All the dolls took turns putting their ears to the mouth of the
beautiful shell. Yes, truly it whispered, but they could not catch just
what it said.

Finally Raggedy Andy suggested that all the dolls lie down upon the
floor directly before the shell and keep very quiet.

"If we don't make a sound we may be able to hear what it says!" he
explained.

So the dolls lay down, placing themselves flat upon the floor directly
in front of the shell and where they could see and admire its beautiful
coloring.

Now the dolls could be very, very quiet when they really wished to be,
and it was easy for them to hear the faint whispering of the shell.

This is the story the shell told the dolls in the nursery that night:

"A long, long time ago, I lived upon the yellow sand, deep down beneath
the blue, blue waters of the ocean. Pretty silken sea weeds grew around
my home and reached their waving branches up, up towards the top of the
water.

[Illustration: Everyone listens]

"Through the pretty sea weeds, fishes of pretty colors and shapes darted
here and there, playing at their games.