boy
dolls and little girl dolls, baby dolls and nurse dolls; dolls in suits
and dolls in frocks; dolls in hats and dolls in nightgowns; a papa in
trousers and a mamma in a magnificent blue dress with flounces and a
train; a nurse in white cap and apron and the most bewitching baby doll
you ever saw, with a frilled paper cap that slipped on and off, and a
white frock with pink ribbons. And the best of these dolls was, that
each of them had a piece of cardboard fastened on behind and a little
bit of cardboard to stand on, so that when you spread out the piece
behind they stood up as naturally as possible, and looked as if they
were going to talk to you.

"Oh, Aunt Emma, dear Aunt Emma!" cried Milly, beside herself with
delight as she spread them all out in her lap. "They're just like
mother's at home, mother's that you made for her when she was a little
girl--only ever so many more."

"Well, Milly, I made mother's for her long ago, when it rained for days
and days without stopping, and she had grown tired of pretty nearly
everything and everybody indoors; and now I have been spending part of
these rainy days in making a new set for mother's little girl. There,
dear little woman, I think you must have given me a kiss for each of
them by this time. Suppose you try and make them stand up."

"But, Aunt Emma," said Olly, who was busy examining the mysterious
bag--how could the dolls talk? they're only paper."

"I know nothing about it," answered Aunt Emma, rescuing the bag, and
putting it safely under her chair. "You _might_ ask the bag--but it
wouldn't answer you. Magical bags never do talk except to their masters
or mistresses."

So Olly had to puzzle it out for himself while he played with the
Japanese frog. That was an extraordinary frog! You should have seen
nurse's start when Olly hid himself in the passage and sent the frog
hopping and squeaking through the open door of the night nursery, where
nurse was sitting sewing; and as for cook, when the creature came
flopping over her kitchen floor she very nearly spoilt the hash she was
making for dinner by dropping a whole pepper-box into the middle of it!
There was no end to the fun to be got out of froggy, and Olly amused
himself with it the whole of the morning, while Milly went through long
stories with her dolls upstairs, helped every now and then by Aunt Emma,
who sat knitting and talking to mother.

At dinner the children had to sit quiet while Mr. and Mrs. Nort