They had hardly gone more than half a dozen steps when the Mouse said suddenly and loudly: "That Sentry friend of ours is a smart chap; _he_ knows how to handle the bayonet."

"You are right," answered the Rabbit, and walked on, the Mouse doing the same, though with lagging steps.

Presently a look of anger and wonder crept into his eyes, remarking which the Rabbit laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" asked the Mouse uneasily.

"At nothing particular," answered his companion. "Cheerfulness, you know, is a habit of the mind."

At this moment a loud groan burst from the Sentry, who during this time had been struggling to get free, and in a last frantic effort, had just succeeded in giving a most painful rick to his back.

"Our Sentry friend does not look happy," said the Rabbit grimly.

"He is not well, I suppose," answered the Mouse nervously. "What has happened, I wonder?"

"ALL IS DISCOVERED!" exclaimed the Rabbit loudly.

Then as the Mouse made a desperate effort to run away, the Rabbit dealt him a blow on the back which injured the clockwork within his body and quite put a stop to his flight.

"I know all!" the Rabbit said sternly. "You are a little villain! What defence can you offer for so grossly deceiving me?"

But the Mouse made no reply. In a fury of disappointment and fear he was biting the Rabbit's legs, hoping thus to disable him and prevent his punishing the treachery that had been brought to light.

"Desist!" cried the Rabbit, "or I shall end your life without delay. I repeat, what excuse can you offer for having so wickedly broken the terms of our agreement? You have tried to rob me of my life and my money. Make your defence."

"There was no written agreement," answered the Mouse shamelessly. "Each was at liberty to understand it in his own way."

"Most wicked of animals, you are not fit to live," cried the Rabbit with disgust. "Your moments are numbered."

Then before the Mouse could offer any protest, the Rabbit bit his head right off and swallowed it.

"You will observe," said the Rabbit to the Owl with dignity, "that I still maintain my proper position in the eyes of the world as a Welsh rare-bit, but the Mouse, owing to his misdeeds, is now in the contemptible state of the biter bit. Such is the end of the wicked.

"As for you," he continued to the Sentry, who, with his boastful spirit crushed, stood trembling in the Sentry-box; "as for you, you have seen too much of the world and its ways. It would be better for you to see a little less of it for a time."

Then, according to his intention, the Rabbit beat the Sentry about the head until he could not see out of his eyes.

"It now only remains to deal with the Horse. I go to give him the due reward of his deeds," the Rabbit remarked, taking up his drum and preparing to leave. But pausing a moment he added to the Owl: "With regard to you, my good friend, if ever an opportunity arises by which I can show you my grat.i.tude for your kind services, rest a.s.sured that I shall eagerly avail myself of it."

Now, the next morning the woman who keeps this shop spoke severely to her own little girl.

"You have been touching the toys and damaging them," she said with anger. "See what mischief you have done! You have knocked off the head of this mouse--and, what is more, I can't find it anywhere,--you have rubbed all the paint off this sentry's face, and you have broken the gla.s.s eyes of this brown horse. You shall be punished."

The little girl began to whimper.

"I have not hurt the toys," she said. "I have never touched them since you put me to bed for breaking the baby doll."

The woman looked puzzled: "If you say you haven't, you haven't, I suppose," she said, "for I know you are a truthful child. Then how has it happened? I shouldn't think any customer would do it without my noticing. I can't understand it."

Nor can she to this day. But we can: you, the Rabbit, the Owl, the Sentry, the Horse, and myself. But not the Mouse, for he has lost his head.

CHAPTER III

Here the little Marionette paused.

"That is all," she said.

"What a good thing that the Mouse had his head bitten off," said the little girl thoughtfully.

"It was just as well," the Marionette answered, "since he could use it to no better purpose."

"Some of the toys were very wicked in that story, I think; dreadfully wicked."

"I think the same. They were bad, wicked toys, with bad, wicked ways."

"Are many of the toys you know as wicked as that?" asked Molly.

"Oh, dear no!" said the little Marionette, quite shocked. "Most of my friends and acquaintances are really wonderfully well-behaved."

"Do you know, I should like you next time to tell me about one of them."

"About some one simple, perhaps?"

"Yes, I think so."

The little Marionette thought a moment.

Then she said: "I know of no one more simple than Belinda."

"Tell me about her, if you please."

"Very good. You shall hear of Belinda and her simplicity."

So the next day she told her friend the story of "Belinda."

BELINDA

Belinda was a little wax doll who had a most charming way of opening and shutting her eyes. When Mortals were about, she could not do it unless they helped by pulling a wire. But when once the shop was closed, and the toys, left to themselves, could move at pleasure, _then_ Belinda pulled her own wires and opened and shut her eyes as she pleased. She did this in so simple and unaffected a fashion that it delighted everyone to see her.

"What simplicity! what delightful simplicity!" said the other toys.