Snow!

It snowed. It snowed and snowed and snowed. It snowed so much that school was canceled.

Mariah and Charlotte were disappointed. They were looking forward to school.

"Well, I guess we have more time to study for the arithmetic test we were supposed to have today," Mariah said.
"I think I already know my times tables well enough," said Charlotte, "but a little more study won't hurt, I guess."

Two of the other dolls were not sad. Jolena and Billy were happy for a snow day. They like to play outdoors in the snow.
"Maybe I can go skiing," said Jolena. She climbed the stairs and put on her ski clothes. She found her skis, ski poles and ski boots. She picked up her goggles and her helmet.
"Maybe I can go sledding," Billy said. He put on his hat and his jacket. He picked up his sled.
Both dolls were excited. "I will need a ride to the ski slopes," Jolena said, as she looked out the window at the snow.

"I will need a ride to the park, where the hills are," said Billy, looking out at the snow.

"Let's take our stuff to the front porch, so we will be ready," Jolena said.
The two dolls went out the front door. Jolena carried her skis and Billy took his sled. They stopped and looked at the driveway.

"I think we may have a problem," Jolena said. It had snowed so much that the cars were buried. They could hardly find them. Can you find the cars in the driveway?

Billy sat down on his sled. He knew it was going to take a long time to get all the snow off of one of the cars, so someone could drive them. Jolena was disappointed, too. By the time the driveway was cleared, it would be too late to go to the ski slopes.

"Maybe we can go sledding and skiing in the backyard," suggested Billy. The two dolls went back into the house. They wiped their feet and went to look out the back window.

"There is a lot of snow out there, too" said Jolena.
"You're right," agreed Billy. 

"What's that big lump out there?" Billy asked, as he pointed to a little hill in the backyard. 

Jolena looked. "I think there is a bush under that lump," she said. "That could be dangerous if you don't know it's there. You could fall through and get hurt if you climbed on the lump. Snow could fall in after you, and you could be buried in the snow until it melts! Your vinyl could freeze!"
"I don't think I would like that," said Billy.

"I don't think I can ski on the slide where I gave Bella her first skiing lesson," Jolena sighed. "There is too much snow." There was so much snow on the branches of the trees, it was even hard to find the slide.

"I think the snow is over our heads," said Billy. "That's too deep for sledding, too."

"I don't think we're going to be able to ski or go sledding today, Billy," Jolena said. "I guess we got on our snow suits for nothing!"
"Maybe not for nothing," said Billy. "I have been wanting to get a photo of you in your ski clothes. I never get to go to the ski area when you go skiing. Maybe we could go out in back, but on the deck, where the snow isn't too deep," he suggested. "We could pretend that you are ready to ski, and I could take photos of you."

"That sounds like fun," Jolena agreed. She went to get her skis while Billy went to get the phone camera and his tripod.
The two dolls went out through the dog door to the back deck. Billy set up his tripod close to the house, where the roof protected him, so his phone camera wouldn't get wet from all the snow coming down.

Jolena stood where the deck had been cleared, but where there was a lot of snow. "It's still snowing," she said.

"That makes the photos better," Billy said. Billy took several pictures. The snowflakes made little streaks in the photos as they fell. Billy liked that and said that it was interesting. He said that you could tell it was snowing.

"Here's one that looks like you can see your breath," Billy said, looking at the screen on his phone camera. "That's funny, because dolls don't breathe."
Jolena wanted to see it. Billy showed Jolena the screen.
"I think a snowflake fell right in front of my phone camera when I took the photo," Billy said.
"You can tell that my face is wet, too, from the snow," Jolena said. "The snow must melt when it hits my vinyl, but it doesn't melt quickly on my clothes."

"Maybe your vinyl is still warm from being indoors," Billy suggested. After Billy thought he had enough photos, the two dolls went back through the dog door into the house. They wiped their feet and took off their boots, which were covered with snow. They put their boots on a towel. Then they took off their jackets and hung them up. When they were back in their indoor clothes, Billy sent his photos of Jolena to the computer.
Billy let Jolena help him select the photos. They picked out their favorite. Billy used the computer to make it look right.
"I like it best, because you can see my skis, and I love my skis," Jolena said.

"I like that you can see your helmet," Billy said. "Your helmet keeps you safe."
"Yes," agreed Jolena. "We should always wear a helmet when we ski or ride a bicycle or skateboard or horse! It protects your brain if you fall." 
"I also like that you're smiling," Billy added. "You look happy, even though we had a big disappointment."
"It was disappointing not to be able to ski today," agreed Jolena, "but we have had a good time anyway, haven't we?"
Here is the photo they liked best.

Mariah and Charlotte were finished studying for the arithmetic test. They were ready for it. They decided to get out the cards for a card game and invited Jolena and Billy to play, too.

  
"This is fun," Jolena said. "I like to ski, but it's fun to stay in where it's warm, too." 

Cast--
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
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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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Copyright © 2019, 2025 by Peggy Stuart

The Cruise That Didn’t Happen

 Veronika was very excited. She was going to go on a cruise! She was going to go on a ship on the ocean with lots of passengers.

The cruise ship would take her to some islands off the East Coast of the United States. They are called The Bahamas. She knew it would be nice and warm. She could swim in the ocean, so she was going to take her new bathing suit.

The day before she would leave, she took her new bathing suit out of the closet to pack.

Dolls' eyes shouldn't get water in them, so she knew she would need her swim goggles.

Veronika also knew there would be a big party on board the cruise ship, so she was taking the pretty new dress Mandy had knitted for her.

She tried it on, and she looked pretty in it.

When it was time to pack, Veronika got out her suitcase. 

She started packing her clothes in it, along with everything she needed for the trip.

She was so excited, we hated to have to tell her the bad news. Someone from the cruise line had just called. The cruise was cancelled! That meant there was no cruise to The Bahamas for Veronika.

She didn't cry when we told her. She just stared at us for a moment. Then she asked, "Why?"

We explained that a big storm called a hurricane was coming. It wouldn't be safe to travel there or to be on the ocean near there. It would not be fun. Many people in The Bahamas and in Florida would have to leave their homes.
Veronika looked out the window. She felt like crying, but she did not want to get her eyes wet. She was disappointed.

When the other dolls found out, they were sad for Veronika. They were also sad for themselves. They had been looking forward to seeing the photos Veronika had promised to send them. They had been looking forward to reading Veronika's post cards. Mandy had been looking forward to seeing photos of Veronika wearing her new dress at a party on the ship.
"I know why you aren't crying, but why aren't you throwing pillows across the room?" Mariah asked Veronika. "That's what I do when I'm disappointed."

"When I'm upset, I like to kick pillows," Billy said.

"That's a good thing to do with your anger," Veronika said. "That way nothing gets hurt or broken. I'm disappointed," she added, "but I feel very lucky I'm just missing out on a fun adventure. I'm not going to be on a boat on the ocean in a hurricane. I'm not going to be lying at the bottom of the ocean knowing it won't matter if my eyes are wet, because if I get silver eye, there will be no one to see me. I don't have to leave my home and wonder if it will be there when I come back."

"What's a hurricane?" Billy wanted to know. "I know it's a big storm, but it must be special to have a special name."
All the dolls looked at Mandy.

"Yes, I know," Mandy said. "It's a Mandy question."
She found a big book in the bookcase. The other dolls helped Mandy get it down and hold it so she could open it to the page she wanted. Then they listened to Mandy as she explained. 

"A hurricane starts at the equator, that's the invisible line around the middle of the earth," Mandy explained. "The air there is warmer because the equator gets more sun. Warm air rises. That makes room for colder air to come to where it's warm, but then the colder air gets warmer and rises." 

"When the warm air gets up high," Mandy continued, "it cools off and comes down again. All that moving up and down makes a lot of wind. The wind starts to go in circles, and the circle starts to move away from the equator."

"This is what a big hurricane looks like from space," Mandy said. She showed them a photo like this in the book. "We're looking down on it," she told them. "That's the earth below it. You can see where there is land and where there is ocean."

"If the wind gets to be faster than 73 miles or 118 kilometers an hour or so," Mandy continued, "we call it a hurricane. We call this kind of storm a hurricane where we live, but in other parts of the world this kind of storm is called a cyclone or a typhoon. Big hurricanes can do a lot of damage if they reach the shore where people live. Our weather scientists watch them, so they can warn people. It's good they cancelled the cruise. We would not want Veronika to be in a ship on the ocean with a storm like this."

Mandy showed them a photo like this in her book. "This is a real house and car, not toys," she said. "A hurricane did this. It was good the people who lived here had left."

"I wish we didn't have hurricanes," Mariah sighed. "I feel bad that people have their homes and cars destroyed. I feel bad that Veronika had to be disappointed."

"Disappointment is part of life, Mariah," Veronika said. "I understand that. We are all disappointed sometimes. It makes the happy times more enjoyable, because we know what it's like not to be happy. It's important for us to learn what to do with our disappointment, because it will come, sometimes when we least expect it," she sighed.

"I know what you mean," Billy said. "I was disappointed at first when I found out I was the only boy, but then I found that girls can be fun, too."

(The girls were glad that Billy had said that, because they sometimes felt sorry that he was the only boy.)

"Well, I have an idea!" Mariah exclaimed. "Let's see if Jolena will bake us a cake! Let's ask Charlotte if she will play her violin for us! Let's have a Disappointment Party!"
"That's a great idea!" Mandy agreed.

"That sounds like fun," Veronika said. "I can wear my new dress!"

Jolena baked a cake and made some ice cream, too.

Charlotte got out her violin and tuned it, so she could play it at the party.

Freckles and Pierre sat under the table and waited for crumbs that might fall. They know not to beg. They just sit and wait, but they make sure the dolls know that they are there, just in case they want to let some crumbs fall. That isn't begging.

The cruise company says that they will exchange Veronika's ticket for another time, or she can have her money back. In the meantime, the dolls are having a Disappointment Party.


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

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 and Our Favorite Verses: Poems 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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2019, 2024 by Peggy Stuart

On the Road Part One

March 10, 2023

Dear Holly,

I really enjoyed your last letter. I’m so glad they were able to get Sam's wheelchair out of the snow and Sam is on the move again. It was nice of the neighbor to help.

We’ve been having a similar adventure. You remember I told you we (Billy and I) were getting to go with The Writer and her husband on their vacation trip with the trailer?

Well, Billy and I waited what seemed like forever by the front door with our suitcase and a bag of sports equipment—mostly different kinds of balls—we planned to use when we got to Arizona. We were looking forward to pretending to be real boys!

Finally The Writer let us go into the trailer, where we would ride when they drove. We put our things away. Then we waited a very long time. We knew we weren’t moving, because we could see out the window, and nothing was moving. Also we can feel when we’re being moved, even if we can’t see out.

After what seemed like hours, The Writer came into the trailer. She told us the lights on the back of the trailer weren’t working right, and her husband was fixing them. 

You see, when you pull a trailer, the lights on your car or pickup (whatever you use to pull the trailer with) can’t be seen by other drivers, because the trailer is in the way. The lights are important, because that’s how the driver lets others know when they’re slowing down or getting ready to turn. 

The trailer has its own lights, but they have to be turned on by the driver. To do that, the lights for the trailer have to be hooked up to the car or truck that’s pulling it. You have to check to make sure they work before you drive.

Well, they didn’t, so he had to fix them. I think there was something wrong in the place where the wires for the trailer lights connect with the lights for the pickup truck that pulls the trailer. We couldn't see much from the window, but we could see when they climbed back into the pickup.

Finally, we were on the road. It was fun to sit on the bed in the trailer and look out the window. We could see trees and the tops of houses, and then just clouds in the sky. We knew then that we were out of town. 

After a long time, we felt the motion of the trailer change. Billy said he thought we were slowing down. We looked out the window and saw some things we decided were gas pumps. We were getting gas in the pickup. (The trailer doesn’t need gas, because it doesn’t move on its own. It get pulled, like pulling a wagon.)

The Writer came into the trailer and told us we were going to stop for the night, because it was already late afternoon. The place where we stopped had something called "full hookups." That meant you can connect to power (electricity), water and sewer (SOO-wer), whatever that is. I think they need it for the bathroom and used water. The power worked right away, but no water came out of the faucet in the kitchen. The Writer said that there must be some ice in the pipes. They decided just to bring in some water from the campground faucet to use for washing and stuff. We would just be there overnight.

This was the view from the window as The Writer was fixing supper.

The next day, they unplugged the power, and we rode off. All was going well until early afternoon. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise. It didn’t stop as we rode on. It was making my ears hurt. Billy had to cover his ears. I just took off my special glasses, and the sound was gone, but then I couldn’t see.

After a little while, I could tell we had stopped. I put my special glasses again. Billy and I sat on the edge of the bed and looked out.

We were in the middle of nowhere. We decided that stopping where there was no gas station and no campground had something to do with that loud noise.

We talked about it and decided that the trip was not going well so far.

After a little while, The Writer came and told us that we had a problem with the pickup truck. We couldn’t drive any farther until it was fixed. Someone was coming with a special kind of truck to take us to the next town, but they were coming from the town where we had spent the night. It was a long way, so we would have to wait. Our human people kept talking about how cold it was and how strong the wind was.

We decided to call home and tell the girls all about it. Mandy answered the phone. Jolena was there, too. We had a long chat. That helped pass the time.

It was dark when we said goodbye. As soon as we hung up from talking to the girls, we saw a flashing red light outside. It was a human person come to help. After the helper talked with our humans, The Writer came and told us the man was going to put our pickup truck up on the bed of his truck, then attach our trailer to the back of his truck. He told them he would haul the pickup and tow the trailer. That's how he could take them both. Using her phone, she found a picture online of the kind of truck he had. 

We tried to imagine our pickup on the bed of the big truck and our trailer following along behind. Then The Writer put us into a bag and took us to the helper’s truck. She put us onto the back seat and then climbed in after us. (She said something about "just in case.") Billy tried to take photos, but most of them turned out like this.

There was one that turned out. He took it out of the back window of the helper’s truck. You can see the flashing lights and the front of our pickup on the bed of the helper’s truck.

After a long drive, the helper pulled into an RV campground and left the trailer in the spot the campground people had told The Writer to use. The Writer took us into the trailer, where we would wait while they took our pickup to the repair place. 

The Writer and her husband still had to eat after the helper brought them back from the repair place, so it was very late when we all got to sleep.

When we went outside the next day, this is what the place looked like.

The repair place can’t do anything with our pickup until after the weekend, so we will be here for a few days. We may not make it to Arizona, which is disappointing, and it may be hard to play ball here, because it’s so cold and windy, but I keep remembering something Jolena told us when we talked on the phone. She reminded us that we wanted to go on this trip so we could pretend to be real boys. She said that if we had been real boys on this trip we would not only be disappointed, but we would have been cold and hungry a lot of the time.

Now Billy and I are busy trying very hard to pretend to be cold and hungry as well as disappointed.

The nice lady in the office here says she can put this in the mail for me. It's a long walk, but The Writer said she would take it.

I’ll write again when we know how this is going to turn out.

All the best,

Emil

Note to children: It is OK for dolls to ride in a trailer, but real children must ride in the car or truck that pulls it with seat belts fastened and proper carseats if they are not big enough to ride with just the seat belt. (Don't tell Billy and Emil, though, because they will want to ride in the pickup using seat belts and doll-sized carseats!)

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

Photo of wheelchair stuck in snow: Corey Barss

Photo of gas pump: Jason Hinrichsen on Unsplash

Tow truck image: The Flag Towing 

Photographed on location at Silver State RV Park

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 and Our Favorite Verses: Poems 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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2023, 2024 by Peggy Stuart