Read Online Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll by Rosanne Hawke - Free Book Online Page A

princess.
    â€˜You will be having a good time here,’ Mr Waheed said to Kelsey. ‘Thank you for coming to help.’
    She hadn’t come to help at all, Dad and Mum had, but she gave Mr Waheed a smile.
    â€˜My daughter Shakila is your age. You must come and play with her. She will like your yellow hair.’
    Kelsey nodded before she could think about it and then wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to make new friends here. She wanted to be in Australia playing with Chantelle.



A fter Kelsey had put on her PJs Dad set up the laptop. Kelsey was amazed it worked. He clicked on Skype and rang Nanna Rose. And there she was on screen. Kelsey was so relieved to see her familiar face she had to blink away tears.
    â€˜Hey, Nanna. I miss you.’
    â€˜Me too.’
    Kelsey loved the times that Nanna Rose put her to bed when Mum was on a shift at the hospital and Dad was away. Suddenly Kelsey knew what she needed. ‘Nanna, can you tell me a story just as if I were with you?’
    Nanna Rose didn’t hesitate. ‘Of course.’
    â€˜One about a doll, Nanna.’ Nanna Rose had a strange look on her face. ‘What’s wrong, Nanna?’
    â€˜Nothing’s wrong. I’m just thinking hard for a story. What name should the doll have, Kelsey?’
    â€˜Amy Jo.’ Kelsey didn’t have to think about that. One of the big girls at school was called Amy Jo and she was always kind to Kelsey, giving her muffins or notes signed ‘from your secret angel’. She was like a big sister and Kelsey missed her too.
    â€˜What sort of doll is she?’ Nanna asked.
    Kelsey loved playing this game. Nanna Rose always asked her for ideas so that Kelsey ended up telling half the story.
    â€˜A porcelain doll,’ Kelsey said.
    Nanna smiled. ‘I know what she’s wearing.’
    â€˜What is she wearing, Nanna?’
    â€˜A pink-and-white striped dress with white leather boots. And silk socks.’
    â€˜And brown hair?’
    â€˜Golden hair, like wheat fields.’
    â€˜That sounds nice. Where is she?’
    Nanna gave her storyteller’s smile and Kelsey giggled. ‘Amy Jo stands alone on the top shelf in a toyshop.’
    â€˜There have to be bears, Nanna, so she won’t be lonely. The bears can talk to her.’
    â€˜How can they talk? Amy Jo can’t talk.’
    â€˜Some bears have voice boxes. My old bear at home growls when I turn him over.’
    â€˜All right, there are talking bears on the shelf too.’
    Kelsey grinned. ‘What’s Amy Jo doing?’
    A mysterious look came over Nanna’s face. ‘She’s thinking about a quest.’
    â€˜What sort of quest?’
    â€˜She wants to find someone to love her.’
    Amy Jo stood on the shelf in the Teddy Bear Shop. She wished she could sit but she could only do that if someone took her from her stand and sat her down. There was only one thing that she could do by herself. She could open and shut her eyes.
    Some of the bears weren’t as kind as they looked. ‘You are too hard,’ one bear growled. ‘No one will want to cuddle you.’
    She knew what he meant. Her head, arms and legs were made of porcelain, but her body was made of cloth. Her beautiful pink-and-white striped dress hid her body. She was proud of her dress for it had lace around the hem. She was proud of her hair too. One girl who came into the shop said it looked like sparkling gold.
    Amy Jo longed for someone to brush it. If only there were a child who loved her. The bears were so huggable that children always bought one of them. No one ever wanted to buy her.
    The sun shone through the window. The shop doorbell rang each time the children came and went. When Amy Jo had been in the shop a year she was about to give up hope. Then, one day, the doorbell dinged and a lady with wrinkles around her smiley eyes stood in front of Amy Jo.
    â€˜Yes,’ the lady said. ‘You will do