"bldtn10" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hope Laura Lee)

And those Tin Soldiers, who, like other soldiers, must always obey
their officers, jumped right off the top of the building-block hill.

But they were not killed, nor was one of them hurt, I am glad to
say. For at the bottom of the pile of blocks was a rubber football,
and the Soldiers landed on this, bounced up and down, and then
gently landed on the counter. The Captain knew the football was
there, or he would not have told his men to jump.

"My, that was a fine drill!" said the Rag Doll. "How exciting!"

"Hush! They are going to do something else," said the Monkey on a
Stick.

And it did seem so, for part of the Soldiers, shouldering their
guns, marched to one end of the toy counter, and the others, with
their Captain at their head, remained near the pile of blocks.

"Are you ready?" asked the Captain of a Sergeant who had charge of
the second half of the tin soldiers.

"All ready, sir!" was the answer.

"Load! Aim! Fire!" suddenly cried the Captain.

"Oh, they are going to shoot! Oh, it's going to be war! There is
going to be a battle!" cried the Rag Doll.

"Nonsense! It is only going to be a make-believe battle!" said the
Calico Clown. "Our Captain told me about it. It is to be a sham
battle to amuse us. See, they are aiming their guns at one another!"

And as he spoke the Rag Doll looked and saw the two companies of Tin
Soldiers ready to take part in a battle.

"Oh, hold me! Hold me!" whispered the Rag Doll to the Calico Clown.
"I know I am going to faint!"



CHAPTER II

SAVING THE CLOWN


"Ready! Take aim! Fire!" cried the Bold Tin Soldier Captain.

"Bang! Bang!" cracked the tin guns, some in the hands of one "army"
and some shot off by the other "army." The Soldiers had divided
themselves into two "armies," to give a make-believe fight to amuse