"'Cause some ob de toys in mah pa't of de store says as how I kept 'em
_guessin'_," was the answer. "Dey done say dey nebber know whut I'm
gwine to do nex'. I suah mus' be a riddle."
"Oh, no, that isn't a riddle," the Soldier Captain explained. "A riddle
is like a puzzle. For instance, I ask you what has four legs, and yet
can't walk?"
"Hu! Dey ain't _nothin'_ whut has fo' legs an' can't walk!" declared
Topsy. "Dat's silly! I's got only _two_ legs, but I can walk when nobody
looks at me. An' dat Noah's Ark Elephant, he's got _fo'_ legs, an' he
can walk. What is dat has fo' legs an' can't walk I axes yo', Mr.
Soldier Captain?"
"A table has four legs and yet it can't walk," laughed the wooden
officer. "That's a riddle, Topsy. Now see if you can tell one."
So the Topsy Doll and the other toys began to think of riddles, asking
them of one another. But, somehow or other, the China Cat was very still
and quiet. She did not enter into this fun as she had into the game of
tag.
"What's the matter?" asked the Jumping Jack, when he had guessed a funny
riddle about a little green hen. "Are you watching for mice, China Cat?
There are some little ones, made of cloth and wood over in the novelty
department where Topsy came from."
"No, I am not thinking of mice," answered the China Cat. "To tell you
the truth, Mr. Jumping Jack, I was thinking of the Nodding Donkey.
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