The Doll's Storybook

Stories about dolls who live in our world. Although these stories are suitable for children, they should check with their parents before reading and always be careful online. Readers are invited to donate to a charity supporting pediatric cancer treatment and research. Images shown are taken by the author or from a free image website with attribution and appreciation. The author has no connection with Götz Puppenmanufaktur, but gives them credit for the amazing dolls they produce.

Friday, April 29, 2022

A Little Friend

"Guess what!" cried Pippa as she ran into the room. "Guess what! Guess what!" she repeated.

Mandy looked up from her knitting.

She moved her glasses to the top of her head, so she could look at Pippa.

"Um..." she began, "um...someone was riding an elephant in the park?"

"No!" Pippa exclaimed. "That would be silly! The only elephants in this whole state are in the zoo!"

"Well," Mandy mused, "then it must be that someone flew over you in a balloon and dropped candy bars, and one of them hit you on the head."

Pippa would have rolled her eyes, but her eyes don't move, no matter how hard she tried, so she looked up at the ceiling and threw out her arms.

"No!" she exclaimed again. "Whoever heard of someone dropping candy bars from a balloon!"

"Well," Mandy considered, "how about you were walking home and you saw a squirrel protesting for Earth Day?"

Pippa thought that squirrels would really appreciate Earth Day, but she didn't think they could spell "Save our Earth."

Pippa tried rolling her head, since she can't roll her eyes, but she realized she would have to take it off to get it to roll. That was the only way she could roll her eyes...unless she just took out her eyes and rolled them like marbles. That seemed like too much trouble.

"I have an idea, Pippa," Mandy suggested. "How about you tell me what has you so excited. Obviously, I'm not very good at guessing."

Pippa thought Mandy was good at making up stuff but not very good at guessing, so she settled on the couch next to her sister. "Well," she began, "we have a new doll in my class at school."

"My," said Mandy, "that really is exciting!"

"Well, you know," Pippa said, "we get new dolls in the class sometimes. Sometimes a real human child who lives near here gets a new doll for their birthday, and that doll comes to school with us, so that's not really all that exciting."

"Tell me, then," Mandy said, "what is so exciting about this new doll."

"She's my size!" Pippa exclaimed. "She's just as tall...I mean short...as I am! Her hands and feet are the same size as mine! Her head is the same size as mine. She even looks a lot like me!"

Mandy had to admit that she was amazed. There were no other dolls Pippa's size in the dolls' school. "That really is exciting," she agreed, "and she's in your class, too. Will your teacher be able to tell you apart?"

"That's no problem," Pippa assured Mandy. "She doesn't look exactly like me, just sort of."

"The teacher gave her a seat next to mine," Pippa went on. "I have to sit in the front row, you know, because I'm small and can't see over the other dolls' heads, so Polly has to sit in front, too. She sits right next to me!"

"Do you think you and Polly will be friends?" Mandy wanted to know.

"Oh, yes!" Pippa agreed. "We have so much in common, being the same size, and all, but not only that," she added, getting up on her feet so she could show Mandy how important she felt about this next part. "Teacher wanted me to help her find where everything was and what the schedule was and make sure she had everything she needed."

"Where does Polly live?" Mandy asked.

"That's the best part!" Pippa cried. "Polly lives only about three streets over from us! She's in our neighborhood, and we can walk to school together!"

"I told Polly I would pick her up in the morning at her house," Pippa confided. "Her child...she lives with an actual real human child, you know, not an old lady who writes stories. Her child dropped her off at the school this morning, and then we walked home together when school was over."

"Maybe Polly can come over and play sometime," Mandy suggested.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" Pippa gushed. "I'll invite her tomorrow. Maybe she can come home with me after school one day. The child she lives with has soccer practice after school sometimes, so I'm sure she'll be able to."

"That's even more exciting than someone riding an elephant in the park," Mandy commented.

"Yes," Pippa agreed, "but I love to see elephants at the zoo, so seeing someone ride one in the park would be special."

"Having a new friend," Mandy continued, "is more exciting even than having someone fly over you, dropping candy bars down on you."

"Yes," Pippa said, "but it would be lovely to get to pretend to eat a candy bar, even if it just hit you on the head and was all broken."

"Well," Mandy said, "having a new friend is definitely better than seeing a squirrel protesting on Earth Day!"

"Yes," Pippa said thoughtfully. "That would be very strange and interesting, but squirrels just run around in the trees, and eat nuts and seeds. If they protest anything, it's another squirrel trying to raid their stuff!"

"There's almost nothing better," Pippa exclaimed, "than having a new friend, unless it's having old friends."

"Or a sister," Mandy said, giving her a hug.

"Or a sister," Pippa agreed.

Note to children: Dolls walk on the furniture sometimes because they're small, and they have to, but it's OK because their shoes aren't dirty. You walk outdoors, so you should take off your shoes before you put your feet on the furniture.

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Photo of person riding elephant: Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of balloon by Austin Neill on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of elephant at zoo by topcools tee on Unsplash

Photo of squirrel protesting from Bored Panda

Photo of candy bar by Thibault Penin on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of ordinary squirrel by Daniel Olaleye on Unsplash

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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.

"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 and Emil: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from Barnes & Noble, BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties 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.

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Copyright © 2022 by Peggy Stuart

Friday, April 22, 2022

Disappointment

Billy wanted to take photos of some things outdoors with the camera he got for Christmas for an art project for school. He took pictures of trees and flowers.

Then he looked at the pictures on the computer. They had looked better through his camera. He was disappointed.

Pippa thought Billy looked sad when he was putting the computer away.

Charlotte wanted to learn a new piece of music, so she could try out for the advanced orchestra. She practiced and practiced. Finally she thought she had it right. She was ready to play it at school for her teacher.

Then when she played it for her teacher at school, she made some mistakes. It wasn't as good as when she had practiced at home. Her teacher said Charlotte wasn't ready yet. Charlotte was disappointed.

Pippa thought Charlotte looked sad when she came home from school.

Emil wanted to grow some vegetables for the Writer and her husband. He planted the seeds. He watered them. He waited. Finally, he thought they would be big enough to eat soon.

Then it snowed. It was fun to play in the snow, but Emil's vegetables froze. He found out when he went out to the garden after playing in the snow. He was disappointed.

Pippa thought Emil looked sad when he came back into the house.

Jolena was learning a new dance for the school talent show. She practiced and practiced. When it was time for the talent show, she was sure she was ready.

When she performed it in front of the whole school, though, it didn't go as well as she wanted. She was disappointed.

Pippa thought Jolena looked sad when she came in the front door.

Veronika was making some pajamas for Pippa. She pinned and cut and sewed carefully. The pants were perfect. When Veronika had the pajama top all ready for the buttons, she thought she should try it on Pippa before she sewed them on.

When Veronika tried the pajama top on Pippa, though, she discovered that the sleeves were too long. She was disappointed.

Pippa thought Veronika looked sad when she saw how the pajama top fit.

But there's more to the story, of course!

Billy got a book from the library and found out that his new camera had different settings. He went back outside and took some more photos. This time, he changed how he set his camera. He paid attention to where the light was coming from and how much light there was. He tried lots of different things until he liked what he saw on the computer. Some of his new photos were so good that the art teacher put them up on the wall in the school library. Billy felt very proud and happy. He was very glad he hadn't given up.

Charlotte talked with her music teacher, who told her it helps to practice in the same place where she would be trying out. She could practice in the music room when no one was using it. Charlotte went there and practiced every day after school. Sometimes other dolls would come in and listen. Charlotte tried to ignore them and keep practicing. She got used to having other dolls watching and listening. She got used to playing in the music room. After a week she performed for her music teacher again. This time she was accepted! She was so excited, she couldn't wait to tell her friends and family.

Emil borrowed some books about gardening from the library. He found out that you need to wait until all danger of frost is past for the vegetables he planted. He found out he could start the plants indoors earlier than that and then put them in the ground outdoors later, when it was sure not to freeze. He found out that if it does get too cold, he can cover the plants up to keep them warm. He tried again and grew some nice vegetables. He was so happy to watch The Writer and her husband eat the vegetables he had grown.

Jolena added another dance class to her busy week. When the dance teacher kept telling her the same things, she remembered to pay attention to those things. She asked questions when she didn't understand. She signed up for the next talent show when she thought she was ready. This time she won a ribbon for her performance! Jolena was very proud and happy.

Meanwhile, back in the workroom, Veronika got out a tool called a seam ripper. It's something she uses when the stitches aren't right. She used it to pick out the threads holding the cuffs on Pippa's pajama top sleeves.

Without the cuffs, the sleeves would be the right length. All she had to do was hem the bottom edges of the sleeves. Finally she was happy with her work! She was ready to put the buttons on.

"I've been wondering something, Veronika," Pippa said. "Why don't dolls give up when something doesn't go well? I thought maybe Billy wasn't good at taking photos after all," she said. "I thought maybe Charlotte should find something else to do besides play the violin, and that Emil maybe should buy the vegetables at the store, and that Jolena should stick to cooking and skiing, because she's already good at those things. I wondered why you didn't just throw the pajama top into the trash and buy me one."

"That's easy, Pippa," the older, wiser doll said. "We know that there is nothing that makes a doll happier than meeting a challenge. If we do something that's easy, it feels good, but when we do something that's very difficult for us, and it doesn't go well, we're disappointed. We know that if we work at something we've failed at before, it's the best feeling in the world when we finally get it right! The disappointment adds to the joy in the end."

Pippa thought about what she was disappointed about. "I haven't grown since I came out of my box," Pippa said. "Should I try very hard to grow? It would make me very happy to be big, like the other dolls."

Veronika knew that Pippa would never grow, no matter how hard she tried. She didn't know what to say, so she was quiet for a bit. Then she bumped the buttons with her hand, spilling them onto the floor. She got down on the floor to pick them up, but one had gone under the closet door. Veronika tried to reach under the door to get the button, but her hand was too big to fit. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I can't reach the last button. My hand is too big to fit, and I can't open the door, even if you help! I will have to wait for The Writer to open it for me!"

Pippa climbed down onto the floor to help Veronika pick up the buttons. "Let me try," she suggested. While Veronika watched, Pippa reached under the door.

Her hand just barely fit under the door. She could feel the button with her fingers. Carefully, Pippa pulled out the button and showed it to Veronika, who put the other buttons down and threw her arms around the smaller doll.

"Thank you, Pippa!" Veronika exclaimed as Pippa placed the button in her hand. "I would have been so disappointed if I didn't have enough buttons to finish your pajamas, after finally getting the sleeves the right length!"

"Maybe it's better if I don't try to grow," Pippa said thoughtfully. "I think you need me!"

"We do need you, Pippa!" Veronika exclaimed, tapping her little sister gently on the nose. "We need you just the way you are!"

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia