Marmalade

When Mandy came home from school, she had a box with her. She put down the box to take off her coat.

Jolena went over to look at the box while Mandy hung up her coat.
Jolena looked at Mandy and gestured to the box. "What's in the box?" she asked.

Emil looked up from the book he was reading in the window. "Yes, Mandy," he said, "I have a feeling something very interesting is in the box."

"The box has holes in it," Jolena told him, "so maybe there is something alive inside. You put holes in a box if you want something inside to be able to breathe!"

Mandy nodded. "He didn't really need holes," she said, "but, like us, he pretends to breathe, so I put holes in the box. I think it makes him feel better."

As Emil came and joined the girls in the front hall, Mandy carefully opened the box. In a sweet voice, she said, "There, there, now, it's OK." She reached inside and made stroking motions with her hand.

Emil and Jolena looked inside the box. A little orange-and-white face looked back from a rumpled towel.

"It's a cat!" Jolena exclaimed.

"He has been outside the school for three days," Mandy explained. "Today I gave him some of my tuna sandwich at lunchtime. After that, he started following me around. He must really like to pretend to eat!"

"Why was he in the box," Jolena asked.
"I couldn't leave him there," Mandy said, "and I thought he wouldn't like the walk home, so my teacher gave me the box. She said that most cats don't mind being carried in boxes."
Just then, the cat jumped out of the box. He came and rubbed his side against Mandy's leg.
"I guess he's your cat now," Emil said.

"Unless he has an owner who is missing him," Jolena pointed out. "We could take him to the vet to see if he has a microchip (MY-krow-chip). That will tell us if he belongs to someone."

The cat started down the hall toward the kitchen. "I don't think a doll cat would have a microchip," Mandy said, as the dolls followed the cat down the hall, "but we can check the neighborhood lost-and-found website."

The cat looked up from the dogs' water dish, where he had been pretending to drink. "Meow," he said solemnly.

"He says that he doesn't belong to anyone," Emil told Mandy.

"How do you know?" Mandy asked.
"He's showing me pictures in my head," Emil replied. "He was given to a lady who didn't want him. She threw him into the trash. He climbed out of the trash and went to the doll school, because he had seen dolls there. He knew he was supposed to belong to a doll."
Mandy looked down at the cat.

"Meow," the cat said again.
Mandy looked at Emil.
"He says he's Mandy's cat now," Emil said. "He's showing me how you fed him. He is showing me how he followed you around. He is showing me his face, looking up at you. He says he loves Mandy."

"Is he showing you my yarn, too?" Mandy asked. "Well, I guess I have a cat now," she added. "I will have to pretend to take him to the vet to get a checkup and shots."
"You will need food and a litter box," Jolena pointed out.

"Meow," said the cat. The two girls looked at Emil.
"He wants to know if the dogs are friendly," Emil explained.

"How does he know there are dogs?" Jolena asked.
"He probably can smell them," Mandy suggested.
Emil agreed. "Especially around the water dish," he said.

Just then, the dolls heard someone coming up the front steps.
"Billy and Charlotte are back with the dogs!" Mandy cried, scooping up the cat and running back to the front door, where she put him quickly back into the box. 

Mandy closed the flaps of the box firmly. "We had better explain to Charlotte and Billy about the cat," she said to Emil and Jolena. "It's important for the dogs and the cat get off on the right paw if we want them to be friends."
The door opened, and Charlotte and Billy came in from walking Pierre and Freckles. They could tell something was up.

Holding the box closed, Mandy explained to Charlotte and Billy about the cat. She explained how she found the cat at the school and how he was still there after three days. She told them how she had shared her tuna sandwich with the cat, and how the cat followed her around. She explained about the box. She explained that the cat was going to live with them now.

Meanwhile, the dogs were sniffing at the box. They could hear something moving inside. They could smell the cat. "Maybe we should put the dogs out in the backyard for now," Billy suggested picking up Freckles.

"That's a good idea," Emil said. "They need to get used to each other's smell in the house before they meet. We should feed them in separate rooms for now." 

"We can explain to Pierre and Freckles that the cat is a family member," Charlotte suggested. "They will understand, I think, but it may take a few days."
After they put the dogs outside, Charlotte and Billy came back to look at the cat.

"Why do dogs and cats not get along?" Charlotte asked.
"I think," Emil said, "it's because their language is different. There are lots of things a dog does that mean one thing to the dog," he continued, "but when a cat does the same thing, it means just the opposite. Like if a dog wags his tail, it usually means he's friendly. If a cat wags his tail, it usually means he's ready to pounce. That makes for a lot of misunderstandings."

"That's like people who speak different languages," Mandy said, "or have different customs or different religions." Then she looked up at Emil. "We just found out today that Emil can talk to animals," she added.

"How do you do that?" Billy asked Emil.
"I don't know," Emil replied. "I just found out that I can. I've seen pictures in my head from the dogs, but it didn't mean anything to me until now. It was just stuff like their food and the ball, or wanting to go out. The cat had important things to say."
"I think it's your special gift," Jolena said. "We all have some kind of special gift," she added, "but you found out yours very fast!"
Veronika and Mariah came down the stairs to see what was going on. Mandy went through the story again, including that they had just learned that Emil can understand animals."

"I need to get some cat food and cat litter," Mandy said. "Can some of you look after the cat until I get back?"
"Sure," said Veronika, who was waiting for a turn to pet the cat.
"We all will," Mariah added. "It's nice to have a cat."

Mandy left the cat with the other dolls and used one of the bicycles that had a basket to ride to the store to get some cat food and cat litter. She had a cat to look after now!

Mandy came home with the cat food and the cat litter. She put the litter box in the laundry room, where they could keep the cat for a few days. They put a folded-up blanket on the floor and put down food and water, in case the cat wanted to pretend to need those things.
"He will need a name," Emil said, looking at Mandy.

Mandy thought for a few moments. "I think he looks like what I see when I open a jar of marmalade," she said, "and he's very sweet. I think I'll call him Marmalade."

The girls looked at Emil, who looked at Marmalade. Then he looked up. "He likes it," he said. "Of course, it could be because he's still pretending to be hungry."

"Well, Marmalade," Mandy said to the cat, "go pretend to eat your dinner. Now you never have to pretend to be hungry again!"

"Meow," Marmalade replied.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats, all man-made fiber.

Image on Mariah's shirt used with permission with thanks, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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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.

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