CHAPTER X

SALLY AND BEDELIA ARE PRESENTED AT COURT

PRECEDED by their guide, Sally and Bedelia passed between the great doors of the Palace and into a mighty circular hall that was lighted from above by a huge dome of golden colored glass, which cast a soft and sunshiny radiance over everything. In the center of the hall rose a wide and winding spiral staircase, heavily carpeted with deep yellow velvet, whose bordering melted away into soft browns and russets. Sally thought she had never seen anything more lovely than the color scheme of this imperial hall, with its rich woodwork of carved golden oak, and the golden light flooding everything.

Twelve great doors opened out of the hall and they were now ushered with great ceremony through the one directly facing the wide entrance and were received by a splendidly dressed court page, while the private promptly saluted and went about his business.

When Sally, with heart thumping in a most uncomfortable manner, ventured to lift her eyes from the pavement of tessellated marble, she beheld a most magnificently appointed apartment of regal size, thronged with courtiers and ladies-in-waiting, all in splendid court dress; while at the further end rose a gorgeous throne upon which were seated two of the handsomest dolls she had ever seen. She suddenly felt herself very plain and insignificant in the midst of all this splendor.

But there was no time for personal criticism, for she was being rapidly conducted up the hall by the gorgeous page, who was at the same time loudly announcing her name and that of her companion. The child felt herself blushing to the roots of her hair as she dropped her prettiest curtsy, and dreadfully aware in the midst of her embarrassment that Bedelia was attracting attention from all directions. In fact, that personage possessed most strikingly original ideas of court etiquette and, having made a most extraordinary bow, proceeded to lick the hand of royalty which had been most graciously extended to be kissed. This performance gave birth to a ripple of laughter, which at once broke the ice. The courtiers crowded around Sally and Bedelia, while the King and Queen descended from their throne and proceeded to make themselves most agreeable to the strangers.

The Queen was a most beautiful blond, with large, blue eyes—Sally noticed that they had real, black lashes—and a bewildering wealth of golden curls, which she wore floating over her shoulders and whose luster put to shame her golden crown. She wore a splendid gown of white satin, embroidered with threads of gold, over which opened a robe of purple velvet lined with ermine. A splendid court train swept far behind her, and she was, furthermore, adorned with all the family rhinestones, which made a prodigious sparkling and glittering and appeared very magnificent indeed.

The King was a very tall and finely-built doll, with very dark hair and eyes. His dress was of royal purple velvet, slashed with white satin. He, also, wore a crown of fine gold and a splendid signet ring set with a large ruby, upon which Bedelia gazed with suspicious interest. Noticing her interested expression and following the direction of her glances, Sally began inwardly to quake, and resolved that the mischievous little bear should be separated as far from the King as possible. An unkind fate, however, willed it otherwise, for the Queen, who felt rather afraid of Bedelia, promptly linked her arm in Sally’s and the two walked slowly down the long hall, leaving the King to follow with the little bear. Truth to tell, Her Majesty was extremely curious with regard to this new kind of doll, which was neither made of china nor stuffed with sawdust, and she pressed Sally’s hand and patted her arm, consumed with curiosity, although disliking to ask of what material she could possibly be made.

Sally was destined to have her ideas concerning royalty turned topsy-turvy. Indeed, all her previous notions, obtained from well authenticated books, pictured kings and queens as quite the reverse of what she was really finding them. The idea of a king promenading arm in arm with a Teddy Bear, or with any kind of a bear, as far as that went! She could not help smiling to herself to think how angry Bedelia would be could she know of what she herself was thinking. For Bedelia had always considered herself a most important little personage, and quite good enough society for kings and queens, too.

While these thoughts were chasing each other through Sally’s brain, the Queen was interestedly, if furtively examining the little girl’s dress and her beautiful, lustrous braids which reached below her waist. Much was her secret astonishment to discover that the latter were not glued on, as were her own golden tresses. This she could not fail to consider a serious detriment, for she was the proud possessor of numerous wigs, and simply exchanged one for another as soon as it became mussed up, a proceeding which she considered vastly superior to having the tiresome combing and curling done with one’s own head for a foundation, which must be the case with Sally, of course.

In fact, the Queen was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Sally was a most delightful problem and one very worth while solving. To this end she informed the pages that no one else would be given audience, and insisted that Sally and Bedelia should spend the rest of the day at the Palace.

In the meantime Bedelia had been amusing the King, who found himself highly entertained by this entirely new species of toy animal. He had never before beheld anything like her, although very well acquainted with every specimen in his kingdom. Toyland was destitute of Teddy Bears, a fact that greatly astonished Bedelia, who did not know whether to be mad or glad on account of it, and concerning which she later on demanded an explanation of the Sign Post. However, he declared with a solemn shake of his head that a question of such momentous import must needs be referred to the Polly-nosed Saphead, a personage concerning whom Bedelia was already burning with curiosity.

However, the King declared Bedelia to be very good company for the time being. And, though Sally was shaking in her shoes for fear of what she might next consider it proper to do, she behaved herself in such a bright and comical manner that His Majesty declared he would immediately find out why none of her species had ever before penetrated into Toyland.

Bedelia privately decided that she would herself find out before he did, or know the reason why. However, she intimated nothing of the kind, and as the Queen just then suggested that they make a tour of the Palace and grounds, the subject was dismissed for the time at least.

The Queen now threw her long train over her arm and settling her golden crown a little more firmly on her golden curls, she caught Sally’s hand and the two moved towards the door, followed by the King and Bedelia. The latter had, as a matter of course, taken the King’s arm, and now marched along with her nose in the air, greatly to the astonishment of the scandalized court ladies, very few of whom had enjoyed a like honor. His Royal Highness was too much amused and diverted to feel any embarrassment. Truth to tell, life in Toyland had been dull of late, the same thing happening every day without change or variation, and the King was beginning to be horribly bored. Bedelia had dropped from the sky, as it seemed, in the very nick of time.

The quartet proceeded through the crowd of respectfully bowing courtiers to the big doors at the lower end of the room and passed through them into the outer hall. The royal automobile was in waiting, and after a general tour of the Palace the party stepped into it and started for a ride through the charming country.

As they reached the edge of the town, they beheld the Walking House patiently awaiting developments and, both King and Queen desiring to look it over, the party descended at once and proceeded to examine it. The position of guide was, of course, snapped up by Bedelia, whose fluency of speech fitted her very well for such work.

The King inspected everything with the greatest interest, noting many improvements unknown in Toyland, Both King and Queen insisted on being introduced to all the dolls, and made themselves most delightfully agreeable.

The little bear now noticed for the first time the absence of Peter Pan, a fact which she had hitherto passed by, owing no doubt to the very good time she was enjoying. Squatting on her haunches in the kitchen while she devoured a big, red apple—for she considered that the claims of the inner man preceded even those of royalty—she revolved the matter in her mind, finally coming to the conclusion that there could be but one reason for Peter’s absence: that after their disappearance from the doll’s house, he had discovered some means of returning to his original size, and had availed himself of it, probably finding the society of the doll’s house uncongenial minus Sally and Bedelia, and preferring that of his cubs. Bedelia devoutly hoped that he had preserved a portion of the “restorer,” as she mentally styled it, for herself and Sally. Greatly as she was enjoying herself, she certainly had no intention of remaining as she was for the term of her natural life. Playing at being dolls was all very well for a season, but was scarcely satisfying enough for a perpetual diet. Besides, there was her family. She wondered how Tom and Jerry and Little Breeches were getting along without her. It was something of a consolation to feel that Peter Pan was with them in her absence.

Bedelia’s brain worked quickly, if it was made of silk ravelings! And she had firmly settled the whole matter in her own mind long before she had finished the red apple.

When she had taken the last bite and had carefully extracted the seeds, of which, squirrel-like, she was extremely fond, she dropped the core into the coal scuttle, wiped her paws and muzzle on Dinah’s best apron which happened to be freshly done up and airing before the fire, and betook herself upstairs to find out what had been going on in her absence. As she passed the basement door, she saw the Little Lamb scurrying out of it, but thought nothing of the incident and sped upstairs to the drawing-room from which issued the sounds of lively conversation.

The King and Queen had explored every nook and corner of the Walking House, and now expressed a most lively desire to see it walk, a request with which the House stubbornly refused to comply. Firmly planted upon its pedal extremities, which had to all intents and purposes turned themselves back into castors again, it stoutly resisted all coaxing and persuasion; and the project was finally abandoned, much to the disappointment of their Royal Highnesses and the chagrin of Sally.

The Queen declared it high time to be on the move, as they had brought along an elaborate luncheon which was to be served wherever they felt like stopping, and it was already along toward noon. Therefore they all climbed into the auto and presently rolled away, waving good-bye to the dolls, who were assembled in front of the house to see them go.

A second auto with the servants and luncheon followed at a convenient distance. There was no dust to take for the roads were all neatly covered with velvet carpet whenever the King and Queen went abroad. The automobile having been wound up just before it left the garage, there was no fear of its running down, and even if it had, Sally felt quite sure that her golden key would have been quite sufficient to start it up again.

The child could not but think that the King and Queen looked exceedingly comical automobiling in their royal robes and jeweled crowns. The long train of the Queen was dreadfully in the way, and was always overflowing the sides of the auto and having to be re-arranged, while her golden crown wabbled to such an alarming extent that she was obliged to hold on to it with both hands, a proceeding which was not at all comfortable. Nor was the King any better off, but rather worse, for the Queen’s long and carefully dressed hair admitted of hat-pins and formed a much better receptacle for a crown than did his own short and curly locks.

However, the little party was a very merry one in spite of wabbly crowns and inconvenient court-trains. And great was the fun and laughter as they sped gaily along through the charming country. Presently they crossed a rustic bridge and turned into a beautiful strip of woods, and here the Queen declared that their luncheon should be served. It was, indeed, a lovely location. A silvery stream rippled by and formed a charming cascade, the water having been turned on from headquarters for the benefit of the royal party. A number of birds of brilliant plumage hopped about among the green branches, most of them warbling sweetly. That they had all been wound up for the special occasion Sally did not for a moment doubt, but she was already so well accustomed to this sort of thing that she did not in the least mind it or consider it queer. As for Bedelia, she had never noticed the difference.

Just then the servants who had been approaching, bearing the big hamper in which the lunch had been packed, suddenly dropped it and retreated with every semblance of terror. Sally’s heart sank into her boots, and she glanced nervously over her shoulders to ascertain if Bedelia were missing. But the little bear was close behind and with the rest of the party rushed forward to see what on earth ailed the royal servants. The hamper lay upon the ground, while in one side yawned a great hole. And within appeared a long, solemn face, terminated by a considerable growth of beard. For Mary did not always find it quite convenient to shave her Little Lamb as often as was really necessary. The goat’s beard had sprouted, although the horns had not, and was proving a great nuisance to everybody concerned.

In a moment the solution of the whole thing burst upon Bedelia. She remembered having seen the Little Lamb skipping out of the basement door and surmised that he must have hidden himself in the automobile until they were all under way and had then chewed a hole in the side of the hamper, as he could not unfasten the lid, and finally managed to squeeze himself in by dint of throwing out a number of articles utterly valueless to goats but considered quite indispensable to royalty. Of course all this had taken place behind the backs of the servants, who evidently had never once looked around.

Poor Sally, who recognized at the first glance the countenance of the Little Lamb, felt that it would have been a huge relief had the ground opened and made one mouthful of her. She was too much scandalized, as well as too honest, to join in the terrified exclamations of the royal couple, who, however, had but short space in which to express their emotions. Not seeing any good reason why he should remain in his rather cramped quarters, which he would have deserted much sooner had he not feared to jump from the rapidly moving auto, the Little Lamb suddenly wriggled out through the hole in the hamper’s side and taking nimbly to his heels, scampered away and disappeared among the trees, leaving the royal party to mourn over its departed feast.