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.

Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Friday, October 25, 2024

A Baseball Game With a Strange Ending

"I'm not the best one to ask," Jolena told Billy as they were walking home from school. "I think you should ask Veronika."

"That's a good idea," Billy replied. "I'll ask her as soon as we get home."
"I'll come, too," Jolena said. It's something I really want to understand. It's very puzzling."

When the dolls arrived home, they saw Veronika on the couch in the living room.

She was sewing a button on one of Emil's shirts.
"Welcome home," Veronika said with when she saw them. "Did you have a good day?"

"Well," Jolena said. "Like most days, there was some good and some not so good."

"Did you have a problem today,?" Veronika asked, putting down her sewing, as the other two dolls climbed up onto the sofa to sit with her.

Jolena looked at Billy. That's my cue, he thought. It means Jolena wants me to explain.

"Lauren hit me!" he blurted out. "I don't know why. I didn't get into trouble this time, because I didn't hit her back, but I don't understand why she hit me. I thought we were friends."

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Veronika suggested. "Most dolls don't just go up to someone and hit them."
Billy thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, we were playing baseball, because it didn't rain, and the field is dry.

"I was on first," Jolena said. "The game was almost over. The other team was ahead by one run, and our team had two outs. I would have been biting my fingernails if I'd had any. Billy was on second."

"It all depended on Lauren," Billy added. "She was at bat. She swung at the ball twice and missed. Then she hit the next pitch."
"The ball went way over my head and then over the fence!" Jolena exclaimed. "We were so excited!"

"It was a home run," Billy said. "I got to run home and score!"
"Then I scored," Jolena added.
"Then Lauren scored," Billy said. "I was so happy with her I gave her a hug!"

"That's when Lauren hit Billy," Jolena said. "She bopped him right on the nose!"

The dolls were quiet for a moment to let Veronika think. Billy thought he could almost hear wheels turning in Veronika's head. He often wondered if Veronika had a little machine inside her head that helped her figure out why dolls act the way they do, and what's the right or the wrong thing to do. While he was still thinking about that, Billy thought he heard the wheels stop.

"I don't think it's your fault, Billy," Veronika said. "I think Lauren was upset by the hug, but you didn't mean to upset her."
"Why would a hug upset her?" Billy asked. "I was excited to win the game. She looked happy and excited, too, until I hugged her."

"Well," Veronika began, "we do a lot of hugging in our family," she explained. "It's perfectly natural for you to give someone a hug if they have just done something you like, or if they are unhappy, and you want to comfort them. Not everyone likes hugs, though, or they only like hugs from dolls who are close to them, like family members."

"So Lauren doesn't want Billy to hug her?" Jolena asked.
"That's my guess," Veronika agreed. "Not every doll would hit you, though. Some might say not to touch them again, or they might not say anything but just look unhappy, or laugh and pretend it was OK."

"What should I have done?" Billy asked. "I can see I did something she didn't like."
"If you want to give someone a hug, Billy," Veronika said, "it's best if you ask if it's OK. We shouldn't touch anyone without asking first," she explained. "It's sort of like borrowing their things without asking."

"Well, now I have question," Jolena said. "There's a boy doll in my class, Johnny, who keeps coming up behind me and touching me or grabbing me before I know he's there. I don't like it. I don't know what to do about it. It makes me feel very uncomfortable, but I know I shouldn't hit him."

"You have a right, Jolena," Veronika said, "not to be touched if you don't want to be. You can tell Johnny to stop it or push him away, and if he doesn't stop doing it, tell one of the teachers."
Jolena looked down at her hands. "I have been worrying about it," she said. "I thought I was doing something wrong to let him touch me at all, but I didn't know what to do."

Veronika gave Jolena a hug. She knew Jolena would like a hug, because Jolena often gives her hugs. "I think I understand how you feel," Veronika said, "but you did nothing wrong. It isn't your fault."

"Some dolls just haven't learned how to behave with other dolls. They think it's OK, or they want to do it even if it isn't OK," Veronika explained.
Billy had been thinking. "Did I make Lauren feel bad the way Johnny made Jolena feel bad?" he asked.

Now it was Billy's turn to have a hug. "You didn't know, Billy," Veronika told him, "and giving someone a hug isn't the same as sneaking up on them and touching them or grabbing them."

"If you feel bad about what happened," Veronika went on, "is there something you can think to do to feel better about it?"

Billy thought some more. "How about," he said finally, "how about I tell Lauren I'm sorry I hugged her, and I won't do it again? I'll tell her I didn't mean to upset her. I'll tell her she has the right not to be touched if she doesn't like it."

Veronika laughed. "She may not need the whole explanation," she said, "but when you talk to her you can figure out how much you need to tell her."
"Lauren hit a home run," Jolena said. "That's pretty cool!"
"With two dolls on base!" Veronika added.

"We can ask if it's OK to give her high fives," Billy suggested.
Billy and Jolena got down from the couch. They had homework to do.

Billy went into the kitchen to get a cookie to pretend to eat. Jolena stopped at the door to the living room. "Thanks, Veronika," she said.

Then she was gone.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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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, July 12, 2024

Emil's Gift

Emil gazed out of the window. "I'm happy here," he said to himself. He can do that without moving his lips, because his lips don't move.

Emil thought about how he had worried before he received his special glasses that he wouldn't find a place in the world because he was different. He could only see to tell whether it was dark or light where he was. He couldn't hear at all.

Of course, dolls can talk to each other in their heads, so they don't need to be able to hear when they talk to each other. If you look in a doll's ear, where the sound is supposed to go in, you will see that it's blocked off.

That's because dolls' hearing is pretend hearing. They need their pretend hearing to hear other sounds in the world, like cars and bicycles, or the alarm clock.
Somehow, however, Emil didn't even get that. He did get eyes, but he couldn't see much. He couldn't see much or hear anything until he was given his wonderful glasses with hearing aids built in.

Even with his special glasses, he had been afraid he wouldn't find a family, because he is different. He was afraid, but he knew he had to tell them about this problem in his letter. Not telling them would be a lie. There are two kinds of lies, he thought to himself.

There is the kind where you say something that isn't true and there is the kind where you don't say something that is true but important to tell. Not telling them would have been the second kind, so he told them in his letter.

"I told the truth, and they still wanted me," Emil said to himself. "That makes me happy." Now he has a doll family that cared about him.

Emil remembered how Billy had shown him where the girls keep their dresses. "They sometimes borrow from each other," he had said, "but they always ask first."

Then Billy showed him where he kept his clothes. Emil could keep his there, too. Billy had said that he and Emil could borrow clothes from each other, now, too, but they would always ask first.

"I don't borrow the girls' dresses," Billy had said, and they had both laughed. Emil held up one of the dresses to see how it would look on Billy.

Emil thought about how each of the other dolls can do things he can't do. Jolena can dance.

She can flip through the air on skis.

She can cook.

Mariah can write poems that make you laugh and poems that make your pretend heart break.

Charlotte can play the violin, and you can sing along in your head if you know the tune.

Billy can take beautiful photos and then make them even better using the computer.

Emil knew he could go to Mandy if he had a question about how the world and even how the universe worked. If she didn't know something, you and Mandy would find out together.

Mandy also likes to knit. Emil thinks maybe she ponders how the universe works while she knits. Maybe that's why she understands it so well.

Emil knew if anyone had a problem they were worried about, and they didn't know what to do, they could ask Veronika, and she wouldn't just tell you what to do, she would help you work it out, so you understand. You could discuss it, and then you would see what to do for yourself. That makes you feel good about yourself. It also teaches you how to solve problems yourself.

Emil has seen Veronika sewing a quilt. It was fun to watch, and he especially likes to see her use a sewing machine, because he thinks machines are fun.

All of these dolls in his family have talents. They have things they can do that the others can't do or can't do as well. Some are things you can learn, but some are things that are just there inside them from the start. Maybe he could learn to ski. Most dolls can learn how to ski, even if they can't see, but he was sure he couldn't fly through the air like Jolena. What if his glasses fell off?

Maybe he could learn to dance. Everyone should learn how to dance, but what if his hearing aids ran out of power while he was performing. He wouldn't be able to hear the music. Maybe dancing was just for fun for Emil.

Emil thought everyone should know how to cook. How can a doll pretend to eat without cooking something. You would have to have someone else do it for you all the time. He knew Jolena would make sure he knew how to cook at least a little. He thought that would be fun.

Everyone should learn how to write. Writing can be fun and useful, but Emil didn't think he could ever write as well as Mariah, even if he worked at it. He needed to have something important to say.

Everyone should learn to make music (even if just to hum, because your mouth doesn't open) but Emil thought it would be hard for him to learn to play a musical instrument, because he isn't sure that what he hears with his hearing aids is exactly what the sound is like. When you play an instrument, you want it to sound pleasant to dolls who can hear normally.

Everyone should learn to take photos. It's fun, and Billy is teaching him how, but Emil knows the photos are never as good as Billy's.

Everyone should learn about the universe works, but Emil thought he would have to be very interested in it to ever know as much about it as Mandy, and it would mean a lot of study. He knew Mandy had studied science for a long time. She must have started a long time ago.

Emil can learn how to knit, too, and it's fun. Emil thinks everyone should know how to knit. Even dolls who can't see can still knit, but he doesn't think it would be his favorite thing to do. He isn't sure that the way he sees colors is the way other dolls do.

Emil thought he could learn to be a good person and to do the right things. Everyone should learn those things, but he doubted he could ever help other dolls know how to deal with their problems as well as Veronika can.

Everyone should learn to sew. Emil likes to watch Veronika sew, but he isn't sure he would want sewing to be his life's work. He thinks he should know how to sew a tear in this clothes shut, though, or to sew a button back on if it came off. What if Veronika isn't around when it comes off? But to put little pieces of fabric together in a quilt? Well, there would be the colors thing again. He wasn't sure he could ever do that, not the way Veronika does.

Emil knew he could hear in his head what animals were saying. That was something the others couldn't do. He can hear and see animals' thoughts in his head. The other dolls can't do that. He isn't sure it's something you can learn to do. "I'm happy here," he said to himself again. His lips still didn't move. "I have my special glasses, and I can talk to animals. I have a family to love, and they love me, even though I'm different. In fact, I'm glad I'm who I am!"

"Meow," said Marmalade.

Freckles said, "Woof!"
"Not everyone can talk to animals," Emil said.

Marmalade and Freckles agreed.

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