Chapter TWO

When Marggy told her Mama that the Raggedys were going to search for her Daddy she was very happy.

“I tell you what let’s do,” said Raggedy Ann. “Let’s take a ball of your Mama’s darning cotton and make a wish that the cotton will roll in front of us until it comes to where your Daddy is.”

Even Marggy’s Mama thought this would be lots of fun, so she got a ball of red cotton and Raggedy Ann made the wish. “Now we will follow the pretty red ball until it rolls to your Daddy,” said Raggedy Ann.

“I believe we had better take some cream puffs and doughnuts with us,” Marggy’s Mama said. “For we may get hungry.” So she filled a basket with doughnuts and cream puffs, then they all followed the red ball as it rolled through the woods.

After the red ball had rolled along for almost a mile our friends came to a little house beside the path and just as the red ball came to the front door, a funny little old woman ran out and caught it.

“Oh my!” Raggedy Ann said. “You mustn’t pick up the little red ball! We are following it!”

Then the funny little old woman made a face at Raggedy Ann. “I found it!” she cried. “I need some red cotton to mend my red stockings!”

“Oh dear! What shall we do?” Marggy’s Mama asked.

“There isn’t anything you can do!” the funny little old woman replied. “The red cotton is mine now!” And with this, she started into the house with the little red ball.

Now maybe you don’t know it, but when Raggedy Ann made the wish for the red ball to roll in front of them, this made the little red ball a magical ball, so when the funny little old woman tried to take the ball into her house, the magic ball pulled just as hard in the opposite direction.

My! How the funny little old woman tussled. She pulled and the ball pulled until finally the ball pulled the hardest and it pulled the funny little old woman right down the path in front of our friends.

“If you do not let go of the little red ball, you will wear all the soles off your shoes,” Raggedy Ann said.

“I will never, never let go!” cried the funny little old woman.

The funny little old woman was very determined and she held on to the little red ball, even when it pulled her along and made her feet slide over the gravel. “You will wear out your nice shoes,” Marggy’s Mama said.

“I don’t care!” cried the funny little old woman. “You will have to buy me new ones!”

“Did you ever hear the like!” Raggedy Andy exclaimed. “Here the funny little old woman tries to take our magical ball and when she can’t take it, she blames us if she wears out her shoes scuffing along!”

The funny little old woman held her feet out in front of her and just slid along the path, and this held the little red ball back just enough so that Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy and Marggy and her Mama had to walk real slow or else step upon the funny little old woman’s heels.

“I guess we’ll have to help the little red ball,” Raggedy Andy said. “It has a hard time pulling the funny little old woman along. I’ll help the ball by pushing the funny little old woman.”

But when Raggedy Andy helped the little red ball by pushing on the funny little old woman, she slid over the gravel in the path so fast, it made her feet burn, so she sat right down plunk in the path and wouldn’t budge a speck.

“Now what shall we do?” Raggedy Andy asked as he scratched his head.

“I shan’t budge!” the funny little old woman cried. “This little red ball is mine and I shall take it home!”

“I feel like boxing her ears,” Marggy’s Mama cried. “The funny little old woman is just like a spoilt child, and it would teach her a lesson if some one paddywhacked her.”

“Maybe after she rests awhile she will stand up again,” said Raggedy Andy. “Then the little red ball will pull her along.”

So while they waited for the funny little old woman to stand up, Marggy’s Mama got out the cream puffs and doughnuts.

“We’ll give you a doughnut, if you’d like one,” Raggedy Ann said to the funny little old woman. But the funny little old woman just shook her head and held tightly to the little red ball.

“I shall hang on to the little red magic ball until I can take it home with me,” the funny little old woman said. “I need some red yarn to darn my stockings with.”

“But if you do not let go of the little red magic ball, you will wear the soles off your shoes scuffing along,” said Raggedy Andy. “Then you’ll have to go to the shoe maker and have new soles put on your shoes.”

“Maybe when we come to a brook, the little red ball will pull the funny little old woman right into the water,” Marggy said.

But even when they came to a little brook, the funny little old woman held to the little red magic ball. It pulled her right through the water so she was wet up to her knees.

“Dear me,” Raggedy Ann said. “We will never find Marggy’s Daddy if the funny little old woman keeps holding the magic ball back all the time! We would have been miles farther if the ball had been allowed to roll along as fast as it started.”

“Maybe if I carried the funny little old woman she wouldn’t pull back on the magic ball all the time,” said Raggedy Andy.

So Raggedy Andy picked up the funny little old woman and started to carry her the way the little red magic ball wanted to go, but she kicked and twisted and wiggled and scolded so hard, she knocked Raggedy Andy right over backwards. And when Raggedy Andy fell down, the funny little old woman bumped her head on a stone so hard, she forgot all about holding the little red magic ball and held her head instead.

“It was all your fault!” she cried to Raggedy Andy. “If you had not tried to carry me, I would not have bumped my head!”

“I’m sorry,” Raggedy Andy said, for he would not have had the funny little old woman bump her head on purpose. “But now you have let go of our little red magic ball and we can follow it and find Marggy’s Daddy, I will give you a nice big ball of red cotton.”

The funny little old woman was so pleased she dried her tears and ran right home.