River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-04-29
A LITTLE GIRLS KINGDOM
By VIRGINIA TATNALL PEACOCK
Copyright, by j. B. Lippincott Coz

But 10 one endowed, as was FdCSy,
with that priceless gift of the gods
that turns darkness into light, gives
life to the inanimate, and peoples with
the good and the beautiful a world
of it's own, across the threshold or
which a more mundane vision may
not trespass, all things are possible.
In her time, which amounted to six
years, Patsy had many dolls, not one
of which, however, had survived her
motherly solicitude, and in their dis
rupted state much of the duplicity
of doll nature had been revealed to
her.
There was baby who did not go
to sleep because she was sleepy, but
because of leaden ball at the back of
her eyes, and there was another with
her head full Of stale crumbs of cake,
which Patsy, self-denyingly, had SO
often gently forced between the part
ed lips.
There was still another, beautiful
Annabel Lee
These were Patsy's dolls. Patsy's
children were different. She had
touched them with the magic Of her
thought and they lived and moved
and were hers. Back in the dim ages
of Patsy's memory her son. her daugh-
ter, and her baby had had another
existence, but SO gradually had their
identity as children Of hers dawned
upon her that there had been nothing
shocking or inartistic in their trans
formation from the cover of a sewing
machine, the drawer of yellow table,
and a red carpet footstool. Nobody
nowadays ever mistook them for other
than Patsy's children.
Her boy had been succeeded by an
old shawl which covered the machine
when 1t was not in use. Her little
girl was no longer related to the yell
low table, and as for her rosy, chubby
baby, though it spent many happy
hours on the floor, no one COMPOUNDED
it with red carpet footstool. Even
Patsy's father, who was busy man
with many things to think of, never
forgot about her children Come,
Patsy" he would say, take your ba-
by away from papas desk and get him
a stool for his feet"
Il think" said her mother as she
watched Patsy laboriously assisting
her little family up the stairs one night.
that / shall have Emily come and
bring the children, and see if Patsy
cannot learn from them how to play
and be like other children. She is
too much alone. poor little child
They came, and the old garden rang
with the joyous peals of Josephine S
laughter
Helen and her welI-dressed doll-ba-
bies permeated the house with an air
of well-ordered little girlhood that was
very gratifying to ones sense of the
fitness of things. "Come, Patsy" she
said, as she sat upon the drawing
room floor dressing her dolls one
morning shortly after her advent into
Patsy's life, "get your dolls and we'll
play"
Patsy shook her head. ST haven't
any" she said.
mo dolIs!" exclaimed Helen. Don't
you play with doIls?"
NO." said Patsy.
Then I s'pose you play with Bobby
Bennett, like Josephine is" suggest.
ed Helen.
mo, don't play with Bobby; l
don't like Bobby every day." said
Patsy.
And don't like dolls, either?'
asked Helen.
Now, Patsy was little lady, and
she did not wish to say no in the very
face of two such nice dolls as were
Helen's, especially strange dolls, SO
she said only: Il think yours are very
nice"
YES, they are" acquiesced Helen
as she took them both into her anx.
ious arms. but | couldn't lend you
one of them, Patsy. These are my
newest ones, and l am afraid you
might break them. Josephine does.
She breaks them dreadful"
"Oh, no. said Patsy. II don't want
them. 1 have my own children"
But you just said you hadn't, Pat.
sy," said Helen, slowly putting her
dolls back on the soft-cushion again.
Il will go and get Them" said Pat
sy. and she went.
Presently she came back and put a
red carpet footstool down beside Hell
en- and went away again. She had
been gone a long while. when she
came back quite out of breath, drag
ging the lid of a sewing-machine in
one hand and a yellow table-drawer in
the other.
Helen laughed. Il thought you were
never coming" she said. Couldn't
you find them?"
YES" said Patsy. these are my
children. This is my boy and this is
Susie, and this"
Patsy stopped speaking and turned
to look for her baby. Helens dolls
were lesaing against red carpet
footstool. Patsy moved them gently
away 81 think" she said your lit
tie girls are too old to play with my
baby. They look about Susie's age.
Helen looked at the strange children
and said nothing. Then she put her
head down on Patsys boy and laughed.
She looked up at Patsy, but Patsy did
not even smile.
Il don't think, Patsy, that can low
my little girls to play with such funny
children as yours" said Helen, as she
gathered up her dolls and stood up.
There followed a long, solemn mo-
ment, during which nobody said any
thing. Then Patsy put her head down