'What a lot of dolls!' said one little girl; 'more dolls than there are
at the shop.'
After the show Mrs. Lee gave the children some tea and plumcake; and
then Lilla handed each of them a doll.
How pleased were the six little girls when they found they were each to
have a doll! And all of them said that Miss Lilla's doll show was the
best treat they had ever had.
[Illustration: headpiece to Selina and her Doll.]
*Selina and her Doll.*
'I should like to have a large wax doll of my own,' said Selina; 'large
enough for me to make clothes for, with buttons and strings, to fasten
and unfasten: I should play with it all day, and undress it at night,
and put it in a cradle. It should have eyes to open and shut, and I
should shut them at night, and then it would seem to be asleep. How
nice it would be!'
Selina was sitting in the garden talking to herself, and did not think
that any one heard her; but her mother had come into the garden and
heard what her little girl was saying.
[Illustration: 'SELINA WAS SITTING IN THE GARDEN.']
'You have two or three dolls, Selina,' said she.
'Yes, mother, but they are small ones, and I want a very large one. And
my dolls have brown hair and black eyes, and I want a doll with blue
eyes and light hair, and one that can open and shut its eyes, like
Cousin Bella's.'
And Selina looked up at her mother.
'Mother, will you buy one for me?'
'I am afraid that I cannot buy one for you. I have not so much money as
your Aunt Sarah has to spend upon dolls and playthings.'