Chapter VI The Little Lost Laugh
Sara had always intended to take her dolls with her to the Garden, butevery morning before the sixth morning she forgot it. On the sixthmorning, however, her arms were so full of dolls that she could nottake off her dimples. She had not foreseen that difficulty.
She had not really intended to bring them all. But the BrownTeddy-Bear looked so fiercely sad that she decided at the very outsetthat she could not leave him. He was not really a doll, of course, butas Sara kept him dressed in a kerchief and full skirt, he had theeffect of a doll--a sort of Wolf-Grandmother-of-Red-Ridinghood doll.And the Billiken looked so cheerful that Sara decided that she mustsurely take him along, to reward him for being so unfailinglypleasant. And the Japanese doll had to go, because he was the newest,and because he was the only one who was large enough to wear the pinktulle lady-doll's hat Sara's aunt had sent her on her birthday. Hishead was as bare as an egg, because the little rosette of black hairthat distinguishes a Japanese doll had come unglued. This made theeffect of the hat a little odd; still, he could wear it. The Kewpiewas just too cunning to leave--that was all there was to that; and noright-minded mother ever left the baby. So that made it necessary totake the Baby doll with the long clothes. (That is, she should havebeen wearing long clothes, but Sara's dolls never wore the clothesthat belonged to them; and this morning the Baby was tastefullyattired in a wide red sash, with the Japanese doll's paper parasolstuck through it, like the dagger in a comic opera.)
So there was Sara, with five dolls in her arms, and the Snimmyshuddering deliciously from head to foot because he was beginning tosmell dimples in his sleep.
"What in the world shall I do?" wondered Sara, half aloud.
"What in Zeelup, my dear," corrected the Teacup, leaning out from herperch with sympathetic interest.
And then, what do you think the Teacup saw? She saw the Kewpie, whowas always a friendly little soul, reach up and take off Sara'sdimples himself!
"I'll do it for Sara," he said, helpfully, as he dropped them safelyupon the whipped cream cushion.
And then what do you think happened? Why, the daintiest littlecreature sprang right out from between Sara's lips and went skippingand leaping and tumbling and running over the ice-cream bricks aroundthe pool, across the blue plush grass, and, before you could tell it,disappeared around the turn of a little dim path Sara had neverfollowed.
Sara stood gazing after him. She had never seen anything that lookedlike that before. Some of Avrillia's children came nearest to lookinglike it: but not even they were so tinkly or so bubbly or soaltogether gay-looking. And how nimble it was--disappearing like adrop of water trickling down a rock!
"What in the world?" breathed Sara again.
"--In Zeelup?" breathed the Teacup, quite as softly. But Sara hardlyheard her: she was so astonished at the babel of small voices thatstarted up about her feet. She had been so startled at the appearanceand the disappearance of that strange little creature that she had notnoticed that all the dolls were wriggling out of her arms and slidingdown her skirts and legs like schoolboys escaping from a burningdormitory. Not that they were afraid of anything: it was only thatthey were so glad to be able at last to move and talk.
"There he goes!" cried the Japanese doll, pointing excitedly: andindeed they did catch one more glimpse of the fleeting sprite betweenthe shrubs. "He was mighty jolly," said the Brown Teddy-Bear enviously,in his deep, mournful voice; and "Let's go catch him!" cried the Baby,where it sat flat on the bricks, crowing and clapping its hands.
"I'll have to get off these togs, then," said the Billiken, who wasalways fat and cheerful, but seldom spoke. He was driven to it thistime by the fact that Sara had dressed him in the Baby's long clothes.
"But what is it?" asked Sara, still bewildered.
"Why, it's your laugh, child," said the Echo of the Plynck, who, allthis time, had been watching the scene with much amusement. "Don't youknow your own laugh when you see it?"
"I never saw it before," said Sara with a wondering smile. "I guessI've heard it."
"Now, isn't that odd--and interesting!" said the Echo to the Plynck."The child says she has heard it, but never seen it. Here," she added,turning to Sara, and speaking in a louder tone, "we see a great dealof laughter--but we never hear it."
"Well, and are you going to stand there all day staring?" suddenly putin the wife of the Snimmy from the prose-bush. "Ain't you going to goafter it and ketch it? What'll your Maw say if you come home withoutyour laugh? And your Paw?"
Sara had not thought of that. But when she did think, she realizedthat it would be dreadful. What would Father think when he told herhis funniest story and she did not laugh?
"But--but what shall I do?" she wondered, half to herself.
The dolls at her feet set up a clamor of plans, but as they were alltalking at once (except the Brown Teddy-Bear, who looked even morepessimistic than usual) their suggestions were not very helpful. Saraand her other friends stood knitting their brows in perplexity. (Sarawas just learning to knit, so she had her needles and a ball of yarnsticking out of her apron pocket. She was delighted to find brows somuch easier to knit than yarn.)
Suddenly the Snimmy's wife spoke again. "Send for Schlorge," she said."He'll know what to do."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than they saw a Gunkusrunning down the path toward the Dimplesmithy to tell Schlorge.
"In the meantime, Sara, you'd better dress me more suitably,"suggested the Billiken kindly. Sara had never heard him object beforeto wearing the Baby's long dress; but he was evidently looking forwardto a race and did not wish to be handicapped.
So Sara sat down on the blue plush grass, and undressed the Billikenwhile they waited for Schlorge. She had time now to notice that thesnow had melted and left everything beautifully fresh and bright, justas Pirlaps had assured her it would do. She had never seen the Gardenlook so lovely and spring-like. She was glad, too, to see that thestump had grown back exactly as it was; they had even removed theropes and scaffolding.
She took the Baby's clothes off the Billiken, and left him all freeand unimpeded in his own, fat, white, furry body. You see, she alwayscalled the Teddy-Bear the Brown Teddy-Bear because the Billiken washis first cousin, and had a white Teddy-Bear body; it was only theircolors and their heads that were different. Oh, yes,--and theirdispositions; for the Billiken was a supremely cheerful person, whilethe Brown Teddy-Bear was a misanthrope. Sara had always known that hehad something very depressing on his mind; and she was planning, nowthat he had learned to talk, to ask him what it was at the firstsuitable opportunity.
When she had got the clothes off the Billiken, she started to put themon the Baby; but the Baby behaved as it had never done before. It hadalways been a good baby, adapting itself amiably to any schedule itsmother saw fit to adopt. Sara saw at once that animated babies are notso easy to manage as inanimate ones; for the Baby kicked and cried andpositively refused to be dressed. So Sara, who was really a very youngmother, and had not yet trained herself to be firm and self-willed andcontrary, put the Baby's clothes in her pocket with the yarn andknitting needles and a ginger-snap she had brought, and set thestubborn Baby down on the blue plush grass, where it rolled aroundquite happily again in its red sash and parasol.
And just at that moment she saw good old Schlorge hurrying down thepath from the Dimplesmithy with the Gunkus at his heels.
Of course they all had to tell Schlorge about it at once, even thedolls (all except the Brown Teddy-Bear), so that Schlorge looked quitewild, and scratched his head a good deal before he was finally quiteclear what had happened. Then he turned and looked thoughtfully downthe path they had pointed out to him, and scratched it some more.Finally he said slowly,
"I tell you what we'll have to do,"--and then, looking about him allat once very wildly,--"where's the stump--I'll have to tell Sara!Where's the--"
But this time he found it without loss of time; and scrambl
ing upon it,he adjusted his hands and shouted loudly,
"Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough briar, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire, We'll have to follow everywhere, If Sara's laughter we would snare. I will go and lead the van, You may follow if you can. Sara's would be an awful plight To go home laughterless tonight."
The Garden of the Plynck Page 10
