That Christmas, Rob gave Chris a music box he had seen in a Salvation Army store window. "It's old, but I couldn't pass it up."

The box opened on a hinge to reveal a small ballerina which twirled to the tune In The Good Ole Summertime. The box and the ballerina were wooden with chipped paint. The ballerina had no ears or nose, two large eyes and a big smile with brown hair tied in a high bun. The box had a drawer in the front.

"Oh, Rob, it's beautiful!" Chris exclaimed when she saw the ballerina dancing. Chris' gift to Rob was a coffee pot, a silvery-chrome percolator with a black base, cord and handle. The gift from Rob's mother was a brand-new blender with a note that making fresh food for the baby Robby was a better idea than buying the stuff in stores, which are full of preservatives.

The family went upstairs to get dressed. Once they were gone, the appliances slowly came to life. The lid of the music box quickly flipped open, the ballerina gasping for fresh air.

"Welcome to our home!" greeted the toaster, which had been carried into the living room by Robby along with the electric blanket, the radio, the goose-neck lamp, and the vacuum cleaner.

"Thank you!" answered the blender. She had grown eyes on the holder for the glass, buttons converted into a mouth. "Are the master and his family good people?"

"Oh, yes!" the blanket answered excitedly. "We've been with him since he was the Little Master's age!"

"Wow!" exclaimed the coffee pot, which was also female. Her eyes and mouth appeared between her handle and spout, which she used for arms.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, ladies!" called the radio in a loud voice. "This is Radio, Lampy, Kirby, Blanky, and Toaster on ground level, and Tinselina graces the top of the tree." The Christmas angel waved from her perch, smiling.

"Back at the store, they called me Sheena," the percolator introduced herself.

"I'm Melody," piped up the ballerina, who had hopped closer to the group.

"I don't have a name," said the blender quietly.

"Well," Toaster stepped over to her, "how about...Blenda?"

The blender smiled, "I like that name!"

"Okay, Blenda it is!"


Lampy and Melody were placed in the baby's room that night. Melody's box had been shut, but as soon as Rob and Chris had left after tucking Robby in, the lid flipped open, revealing a trembling ballerina.

"Is something the matter?" asked Lampy, who was standing beside the music box.

Melody looked down in shame, "I had a little mistress a long time ago. I was her favorite toy, but then she grew up. One day she put me in the bottom of a big box and piled some other stuff on top of me, to put me in storage. I couldn't open my music box at all, and it was so dark! Now I'm afraid to be in my box very long, because I'm afraid of the dark."

Lampy felt bad for his new friend. He shone his light down on her until she went to sleep, then he turned himself off and also fell asleep.


Down in the kitchen, Blenda had been placed next to Toaster, and Sheena next to the microwave.

"How did you get a name like 'Sheena'?" the microwave asked, a bit sarcastic.

"Because I'm a machine," she answered defensively. "Machine, Sheena, it's almost the same."

"But who gave it to you?" the microwave pressed.

"Well, the store used me as a model for my brand a little while. I was on a shelf next to a pot from a different brand. He called me Sheena."

"And it's a very nice name!" called the Toaster from his place, trying to keep the microwave from causing a conflict with their new friend. Sheena turned and smiled at him.


The following spring, Chris picked up a ringing, cordless phone from its mount in the wall at eye-level. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hi, is this Mrs. (whatever their last name is)?" came an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes, who is this?"

"My name is Jenny Green, I bought your family's cabin in the country."

"Oh, hello, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too. The reason I'm calling, I was digging out back and found something buried over here. It looks like a gravy boat or part of a tea set or something. Is it yours?"

"Hang on, let me get my husband on the phone. It was his family's cottage." Chris walked into the den where Rob was typing on the computer, Robby playing with Blanky nearby.

"Hello?" Rob said as he took the phone from his wife after she explained the situation.

"Hi, this is Jenny Green, I bought your cabin."

"Yes, my wife told me. You say you found a gravy boat in the yard?"

"Yeah, it's white with floral print all round the top."

"That was my grandmother's! My cousin and I buried it when we were playing pirates once and we forgot where we left it."

"Well, I want to give it back to ya. I don't really wanna send it in the mail in case it gets broke or stolen, should I come over and give it to ya?"

"Well, how about if I come and pick it up. I'd like to see the old place one more time."

"Okay, when can I expect ya?" After they settled on a date, Jenny Green hung up and Rob handed the phone back to Chris.

"How would you and Robby like to come with me to the cottage?"