Page 292 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

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NEGLECTED AKAIHA 7

niUvt (lulls, pinning a girl's name on each and 1 wailed breathlessly. There R
>vere oilier gifts to be sorted and selected, loo, as handkerchiefs, heads and !
pencils. I heard her sigh and wish tor some gifts tor the older girls that M
would he as pleasing to them as we dolls were going to he for the smaller *
When all the gifts were ready she put them carefully into the suil- !
ease and went out and locked the dour and / icas left behind on the shelf.
Oh, how disappointed I felt! I wished I could cry real tears and if 1 had 1
had a heart 1 am sure it would have broken. I was not the only one left 9
luit misery loves company and we were all doleful together.
1 tried to imagine the Christmas entertainment and pictured the glad I
.surprise and joyful faces of the little Arab girls when they received their
doll and, oh, how I envied those chosen dolls.
"What will become of me?” I wailed, "Here I am in Arabia and how i
. c;ui l make some little girl happy?”
Hut another day came and the door opened again. Mrs. Dame came in
and took me from the shelf with two other dolls and she carried us in her
arms across a hare sandy yard to a gray looking building. Inside there was ;
* a big room full of desks and blackboards and I realized that this was a
i .school. Why, yes, this must be the Bahrain Girls’ School that the Sunday
; School teacher told the girls about that night we were being dressed.
We were placed on a long low table—the Kindergarten table—with
some nice new linen scrap-books and a few other toys. Pretty soon a bell
rang and the children came trooping in. (“Oh, exciting! Now 1 am see­
ing real Arab girls!” thought I.) Without saying a word out loud we
caught the children’s eyes immediately and with little squeals of delight
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1 there was a rush upon us. The missionary smiled and explained; yes,
j these were new dolls for the Kindergarten children to play with and now
: everyone must sit down in their seats for morning exercises. So they all !
sat clown quietly and sang, “Good Morning,” in English and a pretty song i
in Arabic and then came a prayer.
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Then the children stood up and went to their classes. They all wanted
. to stop and play with us but the first grade children had to read and the ■
.second grade had to do arithmetic and the third had to study English and I
. the fourth and fifth were busy in the other room so the Kindergartners
• had us to themselves. fl
Ilow delighted they were! It really was pleasant to he made so much \
uver and to have such enthusiasm and love expressed so ardently tor one.
We certainly were given a grand welcome. There was the Cute Little i :
Girl so dainty and sweet she seemed like a doll herself and there was the i
Shy Little Girl in her queer Arab clothes, and the little humpbacked hoy
who is the Hospital Orphan, and the Dirty Little Curl (Oh, how 1 wished i
; .she would use a handkerchief!) and several others besides the Little
< Pickaninny Baiby who is really too small for even Kindergarten but his
\ sister must bring him or she couldn’t come to school herself. i\
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Three of us were not enough to go round them all so they took turns
ami I got acquainted with each one. And I loved them all. even the Dirty 5d
Little Girl, for she held me so tenderly and crooned over me so lovingly i
I couldn’t help but love her, too.
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