The story
“Little Marie Allen, a penniless orphan, lives with her granddad. Out for a walk she admires a huge doll in a shop window. That night, after her granddad has fallen asleep, she slips out to have another look at the doll. Arriving at the toy shop, she sees that the doll is gone. Unseen by anyone, she enters the store. She finds the wonderful doll and lifts it out of its box to admire it. Hearing a clerk approaching, she becomes frightened and gets into the doll box. The doll rolls under the counter. The clerk sends the errand boy off with the box, thinking it contains the doll, which has been ordered for Daisy Smythe, a rich little girl. Arriving at Daisy’s house, Marie steps out of the box as soon as the room is empty. She removes the doll clothes from the box and admires them greatly. She decides to try them on, and soon a little cap, shoes and garments are on her figure. Then she hears Daisy coming and retreats to the box. Daisy enters and takes the supposed doll from the box, falls in love with it instantly and enthusiastically works its arms and limbs. Marie lives up to her role well, imitating with stiff, jerky movements of the limbs that belong to real dolls.
“Then Daisy eats, and Marie grows hungry as she watches. When Daisy sets down her bowl of milk, Marie reaches over and drinks it down. Daisy is amazed when she misses the milk. Marie helps herself to all the food and Daisy’s wonderment is amusing to see. Finally Daisy falls asleep in her chair and Marie falls asleep on the floor. Here she is found by her granddad, who managed to trace her from the toy shop, and Daisy and her mother laugh so heartily over Marie’s adventure that they reward her cleverness with—the doll itself!”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 15 October 1910
