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[Illustration: Miss Fanny and others.]

[Illustration: RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS

DOLLY & I

Boston, Lee & Shepard.]




The Riverdale Books.

DOLLY AND I.

A STORY FOR LITTLE FOLKS.

BY

OLIVER OPTIC,

          AUTHOR OF "THE BOAT CLUB," "ALL ABOARD," "NOW OR NEVER," "TRY
          AGAIN," "POOR AND PROUD," "LITTLE BY LITTLE," &c.

          BOSTON:
          LEE AND SHEPARD,
          (SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.)
          1864


   Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by

   WILLIAM T. ADAMS,

   In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
        Massachusetts.

   ELECTROTYPED AT THE
   BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.




DOLLY AND I.




I.


Do you know what _envy_ means? I hope you have never felt it, for it is
a very wicked feeling. It is being sorry when another has any good
thing. Perhaps you will know better what the word means when you have
read my story; and I hope it will help you to keep the feeling away from
your own heart.

Not far from Mr. Lee's house, in Riverdale, lived a man by the name of
Green. He was the agent of one of the factories in the village. Mr.
Green had two little girls and three sons. The boys have nothing to do
with my story, and for that reason I shall not say a great deal about
them.

Katy, Mr. Green's older daughter, was ten years old. She was a pretty
good girl, but she did not like to have others get good things, when she
did not have any herself. If any person gave one of her brothers an
apple, or an orange, she seemed to think she ought to have it.

When she was a baby, she used to cry for every thing she saw, and would
give her parents no peace till they gave it to her. I am sorry to say
they were sometimes very weak on this point, and gave her things which
she ought not to have had, just to quiet her.

Her father and mother hoped, when she grew older, she would not want
every thing that belonged to her brothers. If Charles had a plaything,
Katy wanted it, and would cry till she got it. Very often, just to make
her stop crying, her mother made poor Charley give up the thing.

But as Katy grew older, she seemed to want every thing that others had
just as much as ever. She was now ten years old, and still she did not
like to see others have any thing which she could not have. It is true
she did not always say so, but she felt it just as much, and was very
apt to be cross and sullen towards those whom she envied.

Nellie Green was not at all like her sister. She was only eight years
old, but there was not a bit of envy in her. She would give a part, and
often the whole, of her apples, oranges, candy, and playthings to her
sister, and to her brothers. She liked to see them happy, and when
Charley ate an apple, it tasted just as good to her as though she were
eating it herself.

She was not selfish. She would always divide her good things with her
friends. Did you ever see a little boy or a little girl eating an apple
or some candy, and another little boy or girl standing by, and looking
just as if he wanted some?

Nellie always gave her friends a part, and then she not only enjoyed
what she ate herself, but she enjoyed what they ate. This is the way to
make apples, oranges, and candy taste good.

One New Year's Day, Katy's aunt, after whom she was named, sent her a
beautiful wax doll. It was a very pretty doll, and the little girl was
the happiest child in Riverdale when the welcome present reached her.

There was another little girl in Riverdale who was almost if not quite
as happy; and that was Nellie, her sister. It is true, the doll was not
for her; she did not own any of it, and Katy would hardly let her touch
it; but for all this, Nellie was pleased to see her sister so happy.

The dolly's name was Lady Jane; for Katy thought, as she was a very
fine doll, she ought to have a very fine name. So, when she spoke to the
doll,--and she talked a great deal with her,--she always called her Lady
Jane.

The two little girls had five or six other dolls, but none of them were
any thing near such fine ladies as Lady Jane. Their heads were made of
porcelain, or rubber, or composition, and they had grown so old that
they were really ugly.

Miss Lucy, who had a rubber head, looked as though she "had been through
the wars." Her nose was worn out, so that she had a great hole in the
end of it. I suppose, if she had wanted to sneeze, this hole would have
been very handy; but Miss Lucy was a very proper young lady, and never
sneezed in company. If she ever sneezed when alone, of course there was
no one present to know any thing about it.

There was another hole right in the top of her head, so that if she had
had any brains, they would certainly have leaked out; but as Miss Lucy
was not a strong-minded woman, I suppose she had no use for brains.

One of the family of dolls was a little black girl, whose name was
Dinah. She had seen hard service in her day, and did not look as though
is she would last much longer.

Miss Fanny had once been a fine lady, but times had gone hard with her,
and her fine clothes were both ragged and dirty. But hard times were not
so very bad, for she wore the same smile as when her clothes had been
new and nice.

Miss Mary was a poor <DW36>. By a sad accident she had broken one of
her legs. Katy placed her on a table one day, and either because the
height from the floor made her dizzy, or because she was laid too near
the edge, she had tumbled off, and one leg was so badly broken that
neither a wooden nor a cork one could be fastened in its place.

Therefore Miss Mary could not walk about the room, and never went any
where, except when she was carried. But she was not half so badly off as
Miss Susie, who had broken her neck, and lost off her head. The head was
tied on with a string, but it kept falling off while the family were at
play; but Miss Susie did not seem to mind it at all.

She got along a great deal better without her head than you and I could
without ours. Indeed, she wore the same smile upon her face whether the
head was on or off--which teaches us that we ought always to be cheerful
in misfortune.

Besides these fine young ladies there were two or three rag babies; but
as you could not tell by the looks of them what they were thinking
about, I will not say any thing about them. They had no virtues worth
telling; they never ate soup with a fork, or gave money to the poor.

Some of my readers may not think much of this family of dollies, but I
am sure Katy and Nellie had fine times with them. They used to spend
hours together with them, and the dollies used to do every thing that
any body could do.

Miss Fanny used to visit a great deal, in spite of her dirty, ragged
clothes; so did Miss Lucy, with two holes in her head, and Miss Mary,
with her broken leg, and Miss Susie, with her broken neck. All of them
used to go a-visiting, except Miss Dinah, and she, being a black girl,
had to do the sweeping and tend the door.

These ladies were all of them so bashful that they would not speak in
company, and Katy and Nellie had to do all the talking for them.

But they used to "make believe" the dollies talked, and this did just as
well. They used to say just such things as the ladies did who called on
Mrs. Green, and never left without being urged to stay longer, and also
to call again; which they always promised to do.

On the whole, they were very wonderful dollies; at least they were until
Lady Jane came, and she was such a fine lady, with her white silk dress
and her _real_ hair, that none of them could shine after that.

[Illustration: "Lend us your Dolly."]




II.


One day Flora Lee came to see Nellie Green, and to spend the afternoon
with her. It was in the month of November, and the weather was too cold
to permit them to play in the garden; so they said they would have a
good time in the house.

Katy Green had to go away, and could not play with them. Nellie was
very sorry for this, for she not only liked to have her sister with her,
but she also wanted the company of Lady Jane.

She told Flora how sorry she was, and they agreed that it was too bad
Katy had to go away, for she was older than they, and could help them a
great deal in their plays. Besides, they wanted one fine lady among the
dollies, for they had a certain play which required just such a person.

"I wish I had brought Miss Dolly with me. I guess she is fine enough,"
said Flora.

"I wish you had," replied Nellie; "but as you have not, we can't help it
now. I dare say Miss Fanny will do."

"I'll tell you what you can do, Nellie."

"What?"

"You can just ask Katy to lend you her dolly. We won't hurt her a mite,
you know. We will use her just as if she were made of glass."

Nellie did not know what to say. She did not like to ask Katy to let her
play with Lady Jane, for she knew how careful her sister was of her fine
lady. And she did not like to tell Flora her thoughts, lest she should
think her sister was selfish. She did not like to have any one think
hard of her sister.

"We must have Lady Jane. I don't see how we can get along without her,"
added Flora, a little puzzled by the silence of Nellie.

"I don't like to ask Katy," said Nellie, at last.

"Why not? She will let you have her. Of _course_ she will let you have
her," added Flora, warmly.

"I don't think she will. You know we might break her neck, or lose off
her legs or arms; or we might dirty her white silk dress."

"But we will be very careful. Let us go and ask her. It won't do any
harm to ask her, you know. She can't do any more than refuse."

Nellie did not like to be refused, and she tried to prevent Flora from
going any farther in the matter. She was sorry to have it appear that
her sister was selfish, and she thought more of this than she did of
being refused.

Flora said so much that at last she thought Katy might let her have the
doll, and they ran down stairs to the sitting room, to have the matter
settled.

"Will you lend us your dolly, Katy?" asked Nellie, and the tones of her
voice showed how doubtful she was of the result of the question.

"What dolly do you mean?" asked Katy.

"Your wax dolly--Lady Jane."

"I am very sure I shall not," replied Katy.

"We will be very careful of her," added Flora. "We won't let her be
hurt a bit--you may depend on that."

"I'm not going to let you have my dolly to break and spoil--I'm sure I
shall not," said Katy; who even seemed to be angry because she was
asked.

"But don't I say we won't hurt it a bit?" continued Flora. "And when you
come over to my house, you shall have my dolly just as long as you want
her; and her house too, and all the chairs and tables and things."

"I don't want them."

"Do please to let us have Lady Jane," teased Nellie. "We want her ever
so much; and I know she won't get broken or dirty. Please to lend her to
us, Katy."

"I shan't do any such thing; so it's no use to tease me. Why don't you
play with your own dollies? I won't lend Lady Jane--that's flat."

Nellie felt so bad she could not help crying,--not because she could not
have the doll, but because her sister was so harsh and unkind. She would
not have cared so much if Flora had not been there, for she did not like
to have her see her sister behave in this manner.

Poor Flora wanted to cry, too, when she saw how badly Nellie felt; but
she tried to be brave, and placed her arm round her friend's neck, as if
to let her know that she would be kind to her.

"Come, Nellie, let's go up stairs again. We won't say any thing more
about it," said Flora; and she led her out of the room.

"Now you won't like Katy, after this," replied Nellie.

"O, yes, I will."

"Katy would have lent us the dolly, only aunt Jane gave it to her, and
she is afraid it will be broken. If it hadn't been for this, she would
have lent us Lady Jane--I know she would," added Nellie, wiping away her
tears.

"I dare say she would; but we won't think any thing more about it. And
when I come over again, some time, I will bring her something, just to
show her that I don't feel hard towards her."

"What a dear, good girl you are, Flora! I was afraid you would hate her
after what she said."

"O, dear, no, I should hope not. My mother tells me I must love those
who don't do what I want them to; and I try to do so; but it is very
hard sometimes. I wish you had a wax doll, Nellie. You ought to have
one, you are such a good girl, and love your sister so much, even when
she is not kind to you."

"I wish I had one; it would be so nice to have one like Lady Jane. I
should be so happy; but then if only one of us can have one, I would
rather Katy had it than have it myself."

"You are not a bit selfish, Nellie. Do you know what _selfish_ means? I
do."

"I guess I do. It means when you have an apple or any candy to refuse to
give a part to your sister."

"Yes, or to any body that happens to be with you. Candy is good, but
don't you like to see others eat it almost as well as you do to eat it
yourself?"

"Well, yes, I think I do."

"Then you know just what I mean, and I guess we'll play 'visiting' now."

"So we will; and Miss Fanny shall be the great lady, and Dinah shall be
her servant."

"Yes, and this shall be her house," said Nellie, as she placed Miss
Fanny in a large arm chair which they were to "make believe" was her
elegant mansion.

"You shall stay here, and I will bring Miss Mary to visit Miss Fanny."

Flora bounded over to the other side of the room, which was supposed to
be the home of the other dolls, and Miss Mary, in spite of her broken
leg, was soon on her way to visit the fine lady.

"Ting, a ling, a ling!" said Flora, which meant that the caller had rung
the bell, and Dinah appeared at the door.

"Is Miss Fanny at home?" asked Flora, speaking for the lady with the
broken leg.

"No, marm, she is not," replied Nellie, who had to speak for Dinah,
because, though her mouth was very large, she could not speak for
herself.

"What an awful fib!" cried Flora. "There she is; don't I see her through
the door?"

"But that's just the way some of the fine folks do," replied Nellie,
laughing at Flora's earnestness.

"It is an awful story, and I wouldn't say it even in fun."

Nellie said she would not say it again, only she wanted to have Miss
Fanny do just as the big folks did. And so they played all the
afternoon, though Lady Jane did not honor them with her company. All the
dollies paid lots of visits; and Flora went home.

[Illustration: The Christmas Present.]




III.


When Flora reached home, she told her mother what a nice time she had,
and what splendid visits Miss Lucy and Miss Mary and Miss Susie had made
to Miss Fanny.

She could not help telling her mother what a good girl Nellie was, and
how she loved her sister, even when she was unkind and spoke pettishly
to her.

Then she told her how much she wished Nellie had a wax doll, with real
hair, and a white silk dress. Mrs. Lee thought such a good girl ought to
have one, and the very next time she went to the city, she bought the
prettiest wax doll she could find for her.

Flora was full of joy when she saw the doll, and learned whom it was
for. She was a great deal happier than if the doll had been bought for
herself; and she wanted to run right over to Mr. Green's with the
beautiful present. She longed to see the eyes of Nellie sparkle as she
saw the doll, and to hear what she would say when told it was for her.
But Mrs. Lee thought they had better keep the doll till Christmas, and
let her find it with her stocking in the morning.

"But then I shan't see her when she first gets the dolly," said Flora.

"That is true; but you must write a little note, which shall be pinned
on the doll's dress."

"That will be splendid, mother! And I will go right away and write the
note now."

Flora got a pencil and a piece of paper, and seated herself in the
corner. She worked away for half an hour as busy as a bee, and then she
carried the note to her mother. She was not much of a writer, having
been to school only a year. She could only print the note.

Flora was very fond of writing notes, and long before she could make a
single letter, she would fill up a piece of paper with pothooks and
spiders' legs, and send them to her mother and Frank.

She did not spell all the words right, but her mother told her how to
correct them, and then she printed the note over again, on a nice sheet
of gilt-edged paper. Thinking my little friends might want to see this
note, I place a copy of it in the book, just exactly as she wrote it.

[Illustration: Dear Nellie

This Dolly Is From Me. I Love You Very Much And I Wish You A Merry
Christmas.

Flora Lee.]

When Christmas morning came, Nellie found the doll in a chair, close by
her stocking. I can't tell you how pleased she was, but you can all
guess. Then she took the note from the dress, and read it. She was more
pleased than ever to find it was from Flora.

She almost cried with joy as she puzzled out the note, and thought how
kind Flora and her mother were to remember her.

"What a dear you are, Miss Dolly!" said she, as she took up the doll and
kissed her, just as though she had been a real live baby. "You and I
shall be first-rate friends, just as long as we live. I will take such
good care of you! Dear me! Why, mother! Only think!"

"What is the matter, Nellie?" asked Mrs. Green, who was almost as much
pleased as her daughter.

"Did you see that?"

"What, child? What do you mean?"

"Did you see those eyes?"

"Yes, I see them."

"Why, just as true as I am alive, she moved them!"

"I think not, my child. She is a very handsome doll, but I don't think
she could move her eyes, if she tried ever so hard."

"But she did; I know she did;" and Nellie took hold of her head to
examine it more closely. As she did so, she bent the body a little.
"There! as true as I live, she moved them again!"

Mrs. Green took the doll, and found that the eyes did really move. It
was funny, but it was true. Mrs. Lee and Flora knew all about it. The
eyes were made of glass, and there was something inside of the doll
which moved them when the body was bent.

"Let me see," said Katy, who had been looking on in silence all this
time. Nellie gave her the doll at once; and she bent the body and saw
the eyes move twenty times. The happy owner of Miss Dolly waited with
patience till her sister had done with her.

"Why didn't aunt Jane get me one like that, I wonder," said Katy, when
she gave the doll to Nellie.

"I suppose she could not afford to buy one like this, for she is not so
rich as Mrs. Lee."

"But you shall have her to play with just when you want her," said
Nellie.

"Pooh! I don't want your old dolly," snarled Katy. "She isn't half so
good as mine. I would rather have Lady Jane than have her, any day."

"Why, then, did you wish your aunt Jane had given you one like this?"
asked her mother.

"I don't care for her old dolly! She may keep it for all me," replied
Katy.

"But it shall be yours just as much as mine, Katy," said Nellie, in
tones so gentle and sweet that her sister ought to have kissed her for
them, and loved her more than she ever loved her before.

But she did not. She was envious. She was sorry the doll had been given
to Nellie--sorry because it was a prettier one than her own. It was a
very wicked feeling. She had some presents of her own, but her envy
spoiled all the pleasure she might have taken in them.

Nellie was almost sorry the doll had been given to her, when she saw how
Katy felt about it. Mrs. Green talked to the envious girl till she
cried, about her conduct. She tried to make her feel how odious and
wicked envy made her.

Whenever Katy saw the new doll, she seemed to be angry with her sister.
Poor Nellie's pleasure was nearly spoiled, and she even offered to
exchange her doll for Katy's, but her mother would not let her do so.

In a few days, however, she seemed to feel better, and the two sisters
had some good times with their dolls. I say she seemed to feel better,
but she really did not. She did not like it that Nellie's doll was a
finer one than her own.

Yet Nellie was happier, for she thought Katy was cured of her ill
feeling. Then she loved her doll more than ever. She was a cunning
little girl, and she thought so much of her new friend that she always
used to say "Dolly and I."

When her mother asked her where she had been, she would reply, "Dolly
and I have been having a nice time up stairs." "Dolly and I" used to do
ever so many things, and no two little ladies could ever enjoy
themselves more than did Dolly and Nellie.

I am sorry to say that Katy did not like Dolly at all. She could never
forgive her for moving her eyes, because Lady Jane could not move hers.
It is true that, after she saw how silly and wicked her envy made her
appear to others, she tried very hard not to show it.

We may be just as wicked without showing our sin to others, as we can be
when we let the world see just what we are. When we are wicked, the sin
is more in the heart than in the actions.

Men may seem to be very good when they are really very bad, though
people almost always find out such persons. Katy was just as wicked,
just as envious, when her sister thought she was kind and loving, as she
was on that Christmas morning, when the doll was found in the chamber.

You will be surprised and sorry when you see just how wicked her envy
made her. I shall tell you about it in the next chapter, and I hope it
will lead you to drive any such feeling from your own hearts. If you
have such feelings, they will make you very unhappy; and the sooner you
begin to get rid of them, the better.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: What Katy did.]




IV.


Lady Jane and Miss Dolly were kept in the lower drawer of the bureau,
for they were very fine young ladies, and Mrs. Green wished to have them
kept clean and nice.

One day, about two weeks after Miss Dolly was given to Nellie, both she
and Katy had been playing with the dolls. When the bell rang for tea,
they ran down stairs; but before they went they put the dolls in the
drawer. As they were in a hurry, they were not very careful, and the
dresses of both the dolls were sadly tumbled.

Mrs. Green, who was in the room, saw in what manner Miss Dolly and Lady
Jane had been thrown into the drawer; and before she went down to tea,
she took them both out, smoothed down their dresses, and put them back
in a more proper manner.

Katy and Nellie had had some talk about their dolls; and the envious
girl had said hers was better than her sister's. Nellie did not dispute
with her about it, but she saw that Katy had not got over that bad
feeling yet.

The children ate their suppers, and not a word more was said about the
dolls; but Katy looked very sour. She was thinking about Miss Dolly's
eyes, and wishing Lady Jane's eyes would move like the other's.

She finished her supper, and ran up stairs again. By this time it was
quite dark in the room where the dolls were kept, and Nellie and her
mother wondered why she went up stairs at that late hour.

Katy was still