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 mistakes. Show all posts

Friday, December 26, 2025

Good Sports

"How was the soccer game?" Jolena asked when the boys came in.

"We lost!" Billy said, placing his hoodie and hat on a chair.

"We didn't even get a very good score," Emil added, "and it was the last game for this year."

"You must be disappointed," Veronika said. "I know you tried hard."

The boys nodded. They had tried very hard.

"It was hard to congratulate the winners," Emil said, "but we have to, and shake hands with them, too."

"The coach makes us." Billy added. "We have to smile and thank them for playing a great game."

"That's important," Veronika said, "It's easy to be a good sport when you win the game, but being a good sport when you lose is a challenge. When you can do that well, you're really winning. That may be the most important play of the game!"

"Maybe that's why the coach is having us practice that," Billy said.

"The game was still kind of fun," Emil pointed out, "except that we lost."

"I know what that's like," Jolena said. "I'm always disappointed when I don't come in in the top three in a competition. It must be like that for you."

The boys nodded again. "At least you only depend on yourself," Billy said, "but we're part of a team. If someone else makes a mistake, they can cause us to lose, even if the rest of us play well."

"We're a team, too, and we have team events in skiing," Jolena said. "We always want to do our best for the team. If I make a mistake, my team always tries to cheer me up. They know I hate to feel like I let my team down. I'll bet the players on your team who made mistakes probably feel worse than you do about losing!"

"I'm pretty sure," Jolena continued, "that if you made some good plays, everyone noticed. Winning isn't everything or even the most important thing. The important things are learning from your mistakes, doing your best, and if you still lose, being a good sport."

Veronika was staring off into space. "I remember one time," she said, "I was making pajamas. I sewed the pants with only one leg. I was so upset when I had to pick out all those stitches! I felt like such a failure!"

"You're so good at sewing!" Jolena exclaimed. "How could you make a mistake like that?" The dolls had seen Veronika make clothes for herself and the rest of them.

"I had never made pajamas before," Veronika explained. "I was still pretty new at sewing back then, but I learned from my mistake and was more careful the next time. I still make mistakes sometimes, but not that one! No, I never did that again."

"That must be," Jolena said, "like when Mandy made that cardigan for me. She use the wrong size needles, and it was so small, we gave it to Pippa when she got here and didn't have any spare clothes!"

"Dolls learn from our mistakes," Veronika explained. "If we never make mistakes, we can't learn to do better. We don't get mad and throw our project in the trash. We fix it or find another use for it. Someone else can wear a sweater that's too small, but not many dolls can wear pajama pants with only one leg!"

"Yes," Jolena agreed. "When I make a mistake on a trick when I practice or when I'm competing, I tell myself my my mistake will help me learn. I try to remember what I did that caused the mistake and try to figure out how to fix it."

"At least we can practice without snow," Emil pointed out, as he put his hat and kerchief on the chair with Billy's things and started to remove his hoodie. "You can't ski without snow."

"I do need snow to compete," Jolena agreed, "but there are lots of things I can work on even with no snow. I'll bet you have things you can practice."

"That's right," Veronika agreed, "and don't give up. If I had given up every time I made a mistake, I wouldn't be able to sew clothes and quilts and things, and I really enjoy doing those things well."

"If you don't keep trying," Jolena agreed, "you can't succeed!"

"Let's go see if it's still light enough to practice in the backyard," Emil suggested. "Maybe we can invite the rest of the team over to work on all those things in the backyard until we can play better. We'll be all set for playing again in the spring!"

The boys went to the nearest window to check.

"Um..." Billy said when they got to the window, "I think the backyard is soon going to be better for Jolena to practice."

"It's snowing!" Emil said. "Let's get the sled ready!"

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

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris

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.

Do you like our stories? Some of them are available in print:

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties and Distraction.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Our book of poems, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook includes Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Available now from BookBaby and other booksellers: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook. The Stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less, because the vendor gets a cut. The Writer's author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find our books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your library to get them for you.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Friday, April 22, 2022

Disappointment

Billy wanted to take photos of some things outdoors with the camera he got for Christmas for an art project for school. He took pictures of trees and flowers.

Then he looked at the pictures on the computer. They had looked better through his camera. He was disappointed.

Pippa thought Billy looked sad when he was putting the computer away.

Charlotte wanted to learn a new piece of music, so she could try out for the advanced orchestra. She practiced and practiced. Finally she thought she had it right. She was ready to play it at school for her teacher.

Then when she played it for her teacher at school, she made some mistakes. It wasn't as good as when she had practiced at home. Her teacher said Charlotte wasn't ready yet. Charlotte was disappointed.

Pippa thought Charlotte looked sad when she came home from school.

Emil wanted to grow some vegetables for the Writer and her husband. He planted the seeds. He watered them. He waited. Finally, he thought they would be big enough to eat soon.

Then it snowed. It was fun to play in the snow, but Emil's vegetables froze. He found out when he went out to the garden after playing in the snow. He was disappointed.

Pippa thought Emil looked sad when he came back into the house.

Jolena was learning a new dance for the school talent show. She practiced and practiced. When it was time for the talent show, she was sure she was ready.

When she performed it in front of the whole school, though, it didn't go as well as she wanted. She was disappointed.

Pippa thought Jolena looked sad when she came in the front door.

Veronika was making some pajamas for Pippa. She pinned and cut and sewed carefully. The pants were perfect. When Veronika had the pajama top all ready for the buttons, she thought she should try it on Pippa before she sewed them on.

When Veronika tried the pajama top on Pippa, though, she discovered that the sleeves were too long. She was disappointed.

Pippa thought Veronika looked sad when she saw how the pajama top fit.

But there's more to the story, of course!

Billy got a book from the library and found out that his new camera had different settings. He went back outside and took some more photos. This time, he changed how he set his camera. He paid attention to where the light was coming from and how much light there was. He tried lots of different things until he liked what he saw on the computer. Some of his new photos were so good that the art teacher put them up on the wall in the school library. Billy felt very proud and happy. He was very glad he hadn't given up.

Charlotte talked with her music teacher, who told her it helps to practice in the same place where she would be trying out. She could practice in the music room when no one was using it. Charlotte went there and practiced every day after school. Sometimes other dolls would come in and listen. Charlotte tried to ignore them and keep practicing. She got used to having other dolls watching and listening. She got used to playing in the music room. After a week she performed for her music teacher again. This time she was accepted! She was so excited, she couldn't wait to tell her friends and family.

Emil borrowed some books about gardening from the library. He found out that you need to wait until all danger of frost is past for the vegetables he planted. He found out he could start the plants indoors earlier than that and then put them in the ground outdoors later, when it was sure not to freeze. He found out that if it does get too cold, he can cover the plants up to keep them warm. He tried again and grew some nice vegetables. He was so happy to watch The Writer and her husband eat the vegetables he had grown.

Jolena added another dance class to her busy week. When the dance teacher kept telling her the same things, she remembered to pay attention to those things. She asked questions when she didn't understand. She signed up for the next talent show when she thought she was ready. This time she won a ribbon for her performance! Jolena was very proud and happy.

Meanwhile, back in the workroom, Veronika got out a tool called a seam ripper. It's something she uses when the stitches aren't right. She used it to pick out the threads holding the cuffs on Pippa's pajama top sleeves.

Without the cuffs, the sleeves would be the right length. All she had to do was hem the bottom edges of the sleeves. Finally she was happy with her work! She was ready to put the buttons on.

"I've been wondering something, Veronika," Pippa said. "Why don't dolls give up when something doesn't go well? I thought maybe Billy wasn't good at taking photos after all," she said. "I thought maybe Charlotte should find something else to do besides play the violin, and that Emil maybe should buy the vegetables at the store, and that Jolena should stick to cooking and skiing, because she's already good at those things. I wondered why you didn't just throw the pajama top into the trash and buy me one."

"That's easy, Pippa," the older, wiser doll said. "We know that there is nothing that makes a doll happier than meeting a challenge. If we do something that's easy, it feels good, but when we do something that's very difficult for us, and it doesn't go well, we're disappointed. We know that if we work at something we've failed at before, it's the best feeling in the world when we finally get it right! The disappointment adds to the joy in the end."

Pippa thought about what she was disappointed about. "I haven't grown since I came out of my box," Pippa said. "Should I try very hard to grow? It would make me very happy to be big, like the other dolls."

Veronika knew that Pippa would never grow, no matter how hard she tried. She didn't know what to say, so she was quiet for a bit. Then she bumped the buttons with her hand, spilling them onto the floor. She got down on the floor to pick them up, but one had gone under the closet door. Veronika tried to reach under the door to get the button, but her hand was too big to fit. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I can't reach the last button. My hand is too big to fit, and I can't open the door, even if you help! I will have to wait for The Writer to open it for me!"

Pippa climbed down onto the floor to help Veronika pick up the buttons. "Let me try," she suggested. While Veronika watched, Pippa reached under the door.

Her hand just barely fit under the door. She could feel the button with her fingers. Carefully, Pippa pulled out the button and showed it to Veronika, who put the other buttons down and threw her arms around the smaller doll.

"Thank you, Pippa!" Veronika exclaimed as Pippa placed the button in her hand. "I would have been so disappointed if I didn't have enough buttons to finish your pajamas, after finally getting the sleeves the right length!"

"Maybe it's better if I don't try to grow," Pippa said thoughtfully. "I think you need me!"

"We do need you, Pippa!" Veronika exclaimed, tapping her little sister gently on the nose. "We need you just the way you are!"

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia