Up and down and to and fro the head of the Nodding Donkey moved as Geraldine Mugg dusted him.  Then she set him back on the shelf, as her sister did the China Cat.

“Come here, Daughters, and see this set of Soldiers,” called Mr. Mugg, who was unpacking more toys from the box.  “They are the nicest we ever had.”

“Oh, what fine red coats they wear!” said Angelina.

“And how their guns shine!” exclaimed Geraldine.  “Our store will look lovely when we get all the toys placed in it.”

“I think the store looks very well as it is,” thought the Nodding Donkey to himself, as he stood straight and stiff on his shelf, his coat of varnish glistening in the light.  “I never saw such a wonderful place.”

And, indeed, the toy store of Mr. Horatio Mugg was a place of delight for all boys and girls.  I could not begin to tell you all the things that were in it.  Mr. Mugg kept only toys.  All the different sorts that were ever made were there gathered together, ready for the Christmas trade.

And as the Nodding Donkey, standing beside the white China Cat, looked on and listened, he saw boys and girls, with their fathers or mothers, coming in to look at the toys.  Some were ordered to be put away until Christmas should come.  Others were taken at once, to be mailed perhaps to some far-off city.

As the Nodding Donkey watched he saw a little boy with blue eyes and golden hair come in and point to a Jack in the Box.

“Please, Mother, will you tell Santa Claus to bring me that for Christmas?” begged the little boy.

“Yes, I will do that,” his mother promised.  “And now, Sister, what would you like?” the lady asked.

The Nodding Donkey looked down and saw a little girl, with dark hair and brown eyes standing beside the little boy.  This girl pointed to a large doll, and, to his surprise, the Donkey saw that it was the same one he had spoken to in the packing case.

“You may put that Doll aside for my little girl for Christmas, Mr. Mugg,” said the lady.

“Very well, Madam, it shall be done,” replied the toy man, and he lifted the Cloth Doll down off the shelf.

“Oh, dear! she is going away, and I shall never see her again,” thought the Nodding Donkey.  “That is the only sad part of life for us toys.  We make friends, but we never know how long we may keep them.  We are so often separated.”

Mr. Mugg put the doll down under the counter, where no other little girl might see her and want her.  Then the toy man reached up and gently touched the head of the Donkey, so that it nodded harder than ever.

“Here is a new toy that just came in,” said Mr. Mugg.  “It is one of the latest.  It is called a Nodding Donkey, and once you start his head going it will move for hours.”

“Oh, it is nice!” said the lady.  “Would you rather have that than your Jack in the Box, Robert?” she asked the little boy.