys lived, and the mistake
was never found out. Mr. Mugg and his daughters took me in, and I have
been here ever since."
"Do you ever see your friend, the Monkey on a Stick, or hear from the
Sawdust Doll?" asked the Donkey.
"Once in a while," was the answer. "Sometimes, when the grown folk buy
toys for children they pick out the wrong ones, and the toys are brought
back or exchanged. These toys that come back tell us of the houses where
they have spent a few days.
"Once a Jumping Jack who was brought back in this way told about being
in a house where the Sawdust Doll lived, and where there was also a
White Rocking Horse I used to know."
"I should like to meet the White Rocking Horse," said the Nodding
Donkey. "He might be a distant relation of mine."
"Perhaps," agreed the China Cat. "But now I think it is time we got back
on our shelves. I see daylight beginning to peep in the window, and it
would never do for Mr.
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