Page:The Live Dolls Play Days.pdf/133

 The children began to weep, holding fast to their mothers' hands as they waited for they knew not what.

They watched with frightened eyes as the bears came nearer and nearer, and at last it was plainly to be seen what they were.

"It's Teddy Bears!" shouted one boy who had been to the city. "I've seen 'em! They can't hurt us, but how did they ever come here that way?"

As the balloons collapsed, the bears dropped at their feet, alive no more, of course, since they were away from Cloverdale, and the Queen's promise did not apply to them.

The boys were keenly interested in the strange pets and examined them curiously.