Maria Theresa, of Hungary

       Maria Theresa, that is my little owner's name, and she is one of the happiest, healthiest, round- cheeked, bright-eyed girls in all the world. My own name is Panna, and we belong to the peasant class of people, and I think that I am one of the best-loved dolly girls in the whole of our great country. I wish you could see our cottage home, where we both live so joyfully together.

Hungarian Dolls.

       Quite a lot of us cannot read nor write, but Maria Theresa can just manage to scribble her name in a very shaky way, and she can slowly spell out words in big books; so that when she grows up she will be considered quite clever and advanced. But I was telling you about our cottage home. Every cottage in our country is built on the side of a small garden or court, that is separated from the roadway by a line of fencing, and most of the windows are placed so that they look on to the road, so that when it is a wet day, or we want to be amused, we can see everyone who happens to pass by on their journeys to the town. Under the windows runs a long bench which is called a " sychordo "which means "bearer of words,' and it is on this that people sit and gossip, some- times for hours together. Maria Theresa often sits here, with me cuddled close up against her warm little body, and sings to me so that her musical crooning voice and the warmth soon send me fast asleep, and then I wake up, perhaps long hours afterwards‚ and find that she has laid me down and gone indoors to have her dinner.

       The roof of our house is thatched with straw or reeds, and this roof projects into very broad eaves over a brick terrace that runs all round the house. This is done because of the wet time that comes in the winter season, so that we can walk in the dry without stepping into the mud that lies everywhere when the weather is bad. Some of the larger houses are built in two parts, on either side of the garden, instead of one; and, where this is so the two portions are connected by a lofty arch gateway. Always the house is whitewashed, and generally decorated here and there with bright colors, for we are very fond of a gay appearance in everything.

       And this brings me to myself and the wonderful clothes that Maria Theresa herself has made for me. I said that we were a peasant family, and so, of course, I am garbed in the national dress, for we are the only class that still continues in the old ways. Indeed, if you looked at me you would almost see Maria Theresa, for she has copied every detail of her own dress so exactly that, except that she is dark and I am fair, there is hardly any difference in us.

       First of all, I wear a cap, and it is one of the prettiest caps imaginable. It is woven by hand of cotton, and is white or cream in color. But the point about it is the wonderful embroidery that Maria Theresa has stitched into it in red and scarlet silk. This may sound funny to you, but when it is worked and all filled in between with violet and green, you would be charmed with the appearance, for none of the original white cotton, of which the cap is made, shows at all. My skirt and blouse are both of similar white cotton, worked all over with a black and red spot pattern, done in cross stitch. Over my blouse I wear a sleeveless plain coat of dark blue, lined with red silk and edged with a border of white pinked cloth. Down the front of this coat are two rows of tiny silver buttons, so that you can see I am very smart indeed. But this is not all, for I wear a little cotton apron and a sash of woven wool, in the brightest mixture of colors you can imagine. To complete me (and I should have felt sad indeed without this) I have a long necklace of black and red beads that Maria Theresa threaded for me one winter for a Christmas gift.

       Sometimes we have very gay times indeed, for we are a light-hearted people and one of our chief joys is dancing. When the shepherds come into the village is the best time, for they never seem to get tired of playing the "tilinka," and everyone dances the whole evening and far into the night. Maria Theresa is as fond of this as anyone, and, rather than miss a dance, takes me by my hands for her partner, until everyone exclaims: " Just look at Maria Theresa and Panna! What a girl she is!"

"Hungarian Girl Scout Anna Kiss explains how the various regions of

 Hungary have different embroidery, fabric, etc. so the dolls are

 different. At the Hungarian Scout Festival in Cleveland Ohio."

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