The Little Rag Doll

One Christmas, a long time ago, all the dolls in the Nursery held a dance to celebrate the Nativity.

The Tsarina of all the dolls who was a nesting doll was the first to arrive with all her pretty daughters inside of her.

She unscrewed herself at the waist and they all did the same until they had all popped out one after the other.

Next came the Tsar of all the dolls who was a wooden soldier doll and he arrived with his royal regiment of dashing hussars marching behind him dressed in bright red uniforms with brass buttons.

Then came all the most important dolls in the nursery, like the Countess Porceilana; a doll made of fine china with a beautiful shiny dress on and Prime Minister Roly-Poliakoff; a roly-poly doll and head of the doll parliament.

It really was a splendid affair with dolls arriving at the Tsarina’s doll house palace in wooden coaches pulled by rocking horses and being greeted by doll footmen and they danced, around a ballroom, to the music of a wind-up music box.

But there was one doll; an old patchwork doll that was grey and grubby with one eye missing and some of her stuffing hanging out where her stitching had come undone, and who usually sat over in a corner of the nursery by herself, that hadn’t been invited to the party.

Nevertheless she crept into the palace while no-one was looking and started to dance with all the soldiers.

Round and round she danced, smiling and laughing and having so much fun.

However, the moment that the Tsarina and her nesting doll daughters caught sight of the ragdoll they were outraged and they surrounded her, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her.

“Why you impudent little ragdoll!”, the Tsarina screamed at her; her painted face scowling angrily, “How dare you come into my party uninvited! We’ll pull you and pull you until we pull you all to pieces!”.

“Oh, please help! Help!”, the ragdoll cried in desperation.

But none of the other dolls would help her. The porcelain ladies in their satin ball gowns all turned away and the wooden soldiers only glared at her as if she had done something shameful.

Just then, however, the little girl who owned the dolls came into the nursery and, when she did, all the dolls stopped moving as they do whenever a human, even a  5 year old girl, looks at them.

And when she saw the ragdoll she picked it up and hugged it.

“Oh my little ragdoll”, she said, “I love you most of all because you are so warm and gentle”.

Then the little girl cut out a crown of golden tinfoil which she placed upon the head of the ragdoll and said to all the other dolls, “Now all you other dolls must do as my little ragdoll says because she is the queen”.

And she bent all the other dolls forward so that they looked as if they were bowing to the little ragdoll.

After that, even though they hated it, the Tsarina and her daughters; the Tsar and his regiment and all the most important dolls in the nursery had to obey the ragdoll and treat her as their queen.

Not that it was difficult serving the ragdoll because she was such a kind hearted and gentle doll.

In fact, her very first commandment was, “Let all the dolls, no matter who they are be invited to this party”.

And, thanks to that little ragdoll, it was the best Christmas party that the dolls had ever had.