The Dancing Doll

Damayanthi was a dancing doll. She was the prettiest doll in Princess Pusphavalli's nursery. She had large, black eyes and glossy, black hair done in a plait. She wore a shiny red, silk skirt that billowed out like an umbrella when she danced. She wore jhumkis in her ears, a nose-stud on her nose and a pearl-necklace around her neck. She wore bangles too, red, blue, yellow and green and they twinkled ever so sweetly. She had ghunghroos on her feet and when she danced they tinkled too, while her wide skirt's flared out and swished and rustled.

Swish! Swish! tinkle! tinkle! Round and round on her dainty feet whirled Damayanthi, the

dancing doll, while the princess clapped her hands in great delight and cried,

"Faster! my dancing doll, faster!"

And Damayanthly danced faster and faster. Round and round she went again like the very whirlwind, while everyone watched in breathless wonder and amazement.

"Damayanthi is the loveliest doll in the nursery!" said the happy princess.

The dancing doll bent her head modestly and blushed.

Yes, not only was she the loveliest doll, in the nursery, but the cleverest as well. She could talk, laugh and dance. More than all that she could think, she was kind and brave. No wonder everyone liked her. Each morning she sprang out of bed and ran to the window to watch the sunshine flooding the nursery. 

"What happy world it is," she said to her friends, "Look at the birds, now they chirp and sing."

She had a kind word for the maid who came each day with a long broom in her hand, to clean the nursery. She liked to chat with the jolly, fat cook who cooked such delicious food. She loved the king and queen. She loved her kind mistress who was so proud of her. She had many friends in the nursery. There was Tipu, the little tin-soldier with one leg gone, Dondhu the Duck who waddled about unhappily, Kalu the green crocodile, Dattu the fat little drummer-boy, Opu,

the green owl and Balu, the black shaggy bear. Most of them were sad and she was kind and gentle to them. She consoled them again and again. 

"You must learn to count your blessings,"she said, "you have everything and yet you are all so sad. You must learn to be happy and cheerful then the world will become a happy place."

But they did not agree. They were sad and complained all the time. Tipu the tin soldier said "I am fed up of everything. I wish I was young again. I wish something exciting would happen."

"Why don't you do something exciting then?" asked Damayanthi.

But Tipu shook his tin-head.

"I can't think of anything. I am too old and tired."

"So am I." said others.

Damayanthi was sorry for them. They looked so sad and unhappy. They were broken inside,

their paint had peeled off. They sighed and let the world go by.

One fine day, Princess Pushpavalli had a garden tea-party in honour of her cousins who had come on a royal visit. The princess was very excited. She took all the dolls and set them under the trees. Damayanthi, the dancing doll was very excited too. She was to dance for her visitors. A special platform was created for her under the trees.

AlI the day long, Damayanthi was busy getting herself ready for the evening. She wanted to look her best. She combed her long black hair until it shone. She polished all her jewels till they dazzled. She washed and pressed her tafetta skirt. Then she went into the garden.

The garden looked like fairy land. Balloons and buntings waved in the air. Multi-coloured lamps hung from trees and bushes.

The princess came running to her.

"How pretty you are my dear, you must show my cousins how wonderful you are !"

"I will, my dear princess" said the good dancing doll.

It was a night to remember. Damayanthi danced all the night. Never had she danced for so long or so well. The visitors were delighted.

"She must visit our country sometime" they said.

After the party was over everyone went back. Damayanthi was very, very tired. She trudged up the stairs.As she was climbing the stairs, her foot tripped and she came hurtling down. She fell in a heap on the landing.

The princess heard her cries and came running. Everyone came running - the King, the Queen, the dolls and the servants. Damayanthi had fainted.

"What has happened?" asked everyone.

A doctor came. He examined the doll. "I think she has hurt her leg. She will never be able to dance again."

The princess wept. So did all the dolls. When Damayanthi opened her eyes next morning she

saw all her friends lined up her bed.

"You will never be able to dance again" they said, "what has happened to you, my dear?" they asked.

But Damayanthi was not to be let down. "No, I will get up as soon as I can. I will dance again!" she said. Everybody admired her courage.

In the meanwhile, the King presented the princess with a brand new English doll. Lily, the new doll was beautiful. She wore a white silk dress with lace-trimmings. She bad long golden hair and bright blue eyes. She could sing and dance as well. The princess played with the new doll all day. She forgot all about the Damayanthi, dancing doll.

Damayanthi was very upset. She felt a pang of jealousy whenever she saw her rival. But she shook her head and said "I shall learn to walk and dance once more. I will! I will."

Now it was the turn of her friends to console her.

"Don't worry, my dear," said Tipu, the tin-soldier. "Once I was the strongest man in the nursery - a real hero, I was! But now look at poor me! I cannot walk, ride or march!

"Never mind, dear" consoled Dondhu the duck waddling up to her, "I'm all broken up inside, but once I was a champion - swimmer. Now I would drown in a puddle!"

"Ah!" said Kalu the green, crocodile lying like a hulk in a corner,"I still remember the beautiful morning I crawled into the nursery swishing my powerful tail. Everyone screamed out of fear! Now I am so weak that I can hardly move my tail. The fat little drummer boy tapped on his drum but no sounds came.

"Look I am no good any more. My drum is broken and so am I. But I wish I could use my drum again!" and he sighed.

Opu, the owl said "The same with me. I wish I could use my brain again. How wise and sharp I was once! I used to recite long verses. But now I do nothing but eat and sleep. I am ashamed of myself!"

Balu the bear shook his shaggy head and heaved a long drawn sigh. "I am worse than all of you - all covered with dirt and dust. But once I was real smashing. I was so strong that I could simply crush my opponent with a hug!"

Said the dolls,"We cannot always be new and young my dear, we have to grow old, even dolls."

But Damayanthi was not consoled.

She did not want to feel sorry for herself or sit on the shelf and sigh like them and let the world go by. She wanted to get out of the nursery and find a way to dance again.

"I must go in search of a doctor to cure me " she said.

"How will you do that?" asked her friends.

"I do not know, " said Damayanthi, "I will go in search of one. I must dance once more."

Damayanthi was a determined doll. She got out of bed and learnt to walk with the help of a crutch. She hobbled about the nursery all the day. It was painful in the beginning but she was a brave doll and she would not give up. Slowly she learnt to walk in the garden. She asked

everyone. she met about the doctor who could cure her

Kaka, the wise old crow said to her "I know of doctor who lives in Bommaipet. He is a toy-doctor. I am sure he can cure you for he has magic herbs!"

"He is the doctor for me!" cried the happy doll in great joy.

"But",Kaka said, "I do not know if he is alive. You see, he used to live in Bommaipet. But nobody has heard of him for a long time. He has disappeared into a forest. How can you be sure you will find him?"

"I will try" said Damayanthi.

"If you will take me as far as Bommaipet I can go into the forest to look for him." said Damayanthe.

Kaka said, "You are a brave doll. I shall help you. If you are ready tomorrow. I shall come and wait for you at the place-gate at the crack of dawn. It is a long, lonely and difficult journey.

"I am prepared for it" said Damayanthi.

After the crow flew away Damayanthi was very excited.

She went back to the nursery to get ready for the long journey.

"If you don't know where he lives, how will you be able to find him?" the other dolls asked.

"I will try" said Damayanthi full of hope and confidence. They admired her courage and bravery.

She took off all her costly ornaments and put them in the nursery cupboard. She borrowed some food from the kind cook. She filled a bottle of water. She was ready for the journey.

"We wish and pray for your safe return", said the dolls.

"Thank you" said Damayanthi.

Damayanthi could hardly sleep that night. She was very excited. She woke up long before the break of dawn and crept out of the nursery quietly. She sat on the step outside the palace-gate waiting for her good friend Kaka. He was there just when the first streaks of daylight appeared in the eastern sky. They set off together to Bommaipet.

****************

It was a long way to Boommaipet. The crow flew overhead while Damayanthi walked with the help of her crutches. They went on and on passing through fields, meadows, forests and

open plains. Whenever they were tired they rested under the shade of a tree to eat some food, then they moved on. At nights, they found a haystack or a barn or slept under the tree.

It was cold and dark and chill-winds blew, but Damayanthi did not mind. She waited for the morning when the sun would climb up the sky and brighten the whole world.

The sun, the moon, the stars, the trees were her companions. Kaka was such a good friend too.

He had seen so much of the world and had so much to tell. Damayanthi listened spellbound to his stories and adventures and the long days passed by quickly. 

Soon the little stock of food and water got over. Now they looked for springs, ponds and streams for a drink of water. They looked for berries and wild fruits to eat.

At last they reached Bommaipet. It was a small town and there were many dolls living in and working like real people. Damayanthi was delighted when she saw farmers, carpenters, tailors, blacksmiths and house wives among them. They seemed busy too, sawing, sewing, working in their fields and the women with shopping bags going about the streets.

"What a nice place!" said Damayanthi,"This is what I have always dreamed of - of dolls working for a living - Not sitting in the nursery and gathering dust!"

They fed her and were kind and courteous to her.

"Do you know of a toy-doctor who can cure my leg?" she asked them.

"He used to live here but he went away to live in the mountains. We have never seen him after that!" said one doll.

"I wish he could come back!" said an old doll, "He had magic herbs to cure us all."

"I shall go and search for him." said Damayanthi.

"Nobody has anyone thought of doing that" said another doll, "you must be a very unusual doll!"

"She is!" said Kaka proudly.

The next day Kaka took Damayanthi to the Bommai river. Many other dolls accompanied them upto the banks of the river. They lent her an old boat which seemed good and strong. They gave her a bag of food.

"Beyond the river lie the Bommai Mountains." said Kaka. "I hope you will reach there safely.

I cannot accompany you there, my dear. I have messages to deliver to the Mayor here. I have other work, besides. So goodbye and good luck!"

They all waved goodbye and Damayanthi set off in her boat. It moved effortlessly driven by the wind. It was the first time that Damayanthi was rowing a boat and she was very excited. In the evening the winds turned gusty and the boat toppled over. The poor dancing doll fell headlong into the water. However, she swam all night and managed to get to the other side of the river.

It was dawn and the sun was creeping up over the forest. She had lost her bag of food. She sat in the sun to dry herself. Nobody in the princess's nursery would have recognised her if they had seen her. Her clothes were in tatters. The paint on her face and body was all washed away.

Her glossy, black hair hung simply on her shoulders. She looked into the water and was startled to see her own reflection. She looked far worse than all the dolls in the nursery, put together! When she was dry she searched the forest for fruits and berries. She found some. Tired now, after the sleepless night, she found a shady place under a huge tree and went off to sleep.

Very soon she was up and she went on her way once more. Towards noon as she was picking her way through the trees she heard a noise.

Peck! peck! peck!

A red and brown woodpecker was pecking at a tree. She stopped.

"Who are you?" he asked kindly.

"I am Damayanthi, the dancing doll." said Damayanthi.

"Why have you come here to the forest?" he asked.

"I have come to look for the old toy-doctor. Do you know where he lives?"

"Yes, but he will not see or speak to any one." said the woodpecker.

"I must see him." said Damayanthi, "I must speak to him. I want him to cure my leg. I shall not go back until I am cured."

"Where have you come from?" asked to wood pecker.

"I live in Princess Pushpavalli's nursery!"

"How did you come all the way from there?" asked the woodpecker, "What a brave doll you are!"

"If you look yonder you will see a house with a red tailed roof. The toy doctor lives there."

The dancing doll thanked the woodpecker and set off in the direction of the house. It was just a few yards away. If she hurried she would reach it in less than half an hour - before the sun set.

*******************

The forest was full of huge trees, bushes and creepers. Damayanthi walked on and on, pushing the creepers with her hand and making a way for herself. Through the branches of the trees she could sometimes catch a glimpse of the red roof. She had walked for nearly three hours and yet she was nowhere near the house. However hard she tired, she found to her utter dismay that the house kept going farther and farther away from her.

"What can be the matter?" she stopped and asked herself, rubbing her eyes, "Are my eyes playing tricks on me? However hard I try I never seem to reach it - Why?"

"Because, my dear" said a voice behind her, "it is a magic house!"

"What? cried Damayanthi wheeling around to face whoever it was who had spoken. An old man was emerging from behind a clump of trees. He wore a black silk robe and had a long white beard and twinkling eyes.

"Well, my dear dancing doll. I knew you would come in search of me?"

Damayanthi was surprised. "How do you know me?" she asked in astonishment.

"I know everybody and everything that happens" said the old man" But I think you are the bravest doll I have ever seen.

"Are you the famous toy-doctor?" asked Damayanthi.

"Yes" said the old man.

Then a funny thing happened. The clump of trees behind the old man disappeared all of a sudden. In it's place stood the house with the red roof. The Toy-doctor led her up the

pathway, bright with flowers.

"Why did the house keep going farther and farther?" asked Damayanthi.

The old man laughed.

"I was testing you, and you passed the test - you are not the one to give up easily you

would have walked all day to reach me - wouldn't you?"

"Yes," said Damayanthi, "I might have walked till my feet gave way!"

"What a brave doll! That is why I am proud to welcome you to my house." said the Toy-doctor.

The toy-doctor was a kind and gentle man. He gave her food to eat. Then he showed her a bed on which she was to rest. Damayanthi was so tired that she ate the delicious food and dropped into bed. She was so tired that she fell asleep at once. 

In the morning Damayanthi woke up feeling bright and nice. The toy-doctor had a nephew who was ill. Damayanthi was glad to be of help. She sang to little boy and fed him. She told him of the princess's nursery and about all her friends. She told him of her adventures in the forest. She told him of Tipu, the tin-soldier, of Dondhu the duck, of  Balu the bear Opu the owl and of Kalu the crocodile.

The little boy soon got well. The toy-doctor was delighted.

"What the boy needed was your company."

"You have made my nephew well. I am going to make you well too. Tomorrow, will all go to the foot of the mountains and fetch the herbs that will cure your legs."

At the crack of dawn they all set off in search of the herbs. They stopped at the foot of the mountains. The toy-doctor carried a long canvas bag in which was a flask of hot milk and a bunch of bananas. They sat down on the grass to eat. When they had eaten they went on their way. The old man led them to a place where the grass grew six feet tall. The bushes grew so thick here that anyone could get lost and never be found. But the old toy-doctor knew the way and led them confidently to a bush which had thick curling, green 

leaves.

"This is a dangerous place" he said. "We should pluck as many herbs as quickly as possible. I have not come here for years, but it seems such fun to be coming here again. Well, I think I shall start making medicines again.

"How nice!" exclaimed Damayanthi, "Imagine how many dolls you can cure!"

The old man laughed. "You are right" he said.

"Will you go back to Bommaipet, with your medicines? They are all missing you!" asked Damayanthi.

"Well, I might" said the toy-doctor thoughtfully.

They plucked a bagful of herbs. The old man pointed to different plants and they plucked as many leaves and stems as possible. When they went back home they had plenty of work to do.

The herbs had to be sorted out, washed and dried in the sun. Then they had to be powdered and stored in various jars and bottles.

The old man picked out a bottle and gave it to her. "Now you will mix one spoon of powder with half a cup of water and drink it. Not only will you be able to run, walk and dance - you will be able to do all that forever. It is a magic and permanent cure!"

Damayanthi took the powder mixed in water and lo! Within a few hours she was walking, running and dancing. She couldn't believe her own eyes. She danced and danced but she wasn't one bit tired. The toy-doctor said,

"I shall give you a new set of clothes too. They will never fade. A brand new tafetta skirt, jewels and jinglets (payal) stood on a table beside her."

Damayanthi was the happiest doll id all the world. She put on her new clothes and began to dance. The little boy clapped his hands in great delight.

"You are the nicest doll in the world!" he cried.

"Now, my dear, what would you like to do, now?" asked the toy-doctor.

"I should like to get back to the nursery" said Damayanthi.

"By all means, dear" said the old man, "I would also like you to take any gift you want from here!"

"I have a request, if you please" said the good doll.

"What is it, my dear?" asked the old man.

"Can you come to the nursery and cure all my friends?"

"Why do you want to help them?" asked the old man, "They are lazy, content to sit and grumble in the nursery."

"Oh! No, they are so good and kind!" cried Damayanthi remembering their dusty faces and broken limbs. Oh! she did want them to be happy once more!

"You are a doll with a golden heart", said the old man, "I think I shall help your friends."

The little boy clapped his hands in great delight.

"Uncle Can I come with you to the nursery too? I want to meet Tipu, Dondhu and all the others."

"Alright, Alright." laughed the old toy-doctor, "we shall go at dawn in my aeroplane. We shall take all our powders and medicines!"

The aeroplane carrying the toy-doctor, the little boy and Damayanthi flew out of the mountains at the break of dawn. Damayanthi was delighted to look down. The mountains seemed like ant-hills, and the trees like bits of grass. The river into which she had fallen glistened like a thin silver ribbon.

They passed over Bommaipet too. They landed at noon on the lawns of the palace. The arrival of the plane caused quite a commotion in the palace. Everyone crowded round to see. They were surprised to see Damayanthi, the dancing doll step out, nice, beautiful and 

strong and wearing such lovely clothes. The old toy-doctor got out too. So did his little nephew.

Princess Pushpavalli cried,

"Damayanthi, where did you go? How did you get well? Who are these two people?"

Damayanthi said, "He is the famous toy doctor who cured me. This is his nephew. I have brought the doctor to cure all the dolls in the nursery."

The delighted princess led the toy-doctor up the stairs. The king and queen welcomed

the famous doctor and arranged a banquet in his honour. Damayanthi took the toy-doctor to the nursery. The dolls were very excited. They gulped down the magic powders in great delight,

All the dolls, the inmates of the palace, the king, the queen, the princess, the toy-doctor and his

nephew and, of course, Damayanthi went down to the great Hall for the banquet.