Memories

"This is our 100th story," Veronika said, looking up from the computer.
"You're right," Mandy said, looking at where Veronika was pointing.

The dolls were together in the workroom, talking about their job, which was to tell stories to children, to teach and to entertain them.
"We've been doing this for nearly two years!" Mandy exclaimed.

"Not all of us have, though," Mariah pointed out. "Emil, Billy and I all came after you started the stories."

"Not one of us," Jolena added, "has been in every story."

The dolls were all quiet for a moment, as they thought about that.
"Tell me about the stories you made before I came," Emil begged. "Please! What things did you do that you liked best? Which stories did you like the most?"

"Well," Veronika began, "I would have to include the very first story. It was called 'Little Miss Crocker and the Spider.' Jolena was the only one in the story, besides the spider, of course."

"Yes," Mandy agreed. That got us off to a good start.
"I was new then," Jolena said. "I didn't know much. I just thought that maybe all dolls appeared in stories."
"Remember when we climbed the bookcase to get some books to read?" Charlotte asked. "That was fun."

"We have done a lot of climbing since then," Mandy pointed out. "That was the first time, I think."
"One of my favorite stories," Veronika said, "was when we imagined what dolls might do when they are home alone. Remember when we got into The Writer's purse and pretended to borrow her credit cards to buy some stuff?"

"We've been in that big purse several times," Jolena pointed out. "Sometimes The Writer takes one of us places with her, and we get to ride in her purse.
"In that story about dolls who were home alone we found a bear in the woods," Charlotte said. "We invited the bear to come into the house for a snack."

"That bear has been in several stories," Veronika said.
"I think the bears enjoy being in our stories," Charlotte added.

"Remember when we watched Jolena do flips at summer practice?" Mandy asked. "I couldn't breathe until I knew she was safe in the pool."
Jolena pretended to roll her eyes (which, of course, she can't do). "It's perfectly safe," she said. "You just have to do exactly what your teacher says. They don't let us try something we aren't ready for."

"The picnic at the lake was fun," Charlotte remembered. "We made sandwiches and pretended to eat them on the dock."
"It was fun having bread just our size," Jolena agreed.
"You didn't want to eat yours," Charlotte added. "You said you couldn't pretend to eat when the person taking the photos was watching."

Both girls laughed.
"I thought the finger painting was fun," Veronika said. "We put plastic bags on our hands, so our vinyl wouldn't turn black from the finger paint."

"Where did you get the finger paint?" Billy wanted to know.
"We made it," Jolena replied. "There are lots of things you can make for yourself. You just need a recipe, like with cooking," she added.
"Remember when you couldn't sleep, Jolena?" Mandy asked. "You tried everything to make it possible to sleep. You drank warm milk. You took a warm bath. Nothing worked."

"All I needed was a sleep mask," Jolena laughed. "I also learned I was lucky to have eyes that don't close. I can watch the clouds or look at the stars. Dolls with sleeping eyes can't do that. They just go to sleep when they lie down."
"Wasn't it fun playing outdoors?" Charlotte asked. "We put up a swing in the woods."

"Yes!" Veronika exclaimed. "We played ball and jump rope, too."
"Playing outdoors is fun," Mariah added, "especially when it's too hot in the house."

"We're lucky to have such good places to play outdoors," Billy agreed.

"We're lucky to have bicycles to ride," Mariah said.
"Yes," Jolena agreed, "and places to ride where we're safe from cars."

"We have safe places to walk Pierre and Freckles," Charlotte pointed out. "I'm really glad about that."

"I'm remembering when you came to live with us, Mariah" Mandy said. "We noticed how different we all are from each other."
"We found our how we're all alike, too," Veronika said. "Like how we all have the same two fingers stuck together."

"That's why I gave up on playing the piano," Charlotte said. "I was upset, but now I love the violin," she added.

"We all have different things we do well," Veronika pointed out."
"I never knew I could learn to take good photos," Billy said. "I didn't think I would be good at anything. Then one day I took a photo with the phone, and I knew!"

"Your photos are really important, Billy!" Mandy pointed out. "If we didn't have photos in our stories, no one would believe dolls could do all the things we do.

"Remember," Mariah said, "after we moved into this house, Jolena and I wanted to plant light bulbs?"
"We thought flowers would grow from them!" Jolena laughed. "It's a good thing you stopped us in time, Charlotte. you brought us the right kind of bulbs to plant."

"I remember my first ever birthday party," Charlotte said. 
"That was a great party," Veronika said. "I'm glad we have birthdays."

"What did you wish for, Charlotte?" Billy asked. (He knew the answer.)
"I wished for a brother!" Charlotte laughed. "I got one less than two weeks later," she added.
"I was that brother you wished for!" Billy exclaimed.

"That was the birthday present we all wanted," Mariah pointed out.
"Now you have two brothers," Billy said.
The dolls all looked at Emil and nodded.
"We're very lucky," Charlotte said. "Many dolls only have sisters."

"Not too long after you came, Billy," Mariah went on, "we went to visit Santa. Remember? We went out where there were real people!"
"Yes!" Billy exclaimed. "We sat in a real people's chair. When children came up to us, we pretended to be ordinary dolls."

"One little girl picked me up," Mariah remembered. "She carried me around until it was our turn to meet Santa."
"It was fun pretending to be an ordinary doll," Billy said, "but Santa knew and played along."
"It's fun to go out where real people are," Jolena said. "Remember when we took the cans and bottles back to the store? I got to go into the store to get the money for the cans and bottles. The clerk treated me like a real person!"

"It was fun paying for my fabric at the quilt shop," Veronika said. "They treated me like a real customer. It was during the quilt show, and no one thought anything about a doll walking around and looking at the quilts."

"You and I got to go to the dentist's office, Jolena," Billy added. "They pretended we were real children and explained everything that they do, so we could explain to real children what happens when they visit the dentist."

"I like that we're allowed to do interesting things in the house," Charlotte said, "like cooking."

"Or making ice cream!" Billy exclaimed.

"Doing the housework is fun, too," Mandy agreed. "It's nice to be useful."

"We get to put on plays," Veronika said.

"We get to do our homework together, too," Jolena said. "That makes it more fun, and we learn from each other."

Veronika noticed that Emil had been listening quietly for a while. "What's your favorite story, Emil," she asked. "We have made 32 more stories since you came."
"They have all been fun," he replied. "I think my favorite, though, was when I came to live here. That's when my life really began."

"Before I came here," Emil went on, "I thought I was just a defective (de-FEK-tiv) doll in a box. I thought I was made wrong in the factory. Now I don't feel defective at all. I'm part of a team!"
"You were never defective, Emil," Mandy said. "You are who you need to be, and a great member of our team." Mandy got up on the desk and gave Emil a hug, because she knew he liked hugs, and she wanted to make her point.

With luck, we're on to the next 100 stories!

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

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as CURE Childhood Cancer, St. Baldrick's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
"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 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

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


Like our Facebook page: The Doll's Storybook

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020 by Peggy Stuart