Flora Whittles Hangers
One morning, who should come scampering into Flora's house but the rabbit twins, in great distress. Penelope had an ice cube clutched to her nose.
"It's terrible!" cried Emma. "Penelope and I were just practicing my new dance, Skippy Hop Hop. And suddenly poor Penelope tripped and bonked her nose!
"It's because my third best tutu got in the way of her paws. But the tutu was just sitting in its spot on the floor, in between Penelope's velveteen booties and my pointy winter hat. I just don't know what to do!"
Flora said, "I've got it! I will whittle you hangers. Then you can hang up your clothes and have plenty of floor space for dances."
So that afternoon, the fox girl found some small, straight boards. She cut them into hanger shapes with her whittling knife.
Then she sanded them smooth with sandpaper, so they would not leave splinters in the clothes.
Next, Flora poked a little hole in the top of each hanger. She screwed a brass hook into each hole, and added some glue so the hook would not fall out.
Finally, Flora painted the hangers with varnish. Varnish is a clear polish for wood. She says this made them a little sturdier and a little darker brown, but that you could skip this step.
In the morning when the varnish was dry, Flora brought the hangers to the rabbit twins.
The hangers were just right! Penelope said, "I don't know how we managed before! Now we will have much more space for projects and dances. Thank you, Flora!"
To make these doll hangers, we used balsa wood and an x-acto knife. If a grown-up did the carving, a kid could do the finishing. The hooks are brass cup hooks. Be careful not to split the wood when you screw them in.