"I can't decide whether it's a Mandy question or a Veronika question," Billy told Emil as the boys were walking home from school.
"I thought it was a question for Veronika," Emil said, "because Justin is being teased because he's different."
"That's true," Billy agreed, as the boys reached the front steps, "but I was thinking that why he's being teased might be more of a Mandy question."
"I know," said Emil, "that dolls who are different get teased, because that happened to me. Some of the dolls even picked on me, which is worse."
The boys took turns helping each other up the stairs to the house, not because either of them needed help, but they liked to practice helping others. Some dolls need help from time to time.
"Picking on other dolls isn't nice," Billy said. "I wanted to hit them, but I remembered that Veronika told me that hitting was wrong. That was when some of the other dolls were picking on Mariah for being different."
"You got in a fight, didn't you?" Emil asked as the boys reached the door to the house. (It was before he came, but he remembered hearing about it.)
"Yes," Billy agreed, "but now I know there are better ways to handle bullies. Veronika helped me understand that bullies often have problems we don't know about."
"Veronika," Billy continued, "explained that bullying is just a way to get attention and to feel better about something they feel bad about. If you ignore them it stops being fun, and they stop."
The boys found both Veronika and Mandy in the living room, reading, so they didn't have to decide which one to look for. Mariah was there, too, helping Pippa with her homework. The girls all looked up when the boys came in.
"We have a question," Billy said to the girls. "Maybe you can help us with something."
"What's up?" Veronika asked. She closed her book.
"Well," Emil began, "our friend Justin is getting picked on because of the way he talks."
"I know we aren't supposed to hit the other dolls," Billy said.
"I know we're supposed to just be friendly with Justin and pay no attention to the bullies," he added.
"That's right," Veronika agreed, nodding. Mandy was nodding, too.
"It's because of the way he talks," Emil explained, as the boys climbed up onto the couch. "He has trouble getting words out."
"Some of the other boys said Justin was faking," Billy said. "They said he was pretending to talk that way to get attention."
"Why did they think he was pretending?" Mariah asked.
"It's because he doesn't do it when he sings," Emil pointed out, leaning back so he could look at Mariah.
Emil climbed all the way up onto the couch, so he could see Mariah easily when she had something to say.
"Yes," Billy agreed, "and he can recite poetry, too, with no problem, but I don't think he's faking."
"Justin stutters," said Mandy, who knew all the dolls at the school. "That means he sometimes repeats one sound over and over until he can get the word out out. Sometimes even the wrong word comes out."
"Yes!" Billy exclaimed. "That's exactly what he does! He can sing songs, though, without having a problem."
"It starts when a child is young," Mandy explained, "and sometimes they need to have special training to be able to talk so other human people can understand them. Many still have a problem speaking when they are adults." Mandy thought for a moment. "Dolls are supposed to be like real children, so maybe Justin was made that way so he can go live a with a child who stutters."
"I think," Mariah said, "that you should tell Justin that the person who wrote Alice in Wonderland stuttered. I think that's why he was such a good writer. He could say what he wanted in writing and not stutter."
"Lots of people who stuttered or still do," Veronika pointed out, "are famous, but not for their stuttering. Some are famous athletes, singers, actors and writers."
"Yes!" Mandy agreed. "Some people write or recite words they've memorized because they can and go on to be very good at it. Practice will do that sometimes. Or they put their energy into something where you don't have to talk much."
"And some," Veronika explained, "have gone on in spite of their problem with speaking and done something great in some other field, even though they have to work extra hard to talk."
Then she paused and looked as if there might be something more she wanted to say, so the boys waited. Actually, everyone waited.
"I wonder if Justin knows this," Veronika suggested. "Maybe he feels bad because he doesn't talk the way everyone else does. Sometimes dolls who are picked on start to think that they are broken."
"Yes," Emil agreed. "I can see that. It's what I thought about myself before I came here and found out how much I could do. I don't have trouble talking, but without my special glasses, I can't see or hear. I need help from others when my glasses are charging."
"Let's tell him tomorrow," Billy suggested, "about all the famous people who stutter. We can look up 'famous people who stutter' on the computer and make a list for him." Then he looked at Veronika, to see what she thought.
Veronika nodded. "That's a great idea!" she agreed. "You and Emil can tell him all the athletes, singers and actors you know of who had to overcome stuttering as they grew up!"
"What's the matter, Mariah?" Pippa asked suddenly.
Mariah was staring off into space. "Well," she said, "I was just remembering that Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland had planned to be a clergyman. That meant he would have to get up and talk in church. That's why he wrote instead."
"Can you imagine a life without Alice?" Pippa asked. "What if he hadn't stuttered. He might not have written my favorite book."
Pippa's eyes would have become big and round, except that they don't move, so she just stared at the other dolls. And they stared back.
"I'm sorry Lewis Carroll had to go through all that," Pippa said finally, "but I'm sort of glad, too."
Life without "Alice." It didn't bear thinking about.
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
"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.
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Copyright © 2020, 2023 by Peggy Stuart
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