Some Marmalade

When Mandy came home from school, she had a box with her. She put down the box to take off her coat.

Jolena went over to look at the box while Mandy hung up her coat.
Jolena looked at Mandy and gestured to the box. "What's in the box?" she asked.

Emil looked up from the book he was reading in the window. "Yes, Mandy," he said, "I have a feeling something very interesting is in the box."

"The box has holes in it," Jolena told him, "so maybe there is something alive inside. You put holes in a box if you want something inside to be able to breathe!"

Mandy nodded. "He didn't really need holes," she said, "but, like us, he pretends to breathe, so I put holes in the box. I think it makes him feel better."

As Emil came and joined the girls in the front hall, Mandy carefully opened the box. In a sweet voice, she said, "There, there, now, it's OK." She reached inside and made stroking motions with her hand.

Emil and Jolena looked inside the box. A little orange-and-white face looked back from a rumpled towel.

"It's a cat!" Jolena exclaimed.

"He has been outside the school for three days," Mandy explained. "Today I gave him some of my tuna sandwich at lunchtime. After that, he started following me around. He must really like to pretend to eat!"

"Why was he in the box," Jolena asked.
"I couldn't leave him there," Mandy said, "and I thought he wouldn't like the walk home, so my teacher gave me the box. She said that most cats don't mind being carried in boxes."
Just then, the cat jumped out of the box. He came and rubbed his side against Mandy's leg.
"I guess he's your cat now," Emil said.

"Unless he has an owner who is missing him," Jolena pointed out. "We could take him to the vet to see if he has a microchip (MY-krow-chip). That will tell us if he belongs to someone."

The cat started down the hall toward the kitchen. "I don't think a doll cat would have a microchip," Mandy said, as the dolls followed the cat down the hall, "but we can check the neighborhood lost-and-found website."

The cat looked up from the dogs' water dish, where he had been pretending to drink. "Meow," he said solemnly.

"He says that he doesn't belong to anyone," Emil told Mandy.

"How do you know?" Mandy asked.
"He's showing me pictures in my head," Emil replied. "He was given to a lady who didn't want him. She threw him into the trash. He climbed out of the trash and went to the doll school, because he had seen dolls there. He knew he was supposed to belong to a doll."
Mandy looked down at the cat.

"Meow," the cat said again.
Mandy looked at Emil.
"He says he's Mandy's cat now," Emil said. "He's showing me how you fed him. He is showing me how he followed you around. He is showing me his face, looking up at you. He says he loves Mandy."

"Is he showing you my yarn, too?" Mandy asked. "Well, I guess I have a cat now," she added. "I will have to pretend to take him to the vet to get a checkup and shots."
"You will need food and a litter box," Jolena pointed out.

"Meow," said the cat. The two girls looked at Emil.
"He wants to know if the dogs are friendly," Emil explained.

"How does he know there are dogs?" Jolena asked.
"He probably can smell them," Mandy suggested.
Emil agreed. "Especially around the water dish," he said.

Just then, the dolls heard someone coming up the front steps.
"Billy and Charlotte are back with the dogs!" Mandy cried, scooping up the cat and running back to the front door, where she put him quickly back into the box. 

Mandy closed the flaps of the box firmly. "We had better explain to Charlotte and Billy about the cat," she said to Emil and Jolena. "It's important for the dogs and the cat get off on the right paw if we want them to be friends."
The door opened, and Charlotte and Billy came in from walking Pierre and Freckles. They could tell something was up.

Holding the box closed, Mandy explained to Charlotte and Billy about the cat. She explained how she found the cat at the school and how he was still there after three days. She told them how she had shared her tuna sandwich with the cat, and how the cat followed her around. She explained about the box. She explained that the cat was going to live with them now.

Meanwhile, the dogs were sniffing at the box. They could hear something moving inside. They could smell the cat. "Maybe we should put the dogs out in the backyard for now," Billy suggested picking up Freckles.

"That's a good idea," Emil said. "They need to get used to each other's smell in the house before they meet. We should feed them in separate rooms for now." 

"We can explain to Pierre and Freckles that the cat is a family member," Charlotte suggested. "They will understand, I think, but it may take a few days."
After they put the dogs outside, Charlotte and Billy came back to look at the cat.

"Why do dogs and cats not get along?" Charlotte asked.
"I think," Emil said, "it's because their language is different. There are lots of things a dog does that mean one thing to the dog," he continued, "but when a cat does the same thing, it means just the opposite. Like if a dog wags his tail, it usually means he's friendly. If a cat wags his tail, it usually means he's ready to pounce. That makes for a lot of misunderstandings."

"That's like people who speak different languages," Mandy said, "or have different customs or different religions." Then she looked up at Emil. "We just found out today that Emil can talk to animals," she added.

"How do you do that?" Billy asked Emil.
"I don't know," Emil replied. "I just found out that I can. I've seen pictures in my head from the dogs, but it didn't mean anything to me until now. It was just stuff like their food and the ball, or wanting to go out. The cat had important things to say."
"I think it's your special gift," Jolena said. "We all have some kind of special gift," she added, "but you found out yours very fast!"
Veronika and Mariah came down the stairs to see what was going on. Mandy went through the story again, including that they had just learned that Emil can understand animals."

"I need to get some cat food and cat litter," Mandy said. "Can some of you look after the cat until I get back?"
"Sure," said Veronika, who was waiting for a turn to pet the cat.
"We all will," Mariah added. "It's nice to have a cat."

Mandy left the cat with the other dolls and used one of the bicycles that had a basket to ride to the store to get some cat food and cat litter. She had a cat to look after now!

Mandy came home with the cat food and the cat litter. She put the litter box in the laundry room, where they could keep the cat for a few days. They put a folded-up blanket on the floor and put down food and water, in case the cat wanted to pretend to need those things.
"He will need a name," Emil said, looking at Mandy.

Mandy thought for a few moments. "I think he looks like what I see when I open a jar of marmalade," she said, "and he's very sweet. I think I'll call him Marmalade."

The girls looked at Emil, who looked at Marmalade. Then he looked up. "He likes it," he said. "Of course, it could be because he's still pretending to be hungry."

"Well, Marmalade," Mandy said to the cat, "go pretend to eat your dinner. Now you never have to pretend to be hungry again!"

"Meow," Marmalade replied.

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
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats, all man-made fiber.

Image on Mariah's shirt used with permission with thanks, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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 

The Patch

“What’s that thing on your arm?” Pippa asked Pam. The dolls had been sitting on the big bench at the side of the trail and chatting, when Pippa noticed something new.

Pam and Pauly both looked where Pippa was pointing.

“This is my patch,” Pam replied proudly. “Maryanne made it for me, so I would have one like hers.”

The three smaller dolls had offered to walk Pierre and Freckles, because Charlotte and Billy had orchestra practice after school. Now the dogs were getting bored with the smells in that one spot and were impatient to move to a new location, so the dolls climbed down from the bench and continued their walk.

Pam noticed that both of her friends seemed puzzled by what she had said, so she continued her explanation of the patch. “You remember how I told you Maryanne was going to start wearing a patch for her diabetes?” she asked.

Pauly and Pippa nodded. They thought back to when Pam first came into their lives a few months ago. Pam had been worried because the child she came to live with, Maryanne, was unhappy. Nico had brought Pam, his neighbor, to visit the dolls who lived with The Writer and her husband. He thought she should talk with Veronika.

Maryanne had just learned that she had diabetes (DY-uh-BEE-tees). She was afraid she had done something wrong and was being punished for it, or that she had made herself become diabetic by what she ate and did. Mandy had helped Pam find out that children who have diabetes aren’t being punished for something they did, and that human children can’t make themselves diabetic by what they do. It’s something they are born with. Mandy knows which websites have good information about health, so she knew where to look. She chose a trustworthy website, for a place called the Mayo Clinic. (She knows that not everything you read online is true; sometimes human people are helpful and sometimes they make things up.)

Veronika had helped Pam understand a doll’s job and how to help Maryanne.

When Maryanne had learned to hear Pam talking to her, Pam told Maryanne it wasn’t her fault that she had diabetes, and that she hadn’t made herself be this way.

“I think she felt a lot better after that,” Pam said.

“So why did she give you the patch, that thing on your arm?” Pippa asked, as they stopped on the trail so the dogs could sniff around, doing what dogs do.

“Remember when we got together to play that game?” Pam asked. “What was it called…” she tried to remember. “Slides and Stairways or something like that?”

“Chutes and Ladders,” Pauly reminded her. “It’s a fun game.”

“Yes!” Pippa exclaimed. “I remember now! When you came to play Chutes and Ladders, you told us Maryanne got some kind of thing to go on her arm to give her the medicine she needs.”

“Insulin, (IN-suh-len)” Pam said. “That’s the medicine. It’s a patch that gives her insulin when she needs it. It’s called an insulin pump. She wears it all the time. She can even wear it in the shower and in the swimming pool.”

“So is that thing on your arm is pretending to be an insulin pump?” Pauly asked.

“Yes,” Pam replied. “Maryanne made it for me, so we could pretend I have diabetes, too. Maryanne’s mother helped her cut up one of those plastic things that holds the bread shut.” Pam said.

“Maryanne decorated it with a pen and then used some of that tape that’s sticky on both sides and put it on my arm,” Pam added. “But she doesn’t keep it in one place all the time. She has to move it to a different place on her body every few days, so she moves mine at the same time.”

Pam went on talking as the dolls continued their walk. “Maryanne tells me all the things she has to do: watch her diet and exercise, and test her blood and stuff.”

“I think it helps her remember everything when she tells me,” Pam explained. “She’s teaching me and looking after me, so it makes it easier for her to remember what she has to do for herself.”

“Mariah told me,” Pippa said, “that when you teach what you know to someone, you learn it even better, and you don’t forget it as soon.”

“Veronika told me the same thing,” Pam told them. “Maryanne knows a lot now.We went out to eat the other day. We were eating lunch at the coffee shop down the street.”

“I think I know the one you mean,” Pauly said. “Jeffy took me there once when his family ate out.”

“Well,” Pam went on, “you’ll never guess what happened,” she told them, as they all sat on some rocks to pretend to rest.

Pippa and Pauly wondered how they could guess, since they weren’t there. They looked at Pam. Maybe it was one of those things dolls say just to introduce what they are going to say next or to make sure you’re paying attention.

“We were sitting at the table in the coffee shop,” Pam said, “just the three of us. Maryanne and her mother were looking at the menu and talking about things Maryanne might like to eat that would work with her diet. They’re still getting used to it, you know.”

“Suddenly,” Pam continued, “this tall lady came over and started shaking her finger at Maryanne’s mother. She said she had heard us talking. (Well, she heard Maryanne and her mother talking. I don’t think she’s the type of human person who can hear us dolls when we talk. I don’t think she listens that well.)”

“This lady was scolding Maryanne’s mother,” Pam explained. “Scolding, yes, that’s what it was. She said it was all the fault of Maryanne’s mother that her daughter has diabetes. She should never have allowed Maryanne to have candy, and that was why she was diabetic.”

“Well, you’ll never guess what happened next,” Pam went on. “Maryanne stood up and looked up at this tall lady. She told her that it wasn’t true that eating candy caused her to have diabetes, and besides, she hardly ever had candy, because she had to brush her teeth afterwards, and it wasn’t always convenient. I just watched her. I couldn't believe she was teaching a grownup person something that lady didn’t know.”

“Then,” Pam said, “Maryanne said that she couldn’t help having diabetes any more than she could help having blue eyes. It just was, so the lady should just please mind her own business. Then she sat down and looked at her menu. She asked her mother if a hamburger would be OK, and her mother said it would, if she had it with salad instead of fries. The nosy lady just stood there for a bit and then turned around and walked off.”

The dolls got down from the rocks and continued on their walk. “We had a nice lunch,” Pam said. “Maryanne let me pretend to eat part of her hamburger. It was fun. I think the hamburger was tasty, at least I pretended it was.”

“You’ve come a long way,” Pippa pointed out, “since you first came to our house and didn’t know what to do.”

The three dolls and two dogs walked on in silence.

“I’m lucky to have such good friends,” Pam replied as they reached The Writer’s house. “All of you have been a great help.” 

Pippa invited her friends in when they reached the door, but Pam explained that Maryanne and her parents were going to the movie tonight. “I have to go home to have Maryanne change my clothes,” she explained. “She’s taking me along!”

After Pippa and Pauly had brought the dogs inside and Pippa had closed the door behind them, the two dolls turned and watched Pam make her way back down the stairs and walk to the sidewalk that led to her home.

Pauly turned and looked at Pippa. “Maryanne brushes her teeth after she eats candy,” he said. “That reminded me that Nico says Frankie’s sister wears jewelry on her teeth now. It looks like a little bracelet on each tooth.”

“I wonder what it’s like to have teeth,” Pippa said.

“I wonder what it’s like to have blood and have to test it all the time,” Pauly added. “What’s blood, anyway?”

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Chosen Mariah

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Nico: Götz Hannah-Zoé at the Ballet

Pam: Götz Little Kidz Springtime, from My Doll Best Friend

This is based on a true story.

The Mayo Clinic is a good source of health information you can trust.

Girl wearing an insulin pump photo from Doctor Visit.

Mother looking at menu photo from WebMD.

Teeth with braces: Holistic Smile Care.

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 © 2024 by Peggy Stuart