Pippa found Mariah getting some cans out of the pantry. "Mariah, are you making something for lunch?"
"No," Mariah replied. "I'm not pretending to eat lunch today."
"You haven't had lunch with us in a long time. Why aren't you pretending to eat lunch with us anymore?" Pippa asked.
"I'm fasting for Ramadan (RAHM-uh-dahn)," Mariah explained. "That means I won't pretend to eat or drink from the time the sun comes up in the morning until it goes down at night. I'll pretend to eat lunch with you again when Ramadan is over next week. Ramadan lasts a month."
"Why do you do that?" Pippa asked.
"It's one way I practice my faith. It helps me feel closer to Allah (AH-lah). I have nothing to pretend to eat or drink all day. Then I can have a big meal called Iftar (IF-tar) at night to celebrate. Dolls who celebrate Ramadan pretend to eat together when it gets dark."
"Is that why we pretend to eat supper later now?" Pippa asked.
"Yes," Mariah replied. "Everyone waits to pretend to eat supper until I can, so I won't have to pretend to eat by myself."
"What is Allah?" Pippa wanted to know.
"Well," Mariah began, "Allah is the name dolls who believe the way I do have for God."
"Is Allah the God who created you, Mariah?" Pippa asked.
The other doll laughed. "I believe that Allah is the same God you worship when you go to church," she said, "but dolls were created by artists, and then we were made in a factory using the doll designed by those artists. Many human hands were used to make us," she continued. Then she thought for a moment. "I believe that Allah created people, and I know that people created us, so I guess I believe that Allah created us, too."
"Then why," Pippa asked, "don't we all pretend not to eat or drink during Ramadan?"
"Dolls are played with by human children who grow up with different beliefs, Pippa," Mariah replied. They like to have dolls who believe the way they do, the same as they might want their dolls to ride bicycles if they do."
"They need to have dolls who pretend to take music or dance lessons if they do," Mariah continued.
"They also like to have their dolls do things they don't get to do. Maybe they like to have their dolls ride horses."
"Sometimes they might want their dolls to go skiing."
"Maybe their they want their dolls to go swimming."
"Children need their dolls to do things they would like to do, but can't," Mariah continued, "but they need their dolls to do things they have to do, but don't enjoy or understand. It helps them understand those things better."
"It's even more important for us than for most other dolls, though," Mariah said as she took a can of tuna out of the pantry. "Lots of real children read about what we do, so we dolls in 'The Doll's Storybook' need to do lots of different things."
Pippa thought about that a bit. "Do real human children who believe the way you do not eat or drink during Ramadan?" she asked.
"If they want," Mariah replied, "but children, like adults who are sick, don't have to avoid eating and drinking during the day. It's something for grownup people, like teenagers and older, and only if they are healthy enough. I just like to do it, even though I don't have to."
"There's another reason," Mariah said then, "that human people who believe the way I do don't eat or drink during the daytime at this time each year. It also helps them understand what it's like to have to do without food and water." Mariah went down another step on the ladder. Pippa handed the cans of food down to her.
"People need to eat for real," Mariah explained. "If they don't have food and water, it makes them feel hungry or thirsty. That doesn't feel good."
Pippa tried very hard to imagine what it must be like to be hungry or thirsty. Then she tried to imagine what it must be like to be able to close your eyes or open your mouth. What was it like to chew your food? What did it feel like to have teeth?
"I guess," Pippa said, "if you feel hungry or thirsty it must feel good to eat or drink for real."
"That's what I think, too," Mariah agreed. "That's why I'm making up a packet of food to keep in the car. That way, if The Writer or her husband see a real human person who needs food when they are out in the car, they can give it to them. I believe it's what Allah wants us to do."
"Would Allah like it if I helped?" Pippa asked. "I would like to help real people who don't feel good because they are hungry or thirsty."
"Yes, please!" Mariah said. "It's so much easier with two dolls, and I need to move the ladder over to the other counter. It's very hard to move it all alone." Mariah turned and looked at the nearest counter, where she would need to put the food together in a plastic zipper bag.
The two dolls moved the ladder to the other counter. They took the cans of food up the ladder to the counter.
"It's easier to do this with two dolls, even if one of them is very small," Pippa said to herself as she helped.
The two dolls put the cans of food with a package of fruit and a snack bar into a big plastic bag that had a zipper. Pippa held the bag open for Mariah as she added a can opener, a plastic spoon, fork and knife, and a small napkin. Then they zipped the bag closed.
It's nice to know a human person won't have to go hungry unless they choose to for Ramadan.
Even a very small doll can help make a difference.
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
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.
