Raggedy Andy Stories

by Johnny Gruelle

  THE WOODEN HORSE

  Santa Claus left a whole lot of toys.

  A wooden horse, covered with canton flannel and touched lightly with apaint brush dipped in black paint to give him a dappled gray appearance,was one of the presents.

  With the wooden horse came a beautiful red wagon with four yellowwheels. My! The paint was pretty and shiny.

  The wooden horse was hitched to the wagon with a patent leather harness;and he, himself, stood proudly upon a red platform running on fourlittle nickel wheels.

  It was true that the wooden horse's eyes were as far apart as a camel'sand made him look quite like one when viewed from in front, but he hadsoft leather ears and a silken mane and tail.

  He was nice to look upon, was the wooden horse. All the dolls patted himand smoothed his silken mane and felt his shiny patent leather harnessthe first night they were alone with him in the nursery.

  The wooden horse had a queer voice; the dolls could hardly understandhim at first, but when his bashfulness wore off, he talked quiteplainly.

  "It is the first time I have ever tried to talk," he explained when hebecame acquainted, "and I guess I was talking down in my stomach insteadof my head!"

  "You will like it here in the nursery very much!" said Raggedy Andy. "Wehave such jolly times and love each other so much I know you will enjoyyour new home!"

  "I am sure I shall!" the wooden horse answered. "Where I came from,we--the other horses and myself--just stood silently upon the shelvesand looked and looked straight ahead, and never so much as moved ourtails."

  "See if you can move your tail now!" Henny, the Dutch doll, suggested.

  The wooden horse started to roll across the nursery floor and if RaggedyAnn had not been in the way, he might have bumped into the wall. As itwas, the wooden horse rolled against Raggedy Ann and upset her but couldgo no further when his wheels ran against her rag foot.

  When the wooden horse upset Raggedy Ann, he stood still until Uncle Clemand Henny and Raggedy Andy lifted him off Raggedy Ann's feet. "Did Ifrisk my tail?" he asked when Raggedy Ann stood up and smoothed herapron.

  "Try it again!" said Raggedy Ann. "I couldn't see!" She laughed hercheery rag doll laugh, for Raggedy Ann, no matter what happened, neverlost her temper.

  The wooden horse started rolling backward at this and knocked Henny overupon his back, causing him to cry "Mama!" in his squeeky voice.

  Uncle Clem, Raggedy Ann, and the tin soldier all held to the woodenhorse and managed to stop him just as he was backing out of the nurserydoor towards the head of the stairs.

  Then the dolls pulled the wooden horse back to the center of the room."It's funny" he said, "that I start moving backward or forward when Itry to frisk my tail!"

  "I believe it is because you have stood so long upon the shelf withoutmoving," Raggedy Andy suggested. "Suppose you try moving forward!"

  Uncle Clem, who was standing in front of the wooden horse, jumped to oneside so hastily his feet slipped out from under him, just as if he hadbeen sliding upon slippery ice.

  The wooden horse rolled over Raggedy Ann's foot]

  The wooden horse and the dolls]

  The wooden horse did not start moving forward as Uncle Clem hadexpected; instead, his silken tail frisked gaily up over his back.

  "Whee! There, you frisked your tail!" cried all the dolls as joyfully asif the wooden horse had done something truly wonderful.

  "It's easy now!" said the wooden horse. "When I wish to go forward orbackward I'll try to frisk my tail and then I'll roll along on my shinywheels; then when I wish to frisk my tail I'll try to roll forward orbackward, like this!" But instead of rolling forward, the wooden horsefrisked his tail. "I wanted to frisk my tail then!" he said in surprise."Now I'll roll forward!" And sure enough, the wooden horse rolled acrossthe nursery floor.

  When he started rolling upon his shiny wheels, Raggedy Andy cried, "Allaboard!" and, taking a short run, he leaped upon the wooden horse'sback. Uncle Clem, Raggedy Ann, Henny, the Dutch doll and Susan, the dollwithout a head, all scrambled up into the pretty red wagon.

  The wooden horse thought this was great fun and round and round thenursery he circled. His shiny wheels and the pretty yellow wheels of thered wagon creaked so loudly none of the dolls heard the cries of thetiny penny dolls who were too small to climb aboard. Finally, as thewagon load of dolls passed the penny dolls, Raggedy Andy noticed the twolittle midgets standing together and missing the fun; so, leaning 'wayover to one side as the horse swept by them, Raggedy Andy caught boththe penny dolls in his strong rag arms and lifted them to a seat uponthe broad back of the wooden horse.

  "Hooray!" cried all the dolls when they saw Raggedy Andy's feat. "It wasjust like a Wild West Show!"

  "We must all have all the fun we can together!" said Raggedy Andy.

  "Good for you!" cried Uncle Clem. "The more fun we can give each other,the more fun each one of us will have!"

  The wooden horse pulls a cart]

  Raggedy Andy and the penny dolls went clear over hishead]

  The wooden horse made the circle of the nursery a great many times, forit pleased him very much to hear the gay laughter of the dolls and hethought to himself, "How happy I will be, living with such a jollycrowd."

  But just as he was about to pass the door, there was a noise upon thestairs and the wooden horse, hearing it, stopped so suddenly RaggedyAndy and the penny dolls went clear over his head and the dolls in thefront of the wagon took Raggedy Andy's seat upon the horse's back.

  They lay just as they fell, for they did not wish anyone to suspect thatthey could move or talk.

  "Ha! Ha! Ha! I knew you were having a lot of fun!" cried a cheery voice.

  At this, all the dolls immediately scrambled back into their formerplaces, for they recognized the voice of the French dollie.

  But what was their surprise to see her dressed in a lovely fairycostume, her lovely curls flying out behind, as she ran towards them.

  Raggedy Andy was just about to climb upon the horse's back again whenthe French doll leaped there herself and, balancing lightly upon onefoot, stood in this position while the wooden horse rolled around thenursery as fast as he could go.

  Raggedy Andy and the two penny dolls ran after the wagon and, with theassistance of Uncle Clem and Raggedy Ann, climbed up in back.

  When the wooden horse finally stopped the dolls all said, "This is themost fun we have had for a _long_ time!"

  The wooden horse, a thrill of happiness running through his wooden body,cried, "It is the most fun I have _ever_ had!"

  And the dolls, while they did not tell him so, knew that he had had themost fun because he had given _them_ the most pleasure.

  For, as you must surely know, they who are the most unselfish are theones who gain the greatest joy; because they give happiness to others.

  The French doll balanced lightly upon one foot]

  In front of the toy stove]

  Four dolls]