106 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
dining table with a polished top, suitable for playing 
games, or holding books or work. It was upon this table 
that the work-boxes and dolls were ranged, twelve in all, 
and by each a little pile of clothes, all cut and ready- 
basted, the whole being covered by acloth. Gray Lady and 
Ann had agreed between themselves that lessons in sewing 
had better come first and garment-cutting follow later on. 
All the garments were to be made to put on and take 
off like real clothes, and though they were very simple, 
each doll when dressed would personate a different char- 
acter, for there was clothing for a baby doll, a schoolgirl, 
a young lady, a trained nurse, little Red Riding-Hood, and 
so on. 
The workshop faced north and east, and was on the 
opposite side of the stairs. This was of the same shape 
as the playroom, but a small wood-stove, that could be 
used for heating glue-pots, and to keep the room from 
freezing in winter, took the place of the cooking-stove, 
and there was a long workbench, with vise, lathe, and 
mitre-box attachment under two of the windows where 
the best light fell. Across one side of the room, various 
tools were hung in racks, while at the end opposite the 
windows was tacked a great sheet of paper upon which 
many styles of bird homes were pictured. Below this 
was a space painted black like a school black-board, and 
upon this Jacob had redrawn in rough chalk several 
of the pictures to a working-scale. 
Gray Lady and Goldilocks were already upstairs when 
the party arrived, for though Goldilocks could walk very 
nicely when on a level, going up and down stairs was a 
matter that took time. 
