There could be but one reply to an appeal like that , and they gave it , as they welcomed her with words that sealed a household league of mutual secrecy and sacrifice . CHAPTER I A MYSTERIOUS DOG The elm-tree avenue was all overgrown , the great gate was never unlocked , and the old house had been shut up for several years . Yet voices were heard about the place , the lilacs nodded over the high wall as if they said , `` We could tell fine secrets if we chose , '' and the mullein outside the gate made haste to reach the keyhole , that it might peep in and see what was going on . If it had suddenly grown up like a magic bean-stalk , and looked in on a certain June day , it would have seen a droll but pleasant sight , for somebody evidently was going to have a party . From the gate to the porch went a wide walk , paved with smooth slabs of dark stone , and bordered with the tall bushes which met overhead , making a green roof . All sorts of neglected flowers and wild weeds grew between their stems , covering the walls of this summer parlor with the prettiest tapestry . A board , propped on two blocks of wood , stood in the middle of the walk , covered with a little plaid shawl much the worse for wear , and on it a miniature tea-service was set forth with great elegance . To be sure , the tea-pot had lost its spout , the cream-jug its handle , the sugar-bowl its cover , and the cups and plates were all more or less cracked or nicked ; but polite persons would not take notice of these trifling deficiencies , and none but polite persons were invited to this party . On either side of the porch was a seat , and here a somewhat remarkable sight would have been revealed to any inquisitive eye peering through the aforesaid keyhole . Upon the left-hand seat lay seven dolls , upon the right-hand seat lay six ; and so varied were the expressions of their countenances , owing to fractures , dirt , age , and other afflictions , that one would very naturally have thought this a doll 's hospital , and these the patients waiting for their tea . This , however , would have been a sad mistake ; for if the wind had lifted the coverings laid over them , it would have disclosed the fact that all were in full dress , and merely reposing before the feast should begin . There was another interesting feature of the scene which would have puzzled any but those well acquainted with the manners and customs of dolls . A fourteenth rag baby , with a china head , hung by her neck from the rusty knocker in the middle of the door . A sprig of white and one of purple lilac nodded over her , a dress of yellow calico , richly trimmed with red-flannel scallops , shrouded her slender form , a garland of small flowers crowned her glossy curls , and a pair of blue boots touched toes in the friendliest , if not the most graceful , manner . An emotion of grief , as well as of surprise , might well have thrilled any youthful breast at such a spectacle ; for why , oh ! why , was this resplendent dolly hung up there to be stared at by thirteen of her kindred ? Was she a criminal , the sight of whose execution threw them flat upon their backs in speechless horror ? Or was she an idol , to be adored in that humble posture ? Neither , my friends . She was blonde Belinda , set , or rather hung , aloft , in the place of honor , for this was her seventh birthday , and a superb ball was about to celebrate the great event .
All were evidently awaiting a summons to the festive board ; but such was the perfect breeding of these dolls , that not a single eye out of the whole twenty-seven -LRB- Dutch Hans had lost one of the black beads from his worsted countenance -RRB- turned for a moment toward the table , or so much as winked , as they lay in decorous rows , gazing with mute admiration at XXXXX .
Belinda bean-stalk countenances cream-jug execution knocker mullein seventh slabs tea-pot