Being Good

Veronika was reading in the windowsill this morning. She had the feeling she was being watched, and looked up to see Jolena's bright blue eyes looking at her.
"What's up, Jolena?" Veronika asked.

"Veronika," Jolena began, "I need some help with a problem."

"What's the problem, Jolena?" Veronika asked.

"I'm good at skiing and doing tricks on skis, and I'm getting good at dancing, too, but I don't just want to be good at something. I want to be a good doll, too."

"You are a good doll, Jolena," Veronika said.
"Maybe I am now," insisted Jolena, "but my life keeps changing I want to know if there are some rules I can use when it's hard to tell what is good."

"Well, tell me what you think you need to do to be good," Veronika suggested. "What does a good doll do?"

Jolena had a list of things she and the other dolls do to be good:

Sitting quietly when you are asked (dolls are good at this).

Wearing a seatbelt to be safe in the car.

Being kind to animals.

"Those are good things, Jolena," Veronika agreed. "There is one thing that you didn't mention, and that is the most important of all. That is to treat others the way you like to be treated."

"For instance, what if you needed to talk to someone?" Veronika said. "You would want someone to listen to you, right? A good doll listens when someone needs to talk, even if there is nothing you can do to help. When you listen it makes the other doll feel like his or her thoughts are important to you."

"I like that you listen to me," Jolena agreed.

"So all you have to do when you aren't sure is to ask yourself how you would want the other doll to behave if your places were switched," Veronika explained.

"Let's try it out," Veronika continued. "What if another doll doesn’t have any toys to play with?" 

Jolena laughed. "If I didn't have any toys to play with, I would want someone to let me play with their toys," she said. "So I should share my toys. When Mariah came, we shared our toys with her. So we were being good dolls."

"That's right," Veronika agreed. "Now what if there was a doll who only had the clothes she was wearing when she came, what she wore in her box, and nothing to change into?"

"That's easy," Jolena exclaimed. "If I were that doll, I would want someone to share with me, the way Charlotte did when I came. I only had ski clothes. Summer was just starting and it was warm. Charlotte found clothes for me to wear until I had my own."

"So that is how you like to be treated," Veronika agreed.
"Yes, so I should share my clothes, too," Jolena said. "I should share my toys, books and clothes with that doll," Jolena said. "Well, maybe not my dresses, if the doll is a boy, unless he likes to wear dresses. If the doll is sad or hurt, I should try to help."

"It's good to share what we have with others, but it's also very important to ask before we borrow something and never, ever, take something that belongs to someone else unless that doll says you can," Veronika said. "No matter how much you want it."

"So sharing is left up to the doll the clothes, toys and other things belong to?" Jolena asked.

"Yes, that's right," Veronika agreed, "and we don't just share our things with other dolls. We share ourselves, too, so a doll who needs help will be more comfortable and happy."

"Like when I was new in the family! A new doll might be scared, the way I was scared when I first came," Jolena said. "Everyone made me feel welcome. Then I wasn't scared anymore."

"I'm glad we made you feel welcome, Jolena. You were and you are welcome," Veronika agreed.
"That's how I knew that Mariah must have been scared when she first arrived," Jolena said. "I wanted her to feel welcome, too."

"That's because we did it first for you. That's what we call learning by example," Veronika said. "You’re getting the idea! Now what if you see a doll who is a little different, sitting all alone, and someone is telling her she can’t sit there because of how she looks, and that she should go back where she came from?" Veronika asked.

"She would be sad," Jolena said.

"What would you do?" Veronika asked again.

"I know if someone was making me sad that way, I would want someone to help me feel better." Jolena thought about it for a bit. 

Finally, Jolena said, "I think I would go and sit next to that doll and ask her what she likes to do for fun. I would chat with her, and then ask her if she would like to be my friend."

Veronika smiled. "You are a very good doll, Jolena. Not only would that make the doll who is different feel welcome and happy, it also sets a good example for the person who was being unkind."

"That person may not be very smart," Jolena suggested. "You can’t tell much about dolls by how they look, and it’s fun to get to know dolls from different places. They have new ideas and have seen and done different things. We can talk together and find out all about each other. It’s like having an adventure, and I love adventure!"

"That’s true!" agreed Veronika. "Dolls who are different are fun to get to know, but it isn’t that the person isn’t smart. Even smart people are sometimes afraid of anyone who is different, or at least uncomfortable with them. When they get to know the doll or person who is different, they stop being afraid or uncomfortable. We dolls just have to help them get over being afraid," Veronika said.

"One more thing, Jolena. Being good doesn’t mean you have to give another doll everything he or she wants. Sometimes dolls want things they shouldn’t have. We all need to learn we can’t have everything we want, like a piece of cake right before dinner."

"When that happens, how do you know what’s right?" Jolena wanted to know.

"Just think how you would want to be treated. You want what’s good for you, right?" asked Veronika. "So other dolls want what’s good for them, too, but sometimes maybe they don’t know what that is."
"If I don’t know something is bad for me, I want someone to explain it," Jolena said. "So why can’t I have a piece of cake before dinner? I like cake."

"Cake isn’t real food. It’s an extra food, something you can eat after you’ve had real food, like vegetables. Cake is filling, and if you eat it first, you may not want your vegetables," Veronika explained.

"I like vegetables, too," Jolena said, "and I always chew with my mouth closed, because that’s the only way I can chew. My mouth doesn’t open. At least not when someone is watching."

"You have good manners, Jolena," Veronika laughed. "And you are a very good doll, too!"

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend

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Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from the Doll's Storybook and soon Classic Tales Retold: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to St. Jude. Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author for $20 including shipping. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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