A sawdust doll awakens each night in a department-store toy department, joins the other toys in after-hours play, and is later taken into the wider world by a child and family for outings and a birthday celebration. After moments of companionship and excitement the doll experiences misplacement and neglect, passing into a rag-bag and a junk shop. The story traces the doll’s changing fortunes, its resilience in hardship, and an eventual turn toward reunion and comfort.