55 THE DOLLS' THANKSGIVING DINNER

I

“Why can't dolls have a Thanksgiving dinner as well as little girls? ”asked Polly Pine.

“I don't know why, ”said Mother, laughing. “Go and dress them in their best clothes. Get the doll house swept and dusted, and the table ready. Then I'll see about a dinner.”

“Oh, how nice! ”said Polly Pine.

The doll house stood in Polly's play-room. It was very big and very beautiful.

Polly Pine swept the rooms with her tiny broom. Then she dusted them. She set the table for dinner with the very best dishes and silver. She put a tiny vase, with a little flower in it, in the center of the table, and she placed wee napkins at each plate.

When the doll house was clean and the table was set she dressed Susan in a pink dress, Dora Jane in gray, and Hannah in yellow.

Then she placed them around the table, each one in her own chair.

“Be very careful, Susan! ”she said, “Remember not to eat with your knife. Dora Jane, do not leave your teaspoon in your cup when you drink your tea.”

Just then Mother came in with the dolls' Thanksgiving dinner.

There was a small piece of turkey to put on the plate, before Hannah. Hannah was the oldest, and always carved the meat for the other dolls.

There were little dishes of potato and cranberry sauce. There was cake on a tiny plate.Then there was the smallest squash pie ever seen.

Polly Pine hopped up and down with joy. She set everything on the table. Then she ran away to get ready for her own dinner. She put on a pretty white dress and went downstairs.

II

Some friends had been asked to come to dinner, and they were all there. Polly was very fond of them, and she had a fine time at the dinner table.

One of the gentlemen could change his big napkin into a white rabbit. Polly thought this was so funny that she forgot all about the dolls' Thanksgiving dinner.

At last it was time for the dessert, and the nuts and the raisins were brought in and put on the table.

Then Polly remembered. She jumped down from her chair.“Oh, Mother! ”she said, “May I go to see if the dolls liked their dinner? ”

Mother told the visitors about the Thanksgiving dinner in the doll house. Everybody wanted to go with Polly, so they all went upstairs.

There sat the dolls, just as their little mother had left them—but they had eaten nearly all the dinner!

Pieces of food were scattered all over the table. The bread and the cake were all gone, and the crust of the little squash pie was eaten all around.

“Well, this is strange! ”said Father.

Just then they head a scratching sound in the doll house, and a little gray mouse jumped out from under the table.

He ran out of the front door and down the steps. In a moment he was gone, nobody knew where.

There was another tiny mouse in the doll house under a chair. A third one was under the bed, with a poor, frightened gray tail sticking out.

All of the mice ran safely away. They looked as though they had eaten a big dinner.

“Shall I get the cat? ”asked Mother.

“No, ”said Father, “Why can't a poor little mouse have a Thanksgiving dinner as well as we? ”

(Isabel Gordon Curtis)

Word list

broom: a tool with a long handle used for sweeping

vase: a container for holding flowers

scattered: in many different places

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What did Polly Pine ask her mother?

2) How old do you think Polly pine is? Why?

3) How did Polly Pine feel when her mother made Thanksgiving dinner for her dolls?

4) Who was Polly Pine having Thanksgiving dinner with?

5) How do you think everyone felt when they saw that the dolls' dinner had been eaten?

B) My special holiday—think about a special holiday you have had. Fill in the blanks and draw three pictures.

1) My special holiday was ___________________________.

2) I like it because ____________________________.

Picture #1:

Picture #2:

Picture #3:

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ Polly Pine likes her dolls very much.

2) _____ The dolls ate their Thanksgiving dinner.

3) _____ Polly Pine ate Thanksgiving dinner with her dolls.

4) _____ Everyone was very surprised when they went upstairs.

5) _____ The cat ate the mice.