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“I wonder if the Rocking Horse and the Elephant will finish their race tonight?” thought the Bold Tin Soldier, as he felt himself being taken out of his box to be looked at by a lady who was doing her Christmas shopping.

It was almost closing time in the store when the White Rocking Horse, who felt much better since his sides had been rubbed with oil, heard a gentleman’s voice speaking near him.

“This is about what I want for Dick’s Christmas,” said the man to the young lady clerk. “Is this a good Rocking Horse?”

“The best in the store; yes, sir,” was the answer. “The tail and mane are real hair, and the saddle and bridle are real leather. The rockers, too, are nice and smooth, so the Horse will go fast.”

“Well, I don’t want it to go too fast,” said the man, smiling down at the White Rocking Horse as he patted its neck, “My son Dick is too small to ride even a rocking horse very fast. I think, though, that I will have Santa Claus bring him this one. And, as it is so near Christmas, and as you are so very busy, if you will have this wrapped up for me, I will take it home in my auto. I will help Santa Claus that much.”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to have you help him,” replied the young lady, with a smile. “And I hope Dick will like this Horse. I am glad our Horse is going to a boy who will be kind to him.”

“Oh, Dick takes good care of his toys,” said the man.

“Well, thank goodness for that!” thought the White Rocking Horse. “Now like the Sawdust Doll, my adventures are going to start.”

And, if you will turn to the next chapter, you may read what happened.

CHAPTER IV

THE SUPRISE

Through all this talk between the young lady of the store and the father who was buying something for his son’s Christmas, to help busy Santa Claus, the White Rocking Horse never said a word. But he was doing as much thinking as a wooden horse ever did; I am sure of that.

“I’ll get some big sheets of paper and wrap the horse up for you,” said the young lady clerk to the man. “Are you sure you can get him in your auto?”

“Oh, yes,” the man answered. “I have plenty of room. There will be no one in the car but the horse and myself. We shall have a nice ride together. It will seem rather funny to be giving a horse a ride in an automobile. I have often seen a horse pull a broken or stalled automobile along the street, but I never saw a horse in an auto before,” he said.

“And I never did, either,” replied the young lady, with a laugh, as she went to get the wrapping paper. “But then you know,” she added, “this is not a regular horse.”

“No, he is a rocking chap,” said the man. Then he turned to another part of the toy department.

And as the young lady clerk was gone to get the paper and as the man was around the corner, over near the table where the checkers and dominoes were arranged in piles, the toys about which I have been telling you were left to themselves for a moment. And, of course, as there was no one to see them, they could move about and talk, if they wished. And they certainly did.

“Where do you suppose you are going?” asked the Calico Clown of the

White Rocking Horse.

“I haven’t the least idea,” was the answer. “But I know one thing: I am very sorry to leave you, my friends. We have had some jolly times together. Only think–last night the Elephant and I were having a friendly race!”

“Yes, and I wish I could have seen the finish of it,” said the Bold Tin Soldier. “I am sure you would have won. A Rocking Horse is always faster than an Elephant.”