ing along the shelf.

"The cotton in my body is getting mashed as flat as a pancake!" said
Raggedy Ann. And although the tin soldier was piled so that his foot was
pressed into Raggedy's face, she still wore her customary smile.

So the dolls began moving off to one side until Raggedy Ann was free to
sit up.

"Ah, that's a great deal better!" she said, stretching her arms and legs
to get the kinks out of them, and patting her dress into shape.

"Well, I'll be glad when morning comes!" she said finally, "for I know
Mistress will take us out in the yard and play with us under the trees."

So the dolls sat and talked until daylight, when the painters came to
work.

One of the painters, a young fellow, seeing the dolls, reached up and
took Raggedy Ann down from the shelf.

"Look at this rag doll, Jim," he said to one of the other painters,
"She's a daisy," and he took Raggedy Ann by the hands and danced with
her while he whistled a lively tune. Raggedy Ann's heels hit the floor
thumpity-thump and she enjoyed it immensely.

The other dolls sat upon the shelf and looked straight before them, for
it would never do to let grown-up men know that dolls were really alive.

"Better put her back upon the shelf," said one of the other men. "You'll
have the little girl after you! The chances are that she likes that old
rag doll better than any of the others!"

But the young painter twisted Raggedy Ann into funny attitudes and
laughed and laughed as she looped about. Finally he got to tossing her
up in the air and catching her. This was great fun for Raggedy and as
she sailed up by the shelf the dolls all smiled at her, for it pleased
them whenever Raggedy Ann was happy.

But the young fellow threw Raggedy Ann up into the air once too often
and when she came down he failed to catch her and she came down
_splash_, head first into a bucket of oily paint.

"I told you!" said the older painter, "and now you are in for it!"

"My goodness! I didn't mean to do it!" said the young fellow, "What had
I better do with her?"

"Better put her back on the shelf!" replied the other.

So Raggedy was placed back upon the shelf and the paint ran from her
head and trickled down upon her dress.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

After breakfast, Mistress came into the nursery and saw Raggedy all
covered with paint and she began crying.

The young painter felt sorry and told her how it had happened.

"If you will let me," he said, "I