The knitted, cat-headed doll moved across the table with a grace I might not have entirely expected in other circumstances. It had the pattern of a calico cat, its eyes two bright green buttons in its head. Its long limbs bent in strange angles at times, its head occasionally falling limp. The cat stopped as it came to be in front of me, swaying like a scarecrow in the wind.

The doll slapped its undefined hands against its puffy pink jumper skirt, glancing down at itself. It mimed fiddling with the collared, short-sleeved white shirt under its dress as well, and then adjusted slightly the little pink bow on its left ear. Then, looking up at me again, it tilted its head.

"You look very nice, dear," I told it.

The doll clapped. It then looked down at the teacup to its left. It was a beautiful, white teacup with golden trim and a pattern of pink peonies on it, sitting on the lavender tablecloth along with the rest of the tea things. This cup was sized for a human, rather than a six-inch tall doll. The doll then glanced up at me, pointing at the teacup and tilting its head.

"I would love some tea," I said, "if you're offering it."

The doll nodded, and pointed at the matching teapot that sat in the middle of the table. Two other dolls were standing near it, seemingly having held back out of nervousness of me. I smiled at the two other dolls. They were made much the same as the first doll, though one was a blue rabbit dressed in a pale green shirt and light brown pants, and the other was a black cat in a long-sleeved purple dress and matching bonnet. The two of them picked up the teapot between them in a practiced motion, bringing it over and pouring me a cup of sweetly fragrant tea.

"Thank you," I said, smiling down at the three dolls. 

The first doll nodded to me, flopping down into a sitting position on the table, swaying from side-to-side quite happily. The rabbit doll bowed before taking a seat next to the first doll, content to sit still and stare. The black cat doll jumped up and down, clapping very quietly before sitting down alongside the rabbit. All three of them continued to stare up at me as I lifted my teacup.