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, March 14, 2025

Meeting the Elephant

Mandy looked up from her knitting when Jolena, Charlotte and Mariah came into the room.

"Mandy, we have a question we thought you might help us with," Charlotte said. The other two dolls nodded. "We celebrate each other's special holidays. All of you celebrated Hanukkah with Emil and me, and Ramadan with Mariah, and we all celebrated Christmas with you."

"Yes," Mariah said, "and we all have special holidays in the spring. We know we will celebrate those special days together, too."

"We know that all these special days have something to do with what we believe about God," Jolena said. "What we don't understand is, why don't all dolls believe the same thing?"

Mandy took off her glasses and put them on top of her head, so they knew she would have a lot to say.

"I can give you my opinion," Mandy said, "but this is something that no one knows for sure. If you asked a question about science (sigh-ence)," Mandy said the word clearly for them, "I could give you an answer that I know, or we could look it up and find out. This isn't science, though; it's something called religion." She pronounced it again carefully for them, "Ree-lih-juhn. It isn't about what we know for sure and can prove, but what we believe to be true."

Mandy thought for a minute. "I think the best way to explain what I think is to tell you a story I read once," she said.

The dolls love stories, so they settled down to listen to Mandy.

Here is the story Mandy told the other dolls:

Once upon a time, in the Land of the Dolls, there was a magical elephant. All the dolls in the land wanted to find out about the magical elephant. They came from all over the Land of the Dolls to learn what they could. They brought their sleep masks with them, because they had heard that no one was allowed to see this wonderful being.

Only one doll at a time was allowed to go into the room where the magical elephant was, so they waited patiently for their turns. (Dolls are good at being patient.) When each doll went into the room, they had to feel around to find the elephant.
Some of the dolls touched the elephant's side. "This feels like a wall," they would say. "The magical elephant is like a wall."

Some of the dolls touched one of the tusks of the wonderful creature. "This is very sharp, like a knife," they said. "The magical elephant is like a knife."

Other dolls found the trunk first. "Ooooo, the creature is like a snake," they would say to themselves.

Some of the other dolls found one of the legs. Those dolls decided that the elephant was like a tree trunk.

Still more dolls found the tail. "Clearly, the magical elephant is a kind of rope," they said.

Other dolls touched the ear. "This creature must be some kind of fan or maybe a sail," they thought.

There were even some dolls who felt around in the room and never found the elephant at all. They said, "I don't think there really is a magical elephant. I couldn't find one."

Each doll was sure they knew the truth and that the other dolls were wrong.

Most dolls like to discuss things, but they don't like to argue, because they know they are supposed to set a good example for the children they live with, so they decided that it was fine that they all believed different things.

This made all the dolls happy, even though they didn't know everything there was to know about the magical elephant.

"So in a way, all the dolls were right," Jolena said when Mandy had finished the story.

"They just didn't know all of it,"Mariah said, "so they thought the others were wrong."

"I see the point of the story," Charlotte said. "The magical elephant is like God, and dolls believe different things because they only see part of what God is like."

"Yes," Mandy said, "but that is just what I believe. We all experience God through our own religions, and some dolls don't experience God at all, but there is no way to be sure that what you know in your heart is true is really the whole story."
"Why is that?" Mariah asked.

"We can prove many things," Mandy explained. "There are things we know that help us know ahead of time what will happen," she said.

"That's where science comes in," Mandy continued. "We use science to learn about the world, and we can use what we have learned to know within a few days when it will rain, or what medicine will cure an illness, or what time the sun will rise in the morning."

"What we know in our hearts but can't prove is called belief," Mandy said. "That's what religion is. If someone believes differently from you, it doesn't make what you believe wrong, just different."

"I think things that are different are interesting," Jolena said, "but I like going to my church on Sunday."

"Yes," said Mandy, "So do I. But Mariah goes to a place called a mosque (mosk) on Friday, and Charlotte and Emil go to a place called a synagogue (sin-a-gog) on Saturday. What I believe is that we are all learning about and worshiping the same God, whether in church, in a mosque or in a synagogue, and the familiar words and music help us with that."
"I like going to the mosque," Mariah said. "I like to pray there with others who believe the way I do."

"I like my synagogue," said Charlotte. "I learn something new every time."

"What about the dolls in the story who never found the elephant? Do some dolls not believe in God?" Jolena asked.

"Some don't, and I think that's fine. It's something each doll has to decide alone," Mandy said. "No one can make you believe something you don't. You may change how you believe because of what happens to you in life, but your beliefs are your own. Most dolls believe in The Doll Code, though. That's the rule we have that we must be kind to each other, look after dolls in need and set a good example for the children in our lives."
"I've learned we need to set a good example for each other, too," Mariah said.
Mariah and Jolena stood up, and the three dolls got ready to go.

Mandy looked around at them. "I have a wonderful doll family," she added with a sigh. "You prove it to me every day, so that's not a belief; that's a fact!"

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Magical Elephant: Himself

Special note from the author: Mandy's story is based on the parable of the six blind men and the elephant, which originated in ancient times on the Indian subcontinent. It was popularized in the English-speaking world through a poem by John Godfrey Saxe.

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"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, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Author's page on Amazon.

Royalties (net proceeds) 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 charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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Friday, March 7, 2025

Baking on the Moon?

“I don’t understand our science lesson today, Olivia,” Jolena complained, as the two girls walked home from school.

“It was pretty confusing, I thought,” Olivia agreed. “It will make it harder to do well on the test.”

“That’s just what I was thinking,” Jolena replied. “I mean, we can memorize the words, but if a question on the test asks us to use what the words say, I would have a lot of difficulty.”

The two dolls walked on for a bit in silence, each of them thinking about the problem.

Then Jolena stopped suddenly. “You know, Olivia,” she began, “my sister Mandy knows a lot about science. Maybe she can help us both, if you come to my house. I’m pretty sure she will be home.”

“I would love to see where you live,” Olivia said, “and if Mandy can help, it would be wonderful,” she added.

As expected, Mandy was sitting in the living room, knitting. She looked up when the two dolls came in through the front door.

“Mandy!” Jolena exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here! This is my friend Olivia,” she said as she introduced the other doll. “Olivia lives around the corner, close to Nico’s house. She’s in my class at school.”

While the two younger dolls climbed up onto the couch, Mandy removed her glasses and put her knitting down. “I’m happy to meet you, Olivia,” she said and shook Olivia's hand.

“I especially wanted to find you, Mandy,” Jolena said. “We’re both having trouble understanding some things in our science lesson, and we have a test tomorrow. I thought maybe you could help.”

“I’m happy to help if I can,” Mandy assured them. “What’s your question?”

Jolena and Olivia looked at each other. Jolena decided that since she already knew Mandy, she should explain.

“The lesson is about mass, weight, volume and density,” she began. “Now, we understand volume and weight. For instance, when you measure something in a cup, that’s volume, like a cup of flour, or a cup of oatmeal, when I’m baking cookies.”

“And when you put something on the scale to weigh it,” Jolena continued, “like, say, pasta, if the recipe gives the amount you need in weight instead of volume.”

Jolena looked at Olivia to give her a chance to talk.

“Yes,” Olivia agreed. “We have no trouble with that, “and density is easy, too. Density is like the difference between solids, liquids and gases. Solids are denser than liquids, because the atoms are closer together. Liquids are denser than gasses, and some gases are denser than other gases.”

“That’s what makes a balloon filled with helium float in the air,” Olivia concluded. “Helium is less dense than the air. That's why you have to tie that kind of balloon to something, so it won't float away.”

The two younger dolls looked at each other and nodded. They understood all that.

“It’s mass we don’t get,” Jolena said finally. “I know it’s how much matter is in something, but how is that not density?”

“It’s also measured the same as weight, so why isn’t mass the same as weight?” Olivia asked.

Mandy thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain. “First of all,” she said at last, “You shouldn’t feel discouraged if this is confusing. It’s a very confusing thing, and scientists haven’t made it any easier for us.”

“You see,” Mandy went on, “words are sometimes used differently in science than in everyday life. Mass is how much of something there is, as you said. It has two parts: volume (or size) and density (or how compact it is).”

“When you make bread dough, Jolena, you have a big lump of dough,” Mandy explained. “Maybe it weighs a pound on the scale. It’s pretty dense until you let it rise and the yeast does its work.

If you decide to make two smaller loaves, you cut the dough into two equal pieces, so the mass of each piece of dough is half as much, but the density would be the same for each lump of dough as it was for the whole thing.”

“That's how mass is different from density,” Mandy went on. “Now, for weight. Let’s say an astronaut on the moon decided to make bread there on the moon….”

Jolena and Olivia looked at each other and tried to imagine the astronaut deciding to stop picking up rocks and instead mix dough to make bread on the moon.

“That lump of bread dough that weighed one pound on Earth would weigh much less, but the mass and density would be the same.”

“Why would the dough weigh less?” Olivia wanted to know. Jolena nodded that she wanted to know, too.

“The moon is much smaller than Earth,” Mandy explained. “And because it’s smaller it has less gravity than Earth. Gravity is what keeps us from floating off the earth. The way scientists use the word weight is about how the force of gravity works on something,” Mandy pointed out, “not simply how heavy it is.” Mandy paused to let that sink in.

“As for mass, the way scientists think of mass,” Mandy said then, “is to talk about how easy it is to move something, or to stop something that’s already moving, like a ball rolling. The greater the mass, the more effort it takes to move it and the harder it is to stop it from moving once you get it going. That,” she said, “would be the same on the moon.”

Jolena and Olivia were quiet for a moment or two, as they thought about what Mandy had said.

“I think I’ve got it now,” Olivia exclaimed suddenly!

“Me, too,” agreed Jolena. “All the time it was the scientists who made up the terms who were confused. Now that we know that, the rest is easy. We just have to pretend to be confused the same way scientists are, and we will do well on the test.”

Now that the dolls had that worked out, Olivia realized that Amber, the child she lives with, would be missing her, so she got down from the couch. “I’d better go,” she said as she walked toward the door. Then she turned around, as if she had just thought of something.

“And now that I know things weigh less on the moon,” Olivia said, “I’m going to tell Amber’s mom she doesn’t have to diet to lose weight. All she has to do is go to the moon. Thanks, Mandy! See you tomorrow, Jolena!”

With that, Olivia was out the door and gone.

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena în Aspen
Olivia: Götz Happy Kidz Chosen Ayelet

Photo of balloon: Florian Klauer on Unsplash

Photo of astronaut on the moon: NASA

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

"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.

Author's page on Amazon.

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