Santa Claus had brought Big Mary one snowy Christmas night, and he had brought also a great many pretty clothes for her to wear. There were three dresses, a warm red one for winter, and a white one, very thin, for summer, and still another, of beautiful blue silk with lace on it, for best.

 

Then, also, there were little skirts, and tiny stockings, and pretty little shoes with shiny buckles¹ and real heels, and there was a pink parasol, and, best of all, a dear little muff, made of soft white fur, to keep Big Mary's hands warm in cold weather.

 

At first little Marian loved to dress Big Mary in all these pretty things, and she would put on first the warm red dress, and then the thin white one, and then the one of blue silk with the beautiful lace. And she would raise the big parasol and put it over Big Mary's head. But she hardly ever gave Big Mary the little white muff to hold, because that was for very, very best. Little Marian's own mamma had said so.

 

But when Marian's birthday came, grandma gave her a doll's trunk, and after that the days were not so pleasant for Big Mary. It was so much fun to pack the trunk that little Marian often took off all the clothes Big Mary had on to put them away in the trunk. Many a time poor Big Mary had to sit for hours all undressed, and she would shiver and shake, until at last one time when little Marian had left her lying all night on the floor without any clothes on, she took a dreadful cold and became very ill.

 

Then little Marian was very sorry for what she had done, and she put Big Mary to bed and sent for Dr. Prince. When the doctor came he looked at Big Mary's tongue, and felt her pulse. And then he shook his head and looked very grave. He said that Big Mary must take some medicine every day, and must sit out in the fresh air, and always wear her best clothes all the time; for she was a very sick doll indeed.

 

So little Marian dressed Big Mary in the blue silk trimmed with lace, because that was her very best dress, and she raised the pink parasol and put it over her head and she gave Big Mary the white muff to hold, because that was for very, very best. Then she carried Big Mary out to the gray rock in the back yard where the nasturtiums grow, to sit in the fresh air all day long.

 

Now little Miss Freckle² Frog lived under the big rock. She was ugly, as all frogs are, but she loved pretty things, perhaps because she was not pretty herself. But although she was not pretty, she was a kind-hearted little body, and all her friends liked her.

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