RAGGEDY ANN AND THE KITE
Raggedy Ann watched with interest the preparations.
A number of sticks were being fastened together with strings and coveredwith light cloth.
Raggedy Ann heard some of the boys talk of "The Kite," so Raggedy Annknew this must be a kite.
When a tail had been fastened to the kite and a large ball of heavytwine tied to the front, one of the boys held the kite up in the air andanother boy walked off, unwinding the ball of twine.
There was a nice breeze blowing, so the boy with the twine called, "Let'er go" and started running.
Marcella held Raggedy up so that she could watch the kite sail throughthe air.
How nicely it climbed! But suddenly the kite acted strangely, and as allthe children shouted advice to the boy with the ball of twine, the kitebegan darting this way and that, and finally making four or fiveloop-the-loops, it crashed to the ground.
"It needs more tail on it!" one boy shouted.
Then the children asked each other where they might get more rags tofasten to the tail of the kite.
"Let's tie Raggedy Ann to the tail!" suggested Marcella. "I know shewould enjoy a trip 'way up in the sky!"
The boys all shouted with delight at this new suggestion. So Raggedy Annwas tied to the tail of the kite.
This time the kite rose straight in the air and remained steady. The boywith the ball of twine unwound it until the kite and Raggedy Ann were'way, 'way up and far away. How Raggedy Ann enjoyed being up there! Shecould see for miles and miles! And how tiny the children looked!
Suddenly a great puff of wind came and carried Raggedy Ann streaming'way out behind the kite! She could hear the wind singing on the twineas the strain increased.
Suddenly Raggedy Ann felt something rip. It was the rag to which she wastied. As each puff of wind caught her the rip widened.
When Marcella watched Raggedy Ann rise high above the field, shewondered how much Raggedy Ann enjoyed it, and wished that she, too,might have gone along. But after the kite had been up in the air forfive or ten minutes, Marcella grew restless. Kites were rather tiresome.There was more fun in tea parties out under the apple tree.
"Will you please pull down the kite now?" she asked the boy with thetwine. "I want Raggedy Ann."
"Let her ride up there!" the boy replied. "We'll bring her home when wepull down the kite! We're going to get another ball of twine and let hergo higher!"
Marcella did not like to leave Raggedy Ann with the boys, so she satdown upon the ground to wait until they pulled down the kite.
But while Marcella watched Raggedy Ann, a dot in the sky, she could notsee the wind ripping the rag to which Raggedy was tied.
Suddenly the rag parted and Raggedy Ann went sailing away as the windcaught in her skirts.
Marcella jumped from the ground, too surprised to say anything. Thekite, released from the weight of Raggedy Ann began darting and swoopingto the ground.
"We'll get her for you!" some of the boys said when they saw Marcella'stroubled face, and they started running in the direction Raggedy Ann hadfallen. Marcella and the other girls ran with them. They ran, and theyran, and they ran, and at last they found the kite upon the ground withone of the sticks broken, but they could not find Raggedy Ann anywhere.
"She must have fallen almost in your yard!" a boy said to Marcella, "forthe kite was directly over here when the doll fell!"
Marcella was heartbroken. She went in the house and lay on the bed.Mamma went out with the children and tried to find Raggedy Ann, butRaggedy Ann was nowhere to be seen.
When Daddy came home in the evening he tried to find Raggedy, but metwith no success. Marcella had eaten hardly any dinner, nor could she becomforted by Mamma or Daddy. The other dolls in the nursery layforgotten and were not put to bed that night, for Marcella lay andsobbed and tossed about her bed.
Finally she said a little prayer for Raggedy Ann, and went to sleep. Andas she slept Marcella dreamed that the fairies came and took Raggedy Annwith them to fairyland for a visit, and then sent Raggedy Ann home toher. She awakened with a cry. Of course Mamma came to her bed right awayand said that Daddy would offer a reward in the morning for the returnof Raggedy.
"It was all my fault, Mamma!" Marcella said. "I should not have offeredthe boys dear old Raggedy Ann to tie on the tail of the kite! But I justknow the fairies will send her back."
Mamma took her in her arms and soothed her with cheering words, althoughshe felt indeed that Raggedy Ann was truly lost and would never be foundagain.
Now, where do you suppose Raggedy Ann was all this time?
When Raggedy Ann dropped from the kite, the wind caught in her skirtsand carried her along until she fell in the fork of the large elm treedirectly over Marcella's house. When Raggedy Ann fell with a thud, faceup in the fork of the tree, two robins who had a nest near by flewchattering away.
Presently the robins returned and quarreled at Raggedy Ann for laying soclose to their nest, but Raggedy Ann only smiled at them and did notmove.
When the robins quieted down and quit their quarreling, one of themhopped up closer to Raggedy Ann in order to investigate.
It was Mamma Robin. She called to Daddy Robin and told him to come. "Seethe nice yarn! We could use it to line the nest with," she said.
So the robins hopped closer to Raggedy Ann and asked if they might havesome of her yarn hair to line their nest. Raggedy Ann smiled at them. Sothe two robins pulled and tugged at Raggedy Ann's yarn hair until theyhad enough to line their nest nice and soft.
Evening came and the robins sang their good night songs, and Raggedy Annwatched the stars come out, twinkle all night and disappear in themorning light. In the morning the robins again pulled yarn from RaggedyAnn's head, and loosened her so she could peep over the side of thelimb, and when the sun came up Raggedy Ann saw she was in the trees inher own yard.
Now before she could eat any breakfast, Marcella started out to findRaggedy Ann. And, it was Marcella herself who found her. And this is howshe did it.
Mamma Robin had seen Marcella with Raggedy Ann out in the yard manytimes, so she began calling "Cheery! Cheery!" and Daddy Robin startedcalling "Cheery! Cheery! Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheerily Cheerily! Cheery!Cheery!" And Marcella looking up into the tree above the house to seethe robins, discovered Raggedy Ann peeping over the limb at her.
Oh, how her heart beat with happiness. "Here is Raggedy Ann," sheshouted.
And Mamma and Daddy came out and saw Raggedy smiling at them, and Daddygot the clothes prop and climbed out of the attic window and pokedRaggedy Ann out of the tree and she fell right into Marcella's armswhere she was hugged in a tight embrace.
"You'll never go up on a kite again, Raggedy Ann!" said Marcella, "for Ifelt so lost without you. I will never let you leave me again."
So Raggedy Ann went into the house and had breakfast with her littlemistress and Mamma and Daddy smiled at each other when they peepedthrough the door into the breakfast room, for Raggedy Ann's smile waswide and very yellow. Marcella, her heart full of happiness, was feedingRaggedy Ann part of her egg.