y is small, but there are no beggars among them.

Toys are made in almost every house. Every one in a family works on
the same kind of toy, just as it is in Bertha's home.

The people think: "It would be foolish to spend one's time in
learning new things. The longer a person works at making one kind of
toy, the faster he can make them, and he can earn more money."

One of Bertha's neighbours makes nothing but Noah's Arks. Another
makes toy tables, and still another dolls' chairs.

Bertha often visits a little friend who helps her father make
cuckoo-clocks. Did you ever see one of these curious clocks? As
each hour comes around, a little bird comes outside the case. Then
it flaps its wings and sings "cuckoo" in a soft, sweet voice as many
times as there are strokes to the hour. It is great fun to watch for
the little bird and hear its soft notes.

Perhaps you wonder what makes the bird come out at just the right
time. It is done by certain machinery inside the clock. But,
however it is, old people as well as children seem to enjoy the
cuckoo-clocks of Germany.

"Some day, when you are older, you shall go to the fair at Easter
time," Bertha's father has promised her.

"Is that at Leipsic, where our Santa Claus images go?" asked his
little daughter.

"Yes, my dear, and toys from many other parts of our country. There
you will see music-boxes and dolls' pianos and carts and trumpets and
engines and ships. These all come from the mining-towns.

"But I know what my little Bertha would care for most. She would
best like to see the beautiful wax dolls that come from Sonneberg."

"Yes, indeed," cried Bertha. "The dear, lovely dollies with yellow
hair like mine. I would love every one of them. I wish I could go
to Sonneberg just to see the dolls."

"I wonder what makes the wax stick on," said Gretchen, who came into
the room while her father and Bertha were talking.

"After the heads have been moulded into shape, they are dipped into
pans of boiling wax," her father told her. "The cheap dolls are
dipped only once, but the expensive ones have several baths before
they are finished. The more wax that is put on, the handsomer the
dolls are.

"Then comes the painting. One girl does nothing but paint the lips.
Another one does the cheeks. Still another, the eyebrows. Even then
Miss Dolly looks like a bald-headed baby till her wig is fastened in
its place."

"I like the yellow hair best," said Bert