After this lovely dinner, the dollies were taken in the house, where they had their hair brushed and nice clean nighties put on.

Then they were placed in their beds and Mistress kissed each one good night and tiptoed from the room.

All the dolls lay as still as mice for a few minutes, then Raggedy Ann raised up on her cotton-stuffed elbows and said:  “I have been thinking!”

“Sh!” said all the other dollies, “Raggedy has been thinking!”

“Yes,” said Raggedy Ann, “I have been thinking; our mistress gave us the nice dinner out under the trees to teach us a lesson.  She wished us to know that we could have had all the goodies we wished, whenever we wished, if we had behaved ourselves.  And our lesson was that we must never take without asking what we could always have for the asking!  So let us all remember and try never again to do anything which might cause those who love us any unhappiness!”

“Let us all remember,” chimed all the other dollies.

[Illustration]

And Raggedy Ann, with a merry twinkle in her shoe-button eyes, lay back in her little bed, her cotton head filled with thoughts of love and happiness.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

RAGGEDY ANN AND THE WASHING

“Why, Dinah!  How could you!”

Mamma looked out of the window and saw Marcella run up to Dinah and take something out of her hand and then put her head in her arm and commence crying.

“What is the trouble, Dear?” Mamma asked, as she came out the door and knelt beside the little figure shaking with sobs.

Marcella held out Raggedy Ann.  But such a comical looking Raggedy Ann!

Mamma had to smile in spite of her sympathy, for Raggedy Ann looked ridiculous!

Dinah’s big eyes rolled out in a troubled manner, for Marcella had snatched Raggedy Ann from Dinah’s hand as she cried, “Why, Dinah!  How could you?”

Dinah could not quite understand and, as she dearly loved Marcella, she was troubled.

Raggedy Ann was not in the least downhearted and while she felt she must look very funny she continued to smile, but with a more expansive smile than ever before.

Raggedy Ann knew just how it all happened and her remaining shoe-button eye twinkled.

She remembered that morning when Marcella came to the nursery to take the nighties from the dolls and dress them she had been cross.

Raggedy Ann thought at the time “Perhaps she had climbed out of bed backwards!” For Marcella complained to each doll as she dressed them.

And when it came Raggedy’s time to be dressed, Marcella was very cross for she had scratched her finger on a pin when dressing the French doll.

So, when Marcella heard the little girl next door calling to her, she ran out of the nursery and gave Raggedy Ann a toss from her as she ran.