The Story of a White Rocking Horse Part 2

As he spoke there came a loud clattering sound down near the elevators--the halfway mark of the race. All the toys strained their necks to look, and they saw that one of the roller skates had come off the Elephant. He had turned too quickly, and had lost a skate.

"Never mind! Go on! Go on!" cried the Elephant, who was quite a sporting chap in his own way. "Go on with the race! I can beat you on three skates, Mr. Horse!"

"Ho! Ho! We'll see about that!" whinnied the rocking chap, as he made the turn and started back.

The two toys were going along as fast as they could, the rumble of the rockers on the White Horse mingling with the roll of the skates on the Elephant, when, all of a sudden, a brighter light shone in the toy department, the tread of footsteps was heard, and the Calico Clown had just time to shout:

"The watchman! To your places, every one!"

And instantly the toys were as motionless and quiet as mice. The Elephant, even on three skates, had been going so fast that he rolled behind a big pillar all covered with red and green tissue paper, with which the toy section was decorated. And the White Rocking Horse stayed just where he was when the Clown called out. Up among the toy counters and shelves came a big man carrying a lantern. He was the store watchman, and he went about in the different departments each night to see that all was well.

"What's this?" exclaimed the watchman, as he noticed the White Rocking Horse near the elevators. "This toy is out of place! He belongs over near the counter. Some clerk or customer must have left him here when the store closed last night. I'll take him back," and, picking up the White Rocking Horse, the watchman carried the toy back to where it belonged. And the Horse did not dare give even the smallest kick. He dared not show that he had been alive and in a race.

The watchman walked back toward the elevator, and saw the skate that had come off the Elephant's foot. He did not see the Elephant who was hidden behind the pillar.

"Well, I do declare!" exclaimed the watchman. "The clerks here are getting very careless! This roller skate belongs over in the sporting section. I'll take it there."

He picked it up and walked away. When he was gone, and the light of his lantern no longer gleamed, the Calico Clown slowly raised his head.

"Now you can go on with the race," he said.

"No, the race is spoiled for to-night," answered the Horse. "It will soon be daylight, and the clerks and shoppers will be coming in."

"Yes, and I would have to go to the other part of the store to get back my roller skate," said the Elephant. "I find I cannot get along on three. We'll have the race to-morrow night, Mr. Horse."

"That will suit me very well," said the proud, brave steed.

"And now we had all better get quiet," said the Monkey on a Stick. "I can see the sun peeping up in the east. Daylight is coming, and we dare no longer move about and talk. We have had some fun, but now we must get ready to be looked at by the shoppers. Quiet, everybody!"

And, as he spoke, the light suddenly grew stronger in the toy department, the clerks presently began coming in, and soon, when the sun was a little higher in the sky, the shoppers began arriving.

The White Rocking Horse, proud and stiff, stood near the counter. How his red saddle, of real leather, glistened in the light! How fluffy were his mane and tail!

Suddenly there came marching down the aisle of the store a boy whose feet made a great deal of noise, and who had a loud voice.

"Here's the Rocking Horse I want!" he cried. "I'm going to have this one!" And in an instant he had leaped on the back of the White Horse, banging his heels on the painted sides and yanking on the leather reins.

"Gid-dap! Gid-dap!" cried the rude boy, and he began kicking the White Rocking Horse in the ribs.

CHAPTER III

A NICE MAN

"Dear me!" thought the White Rocking Horse to himself, as he felt the boy banging hard, leather heels into his side. "This is quite dreadful! I hope I am not sold to this boy! He would be a very unpleasant master to have, I am sure!"

Just because the White Rocking Horse and the other toys could not talk and move about when human eyes were watching them, did not stop them from thinking things to themselves, or from having feelings. And you may be very sure the White Rocking Horse felt that his feelings were very much hurt when the boy banged his heels so hard into the sides of the steed.

"I certainly hope I am not going to belong to this boy," thought the White Rocking Horse, and he looked toward the toy counter. He saw the Calico Clown glancing sadly at him, and he noticed the Monkey on a Stick making funny faces at the boy.

"I wish I could make that boy come over here and look at me," thought the Monkey. "Then he would let my friend, the White Rocking Horse, alone."

But the rude boy seemed to like being in the red leather saddle on the back of the Rocking Horse.

"Grid-dap! Go 'long there!" cried the boy, and again he clapped his heels against the wooden sides of the Horse, chipping off bits of paint. With his hands the boy yanked on the reins until he nearly pulled them off the head of the White Rocking Horse.

A young lady clerk, who worked In the toy department, came along just then.

"Please do not be so rough on the Horse, little boy," she said in a gentle voice.

"I'm going to have this Horse!" shouted the rude boy, as he rocked to and fro. "I'm going to make my mother buy him for me for Christmas. Go 'long! Gid-dap!"

"Oh, I never could stand belonging to this boy!" thought the poor White Rocking Horse. "I should want to run away!"

While the unpleasant boy was still in the saddle, swaying to and fro and banging his heels, a lady came walking down the aisle of the toy department.

"Here's the Horse I want!" the boy cried to her. "He's a dandy! He has real hair in his tail and mane, and the saddle is real leather! Buy me this Horse!"

"No, Reginald, I cannot buy you this Horse," said the lady. "It costs too much, and you have a rocking horse at home now."

"Yes, but that one has no ears, his leg is broken, and he has no saddle or bridle," cried the boy. "I want this horse!"

"Your horse was as good as this one when it was new," said the boy's mother. "If you had taken care of it, it would be a good horse yet."

"Well, I couldn't help it 'cause his ears pulled off! I wanted him to stop rocking and he wouldn't!" grumbled the rude boy. "I had to pull his ears!"

"Gracious! Think of pulling off the ears of a rocking horse because he wouldn't stay quiet!" said the Bold Tin Soldier to himself. "I hope our White Horse doesn't get this boy for a master."

"I want this Horse! I want this one!" cried the boy, again banging his heels on the side of the toy.

"No, Reginald, you cannot have it," said his mother,

"Then I want this Calico Clown!" the boy exclaimed, jumping off the horse so quickly that the toy animal would have been knocked over, only the young lady clerk caught it and held it upright.

The boy caught the Clown up in his hands, and began punching the toy in the chest to make the cymbals bang together.

"Dear me, what a dreadful chap this boy is!" thought the Calico Clown.

"So rough!"

As for the White Rocking Horse, he began to feel better as soon as the boy was out of the saddle. True, his wooden sides were somewhat dented, but the young lady clerk said to her friend at the doll counter:

"I'll get a little oil and rub the spots out. They won't show, and the Horse will be as good as ever. It's a shame such boys are allowed in the toy department."

"Buy me this Calico Clown!" cried the boy, who was punching the gaily dressed toy, and making the cymbals clang. "I want this, if I can't have the Rocking Horse!"