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All at once a big white paper spread out on the bench began to move, and out from under it came a toy, at the sight of which the Horse exclaimed:

“Well, I do declare! Who would have thought to find you here? What happened to you? Dear me, what a surprise!”

CHAPTER VIII

HOME AGAIN

Many of the toys, which had been mended since having been brought to the hospital, stood up and looked at the White Rocking Horse as he called to them, and they wondered what had surprised him so.

“My goodness, that Horse is making a great deal of noise,” said a large Wooden Soldier, one of whose legs was in splints. It had been broken in three places when the little boy, who owned the Soldier, had struck him with a drumstick.

“I should say that Horse was making a great deal of noise,” agreed a Tin Poodle Dog, whose tail needed straightening. “What’s it all about, Mr. Horse?” he barked.

“Excuse me, my toy friends, I did not mean to disturb you,” said the White Rocking Horse kindly. “But I was so surprised to see an old friend of mine here that I just couldn’t help calling out.”

“Who is your friend?” asked a Double Humped Camel from a Noah’s Ark.

“There he is,” said the Horse, and he waved his tail toward the animal which had come out from under the big piece of white paper on the work bench of the toy hospital doctor.

All the other toys looked, and saw an Elephant. But the White Rocking Horse did more than look. He cried out:

“To think of seeing you here, my Elephant friend! Why, the last time we were together was in the toy store!”

“Yes, and I was trying to race with you on roller skates,” said the Elephant, with a laugh. “Wasn’t it funny when my skate came off?”

The other toys stared in interest.

“Very funny,” agreed the Horse. “We must tell our friends here about it. But I am sorry to see what has happened to you, Mr. Elephant!” went on the Horse. “Did you get broken this way when you fell off the roller skates, or anything like that? You certainly do look queer–not at all like yourself!”

“And I don’t feel like myself,” said the Elephant.

Well might he say that, for his trunk was broken off short, and you know, as well as I do, that an elephant without a trunk doesn’t look at all like himself. He might just as well, or even better, have no tail, as far as looks go.

“What happened to you?” asked the Horse.

“Oh, I have had many adventures,” replied the Elephant. “After you were taken away by the man in the automobile, I was sold to a lady and a little boy and taken to their home.”

“Was it a nice place?” the Horse wanted to know.

“The place was all right,” the Elephant answered. “But that little boy! Dear me! I don’t just know what to say about him, he certainly did not treat me very nicely. Why, do you know,” he went on, speaking in rather a funny voice on account of his trunk being broken off, “he never gave me a single peanut all the while I was with him!”

“No! Really? Was he as unkind as that?” asked the broken Jack in the Box.

“But that wasn’t the worst,” continued the Elephant. “After the boy had dropped some bread and jam on me, he thought he’d wash me off in the bath room. He took me up to carry me there, but he dropped me on the hard, tile floor and–well, you see what happened to me. My trunk was broken off–broken off short!”

“What a sad accident!” exclaimed the Horse.

“You may well say so,” returned the Elephant. “The little boy was sorry for me, I’ll say that of him. He called his mother and she tried to fix me. She glued my trunk on, but she got it crooked and when I saw myself in the glass I was ashamed! I was glad none of the other toy animals could see me.”