"How was the soccer game?" Jolena asked when the boys came in.
"We lost!" Billy said, placing his hoodie and hat on a chair.
"We didn't even get a very good score," Emil added, "and it was the last game for this year."
"You must be disappointed," Veronika said. "I know you tried hard."
The boys nodded. They had tried very hard.
"The coach makes us." Billy added. "We have to smile and thank them for playing a great game."
"That's important," Veronika said, "It's easy to be a good sport when you win the game, but being a good sport when you lose is a challenge. When you can do that well, you're really winning. That may be the most important play of the game!"
"Maybe that's why the coach is having us practice that," Billy said.
"The game was still kind of fun," Emil pointed out, "except that we lost."
"I know what that's like," Jolena said. "I'm always disappointed when I don't come in in the top three in a competition. It must be like that for you."
The boys nodded again. "At least you only depend on yourself," Billy said, "but we're part of a team. If someone else makes a mistake, they can cause us to lose, even if the rest of us play well."
"We're a team, too, and we have team events in skiing," Jolena said. "We always want to do our best for the team. If I make a mistake, my team always tries to cheer me up. They know I hate to feel like I let my team down. I'll bet the players on your team who made mistakes probably feel worse than you do about losing!"
"I'm pretty sure," Jolena continued, "that if you made some good plays, everyone noticed. Winning isn't everything or even the most important thing. The important things are learning from your mistakes, doing your best, and if you still lose, being a good sport."
Veronika was staring off into space. "I remember one time," she said, "I was making pajamas. I sewed the pants with only one leg. I was so upset when I had to pick out all those stitches! I felt like such a failure!"
"You're so good at sewing!" Jolena exclaimed. "How could you make a mistake like that?" The dolls had seen Veronika make clothes for herself and the rest of them.
"I had never made pajamas before," Veronika explained. "I was still pretty new at sewing back then, but I learned from my mistake and was more careful the next time. I still make mistakes sometimes, but not that one! No, I never did that again."
"That must be," Jolena said, "like when Mandy made that cardigan for me. She use the wrong size needles, and it was so small, we gave it to Pippa when she got here and didn't have any spare clothes!"
"Dolls learn from our mistakes," Veronika explained. "If we never make mistakes, we can't learn to do better. We don't get mad and throw our project in the trash. We fix it or find another use for it. Someone else can wear a sweater that's too small, but not many dolls can wear pajama pants with only one leg!"
"Yes," Jolena agreed. "When I make a mistake on a trick when I practice or when I'm competing, I tell myself my my mistake will help me learn. I try to remember what I did that caused the mistake and try to figure out how to fix it."
"At least we can practice without snow," Emil pointed out, as he put his hat and kerchief on the chair with Billy's things and started to remove his hoodie. "You can't ski without snow."
"I do need snow to compete," Jolena agreed, "but there are lots of things I can work on even with no snow. I'll bet you have things you can practice."
"That's right," Veronika agreed, "and don't give up. If I had given up every time I made a mistake, I wouldn't be able to sew clothes and quilts and things, and I really enjoy doing those things well."
"If you don't keep trying," Jolena agreed, "you can't succeed!"
"Let's go see if it's still light enough to practice in the backyard," Emil suggested. "Maybe we can invite the rest of the team over to work on all those things in the backyard until we can play better. We'll be all set for playing again in the spring!"
The boys went to the nearest window to check.
"Um..." Billy said when they got to the window, "I think the backyard is soon going to be better for Jolena to practice."
"It's snowing!" Emil said. "Let's get the sled ready!"
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
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.
