A PAPER-DOLL HOUSE
The result of Marjorie's fall from the roof was a sprained ankle. It
wasn't a bad sprain, but the doctor said she must stay in bed for
several days.
"But I don't mind very much," said Marjorie, who persisted in looking
on the bright side of everything, "for it will give me a chance to
enjoy this beautiful room better. But, Grandma, I can't quite make out
whether I was disobedient or not. You never told me not to slide down
the roof, did you?"
"No, Marjorie; but your common-sense ought to have told you that. I
should have forbidden it if I had thought there was the slightest
danger of your doing such a thing. You really ought to have known
better."
Grandma's tone was severe, for though she was sorry for the child she
felt that Marjorie had done wrong, and ought to be reproved.
Marjorie's brow wrinkled in her efforts to think out the matter.
"Grandma," she said, "then must I obey every rule that you would make
if you thought of it, and how shall I know what they are?"
Grandma smiled. "As I tell you Midget, you must use your common-sense
and reason in such matters. If you make mistakes the experience will
help you to learn; but I am sure a child twelve years old ought to know
better than to slide down a steep barn roof. But I suppose Molly put
you up to it, and so it wasn't your fault exactly."
"Molly did suggest it, Grandma, but that doesn't make her the one to
blame, for I didn't have to do as she said, did I?"
"No, Midge; and Molly has behaved very nicely about it. She came over
here, and confessed that she had been the ringleader in the mischief,
and said she was sorry for it. So you were both to blame, but I think
it has taught you a lesson, and I don't believe you'll ever cut up that
particular trick again. But you certainly needn't be punished for it,
for I think the consequences of having to stay in bed for nearly a week
will be punishment enough. So now we're through with that part of the
subject, and I'm going to do all I can to make your imprisonment as
easy for you as possible."
It was in the early morning that this conversation had taken place, and
Grandma had brought a basin of fresh, cool water and bathed the little
girl's face and hands, and had brushed out her curls and tied them up
with a pretty pink bow.
Then Jane came with a dainty tray, containing just the things Marjorie
liked best for breakfast, and adorned with a spray of fresh roses.
Grandma drew a table to the bedside and piled pillows behind Marjorie's
back until she was quite comfortable.
"I feel like a queen, Grandma," she said; "if this is what you call
punishment I don't mind it a bit."
"That's all very well for one day, but wait until you have been here
four or five days. You'll get tired of playing queen by that time."
"Well, it's fun now, anyway," said Marjorie, as she ate strawberries
and cream with great relish.
After breakfast Jane tidied up the room, and Marjorie, arrayed in a
little pink kimono, prepared to spend the day in bed. Grandma brought
her books to read and writing materials to write letters home, and
Marjorie assured her that she could occupy herself pleasantly.
So Grandma went away and left her alone. The first thing Marjorie did
was to write a letter to her mother, telling her all about the
accident. She had thought she would write a letter to each of the
children at home, but she discovered to her surprise that it wasn't
very easy to write sitting up in bed. Her arms became cramped, and as
she could not move her injured ankle her whole body grew stiff and
uncomfortable. So she decided to read. After she had read what seemed a
long time, she found that that, too, was difficult under the
circumstances. With a little sigh she turned herself as well as she
could and looked at the clock. To her amazement, only an hour had
elapsed since Grandma left her, and for the first time the little girl
realized what it meant to be deprived of the free use of her limbs.
"Only ten o'clock," she thought to herself; "and dinner isn't until
one!"
Not that Marjorie was hungry, but like all the invalids she looked
forward to meal-times as a pleasant diversion.
But about this time Grandma reappeared to say that Molly had come over
to see her.
Marjorie was delighted, and welcomed Molly gladly.
"I'm awful sorry," the little visitor began, "that I made you slide
down the roof."
"You didn't make me do it," said Marjorie, "it was my fault quite as
much as yours; and, anyway, it isn't a very bad sprain. I'll be out
again in a few days, and then we can play some more. But we'll keep
down on the ground,--we can't fall off of that."
"I thought you might like to play some games this morning," Molly
suggested, "so I brought over my jackstraws and my Parcheesi board."
"Splendid!" cried Marjorie, delighted to have new entertainment.
In a few moments Molly had whisked things about, and arranged the
jackstraws on a small table near the bed. But Marjorie could not reach
them very well, so Molly changed her plan.
"I'll fix it," she said, and laying the Parcheesi board on the bed, she
climbed up herself, and sitting cross-legged like a little Turk, she
tossed the jackstraws out on the flat board, and the game began in
earnest.
They had a jolly time and followed the jackstraws with a game of
Parcheesi.
Then Jane came up with some freshly baked cookies and two glasses of
milk.
"Why, how the time has flown!" cried Marjorie, "it's half-past eleven,
and it doesn't seem as if you'd been here more than five minutes,
Molly."
"I didn't think it was so late, either," and then the two girls did
full justice to the little luncheon, while the all-useful Parcheesi
board served as a table.
"Now," said Marjorie, when the last crumbs had disappeared, "let's mix
up the two games. The jackstraws will be people, and your family can
live in that corner of the Parcheesi board, and mine will live in this.
The other two corners will be strangers' houses, and the red counters
can live in one and the blue counters in the other. This place in the
middle will be a park, and these dice can be deer in the park."
"Oh, what fun!" cried Molly, who was not as ingenious as Marjorie at
making up games, but who was appreciative enough to enter into the
spirit of it at once.
They became so absorbed in this new sort of play that again the time
flew and it was dinner-time before they knew it.
Grandma did not invite Molly to stay to dinner, for she thought
Marjorie ought to rest, but she asked the little neighbor to come again
the next morning and continue their game.
After dinner Grandma darkened the room and left Marjorie to rest by
herself, and the result of this was a long and refreshing nap.
When she awoke, Grandma appeared again with fresh water and towels, and
her afternoon toilet was made. Marjorie laughed to think that dressing
for afternoon meant only putting on a different kimono, for dresses
were not to be thought of with a sprained ankle.
And then Uncle Steve came in.
Uncle Steve was always like a ray of sunshine, but he seemed especially
bright and cheery just now.
"Well, Midget Mops," he said, "you have cut up a pretty trick, haven't
you? Here, just as I wanted to take you driving, and walking in the
woods, and boating, and fishing, and perhaps ballooning, and
airshipping, and maybe skating, here you go and get yourself laid up so
you can't do anything but eat and sleep! You're a nice Midget, you are!
What's the use of having an Uncle Steve if you can't play with him?"
"Just you wait," cried Marjorie; "I'm not going to be in bed more than
a few days, and I'm going to stay here all summer. There'll be plenty
of time for your fishing and skating yet."
"But unless I get you pretty soon, I'll pine away with grief. And
everybody out on the farm is lonesome for you. The horses, Ned and
Dick, had made up their minds to take you on long drives along the
mountain roads where the wild flowers bloom. They can't understand why
you don't come out, and they stand in their stalls weeping, with great
tears rolling down their cheeks."
Marjorie laughed gayly at Uncle Steve's foolery, and said: "If they're
weeping so you'd better take them some of my pocket handkerchiefs."
"Too small," said Uncle Steve, scornfully; "one of your little
handkerchiefs would get lost in Dick's eye or Ned's ear. And old Betsy
is weeping for you too. Really, you'll have to get around soon, or
those three horses will run away, I fear."
"What about the cow; does she miss me?" asked Marjorie, gravely, though
her eyes were twinkling.
"The cow!" exclaimed Uncle Steve. "She stands by the fence with her
head on the top rail, and moos so loud that I should think you could
hear her yourself. She calls 'Mopsy, Mopsy, Moo,' from morning till
night. And the chickens! Well, the incubator is full of desolate
chickens. They won't eat their meal, and they just peep mournfully, and
stretch their little wings trying to fly to you."
"And the dogs?" prompted Marjorie.
"Oh, the dogs--they howl and yowl and growl all the time. I think I'll
have to bring the whole crowd of animals up here. They're so anxious to
see you."
"Do, Uncle Steve. I'd be glad to see them, and I'm sure they'd behave
nicely."
"I think so. The cow could sit in that little rocking-chair, and the
three horses could sit on the couch, side by side. And then we could
all have afternoon tea."
Marjorie shook with laughter at the thought of the cow sitting up and
drinking afternoon tea, until Uncle Steve declared that if she laughed
so hard she'd sprain her other ankle. So he said he would read to her,
and selecting a book of fairy tales, he read aloud all the rest of the
afternoon. It was delightful to hear Uncle Steve read, for he would
stop now and then to discuss the story, or he would put in some funny
little jokes of his own, and he made it all so amusing and entertaining
that the afternoon flew by as if on wings.
Then Jane came again with the pretty tray of supper, and after that
Grandma and Marjorie had a nice little twilight talk, and then the
little girl was tucked up for the night, and soon fell asleep.
When she woke the next morning and lay quietly in bed thinking over of
the events of the day before, she came to the conclusion that everybody
had been very kind to her, but that she couldn't expect so much
attention every day. So she made up her mind that when she had to spend
hours alone, she would try to be good and patient and not trouble
Grandma more than she could help.
Then she thought of the written list her mother had given her. She
smiled to think how easy it was now to keep those commands. "Of
course," she thought, "I can keep my hands clean and my hair tidy here,
for Grandma looks after that herself; and, of course, I can't help
obeying her while I'm here, for she doesn't command me to do anything,
and I couldn't do it if she did."
Molly came again that morning, and as Grandma had asked her to stay to
dinner with Marjorie, the girls prepared for a good morning's play.
It was astonishing how many lovely things there were to play, even when
one of the players couldn't move about.
Molly had brought over her paper-doll's house, and as it was quite
different from anything Marjorie had ever seen before, she wondered if
she couldn't make one for herself, and so double the fun of the game.
Grandma was consulted, but it was Uncle Steve who brought them the
necessary materials to carry out their plan.
A paper-doll's house is quite different from the other kind of a doll's
house, and Molly's was made of a large blankbook.
So Uncle Steve brought a blankbook almost exactly like it for Marjorie,
and then he brought her scissors, and paste, and several catalogues
which had come from the great shops in the city. He brought, too, a
pile of magazines and papers, which were crammed full of illustrated
advertisements.
The two little girls set busily to work, and soon they had cut out a
quantity of chairs, tables, beds, and furniture of all sorts from the
pictured pages.
These they pasted in the book. Each page was a room, and in the room
were arranged appropriate furniture and ornaments.
The parlor had beautiful and elaborate furniture, rugs, pictures,
bric-a-brac, and even lace curtains at the windows. The library had
beautiful bookcases, writing-desk, reading-table and a lamp,
easy-chairs, and everything that belongs in a well-ordered library.
The dining-room was fully furnished, and the kitchen contained
everything necessary to the satisfaction of the most exacting cook.
The bedrooms were beautiful with dainty brass beds, chintz-covered
furniture, and dressing-tables fitted out with all sorts of toilet
equipments.
All of these things were found in the catalogues and the magazine
advertisements; and in addition to the rooms mentioned, there were
halls, a nursery, playroom, and pleasant verandas fitted up with
hammocks and porch furniture.
Of course it required some imagination to think that these rooms were
in the shape of a house, and not just leaves of a book, but both Midge
and Molly had plenty of imagination, and besides it was very practical
fun to cut out the things, and arrange them in their places. Sometimes
it was necessary to use a pencil to draw in any necessary article that
might be missing; but usually everything desired could be found, from
potted palms to a baby carriage.
Marjorie grew absorbed in the work, for she dearly loved to make
things, and her ingenuity suggested many improvements on Molly's
original house.