Pippa was surprised when she looked out the window. She saw something very puzzling. The ground outside was white. How did that happen?
Pippa thought about it. "It looks as if someone broke open a huge pillow," she said to herself.
"Mandy!" Pippa exclaimed, breathlessly. "The ground outside has turned white! It isn't supposed to be white!" she cried. "It looks as if a huge pillow broke open and spilled white stuff everywhere!"
Mandy was pretty sure she knew what had happened, because she had seen the weather report, but she went to the window to look out. "It snowed last night," she said. "That's normal. It's winter here now. It often snows in this part of the world in winter."
"Snow?" Pippa asked.
"It comes down from the sky," Mandy explained, "like rain, only colder, and it doesn't run off. It stays on the ground for a while until the temperature is warmer. Then it melts and turns into water." There are lots of fun things to do in the snow," she added. Then she turned to Pippa. "You will like the snow," she said, but you will need to wear warm clothes when you go outdoors. Snow is very cold."
Mandy called to the other dolls. "It snowed last night," she yelled. "We'll have some fun today!"
Pippa already had a very warm sweater to keep her little body warm. She had a nice thick hat to keep her ears warm.
The dolls don't have enough mittens for all of them, so they sometimes use socks. That was easy.
Boots were a problem, though. Pippa has very tiny feet. All the doll boots fit the bigger dolls.
"I have an idea," Mandy said to Pippa. "Let's see if you can wear Jolena's thick socks inside the boots. Maybe the boots will stay on your feet and you can walk." Mandy helped Pippa put on the socks and then the boots.
"Let's start by learning how to build a snowman," Mandy suggested leading Pippa to the kitchen. She gave Pippa the tip of a carrot for the nose and two cloves for eyes. She put a toothpick through a corn kernel for a pipe.
Mandy and Pippa went out into the backyard. Mandy explained how to pack the snow together to make a ball, then add more snow to make it bigger.
Mandy showed Pippa how to put the bigger ball on the ground and add the smaller one on top.
She let Pippa do it for herself. Pippa built a very small snowman. Mandy told Pippa she had done a good job. "He's very small," she said, "but he's cute!"
"Maybe he's a baby snowman," Pippa suggested.
They made snow angels. Mandy showed Pippa how to walk backwards, then fall backwards into the snow and move your arms and legs back and forth.
They had a snowball fight.
"What's the snow made of," Pippa wanted to know when they were done playing.
Mandy brought a big magnifying glass outside. She asked Pippa to help her look for a snowflake that was all by itself. They found one on a part of the deck where there was hardly any snow.
Mandy held the magnifying glass over the snowflake so Pippa could see the snowflake. This is what it looked like.
"I have read," Mandy said, "that each snowflake is unique (you-NEEK). That means that no two snowflakes are alike, but I don't think anyone could have seen every one to be sure."
"They're like people, I guess," Pippa mused, "but not like dolls. There are hundreds like me. Maybe thousands. I'm not unique."
"But we're all different inside," Mandy countered. "We may look the same, but each doll is different. We're unique, too."
That gave Pippa something to think about.
Billy and Emil wanted to take the sled to the park and ride down the hill, but they gave Pippa and Freckles a ride on the sled first, so she could see what it was like.
Later in the day, it started to snow again. "Snow is fun," Pippa decided, "and interesting."
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
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.
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