Lady Hollyhock and her Friends

On dress occasions this little one wore around her neck a pretty fresh ribbon tied in a large bow with long ends. Could a more dainty child be found anywhere?

The Straw Indian

LADY HOLLYHOCK’S visitors differed greatly in many ways. It was not only in looks that they varied, but in their very natures. And strange to say, many were different from what they seemed.

Some who appeared bravest and strongest were the weakest. For instance, who would have thought, to look at the fierce appearing Straw Indian, in all the bravery of war-bonnet and blanket, that he was one of the weakest of them all?

It was not his fault, poor fellow. He really wanted to be brave and strong. He showed that in both manner and dress. But with his weak constitution, how could he ever have gone into battle with the braves of his tribe? It had always been impossible for him to stand up for himself, even, without something to lean on.

He tried to make up for his natural weakness by dressing and acting like a brave, but it was useless.

Exercise, which makes others grow strong, only made the poor Straw Indian weaker, and while he was yet young his constitution gave way and he was laid to rest by the little Wests, who loved him in spite of his weakness, beside others of his tribe.

After the manner of real Indians he was buried in a sitting position, down in the orchard, near the clothes-pin Indian village.

However frail he may have been in life, now that the friendly earth supported him, none sat straighter than the lamented Straw Indian.

The Dried Peach Indian

THE Dried Peach Indian was just as different as could be from the Straw Indian. Being both strong and brave, he went out and did great deeds, as you can see by his war-bonnet.

If he had been just an ordinary Indian brave, he would have had only two or three eagles’ feathers at the back of the band encircling his head.

But as every feather in an Indian’s war-bonnet means some great deed done, any one can see the Dried Peach Indian had led a busy life.

The Softening of the Snows

A snow man stood on the side of a hill,Stern and silent stood he,And though his manner showed but little graceIt showed wonderful dignity.He carried himself as snow men doWith his chin well up in the air,And he seemed to say without word of mouth,“I’m better than you are, so there.”His chest was as full as an alderman’s chest,His head as round as a ball—And he wore, as such men usually do,A hat that was shiny and tall.The snow man’s wife was much like her spouse,As she stood there by his side.Like him she was round, and silent, and stern,And equally dignified.Each treated the other with cold reserve,For their hearts were icy and chill;’Twould have made you shiver to look at themAs they stood there on the hill.The kind old sun with his heart of gold,From his place in the sky above,Resolved to soften this icy pairWith the tender warmth of his love.The greeting he gave was so tender and warmIt melted their hearts of snow,And the moment they felt the warmth of loveTheir pride began to go.Then each toward the other more tender grewAnd softer toward all, it is clear;But as they nearer to each other drew,It was plain that their end was near.Each gave to the other a melting smileAnd tears flowed from their eyes,Then both sank into the friendly earth,The snow people’s paradise.

Pastry Creatures

BUT of all Lady Hollyhock’s visitors, the little Wests enjoyed most those who came from the kitchen.

When baking day came, Mamma always allowed the children to have a little pastry dough to make up into the forms they liked best.

Pie crust was fashioned into all sorts of animals as well as into people. These kept their shape beautifully.

Doughnut creatures, though good to have, were likely to lose their shapeliness as they grew in the fat. They did not suffer long, however, for they were soon eaten.

The story of the Doughnut Man was always sung as one of these odd creatures disappeared.

Sweetest of all were the Gingerbread Maids. It always took a pan full of these favorites to satisfy the children. Verses were made about these, too, and often repeated.

The Doughnut Man

(Tune: Old Grimes is Dead)The doughnut man is about to goWhere we ne’er shall see him more;And with him will go his doughnut coatAll buttoned down before.All buttoned down before, before,All buttoned down before.And with him will go his doughnut coatAll buttoned down before.

The Gingerbread Maid

The gingerbread maid is not at all fairAs any one can see,But although she is not beautifulShe’s sweet as she can be.There isn’t a maid in all the landWho has lovers so many as she,Yet she hasn’t a single accomplishment,She’s just sweet as she can be.Oh, Gingerbread Maid, come alive, if you can,And teach a lesson we all should know,Teach us how to be sweet to all that we meet,Then we’ll have friends wherever we go.

The great round cooky moons were fine, too. Cooky dough seemed made on purpose for modeling.

The Yarn Child

THE yarn child had a hard time in the world. You would not think it to look at her, but she did.

The very first day of her life she was given to a baby who was so fond of her that he bit her, and tried to pull her to pieces; then squeezed and hugged and picked at her till it was a wonder she ever lived through it all—Lady Hollyhock never could have endured such treatment.

But the yarn child did. Her main business in life was to amuse that baby, and, no matter how she was treated, her yarn eyes were just as wide open and her yarn smile just as broad as if she had always had the best of treatment.

Rag Dolls

AT Lady Hollyhock’s all visitors were treated alike. Those who came in rags were just as welcome as any.

Here is one pair, Mr. and Mrs. Dry Goods, who came all in rags even to their faces. Indeed, they appeared so well that one hardly thought of their garb until attention was called to it.

They were just as neat and clean as could be, though every part of them, from bodies to bonnets, had come out of the rag-bag.

These rag people were made by first taking a small wad of cotton wool for the head of each and covering it with thin brown silk drawn tightly together at the back, where knots of black thread were made to look quite like hair.

The features were drawn with a sharp pencil on each brown face while a stitch of white thread between the lips did very nicely for teeth. A small stitch of white was used in each eye, also.

Tight rolls of cloth served for the bodies, arms, and legs. When these were sewed securely together, the little rag couple were ready to be dressed.

As real people in dressing put on stockings and shoes first, these rag people did the same. The stockings they wore were cut from worn-out black silk gloves and sewed neatly up the back. The shoes and mittens were made from old kid gloves and fastened on with a few stitches.

Then the rag couple were dressed quite like other dolls, very neatly, of course, for the little Wests did everything neatly.

Rag Babies

Then there were the rag babies—I almost said the little rag people—but that would not have been true, for strange to say the babies were larger than the older members of the family.

This does not seem so strange after all, when one stops to think, for in the whole rag world, everything grows smaller as it grows older.

Some of these were just ordinary white babies while others belonged to the colored race. The Topsies were made of brown cotton or silk, with faces done in water colors, and hair of French knots.

But no matter what their color, or how they were made, the rag babies probably got more real love from their owners than any other dolls in the whole collection.

Rag babies are made by folding a piece of paper lengthwise and cutting the pattern of a half body free hand. This will insure the two sides being alike.

After getting a good pattern, cut from muslin two pieces just alike for front and back, sew them together and stuff with cotton.

The features can be made with either water colors or common ink thinned a little.

Tissue-Paper Ladies

OTHER tissue-paper ladies were made by gluing an upright strip of wood to the center of a horizontal piece, like an inverted T, and wrapping it with cotton for a foundation.

A ball of cotton was fastened to the top for a head, then covered with white tissue paper on which a face was drawn with a pencil.

These ladies wore loose, flowing gowns, long capes, and large, comfortable bonnets tied under the chin.

Tissue-paper ladies of this kind could stand alone.

Humpty-Dumpty

HUMPTY-DUMPTY was made from an empty egg shell. First, holes were carefully picked in the shell and the egg blown out. Then the face and cap were drawn in ink on the shell.

Wires covered with dark tissue paper were then put through the holes and bent into shape for arms and legs.

If light-weight hair pins are used, two or three may be twisted together for legs and spread at the ends to form feet. These dolls can stand alone.

Cinderella’s Coach

“I wish a fairy godmother would come and make a Cinderella’s coach for us out of this squash,” said Baby Bunnie one day.

“We can be our own fairy godmother,” said little Florence, as she set to work to make the wish come true. Soon there stood before them a wonderful coach made of that very squash—drawn by handsome peanut horses—and in it rode a beautiful peanut Princess, while a little dark raisin footman with toothpick arms and legs rode at the back on a seat cut out for him. A hairpin was the axle which held the pasteboard wheels in place.

The Princess was to drive straight to Lady Hollyhock’s, where the footman would assist her in leaving the carriage.

You, too, can be your own fairy godmother, and if you wish to have a great ball, at which all of Lady Hollyhock’s visitors may appear, not through the touch of a wand, but through the touch of the hand—and all of them will be so real that they will not fade away when the Princess goes.

Would it not be best, after all, for every one of us to be our own fairy godmothers, so that when we want very much to have anything happen we can set things going to bring it about? Then the things wished for will not vanish away at the stroke of a clock, but will be ours always.