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

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.

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Copyright © 2019, 2024 by Peggy Stuart 

The Secret

“I think you should talk to Veronika,” Pauly told Nico. He could tell that his new friend was worried.

“I hate to bother her, though,” Nico replied. “I mean, she has so many responsibilities.”

“This is the kind of thing she does,” Pauly pointed out. “Listening to other dolls or human people when they have a problem is one of her responsibilities.”

Pauly helped Nico climb up to ring the doorbell this time, partly because Nico’s taller, but Pauly also wanted to let his friend feel useful. He knew Nico felt different because he didn't have elbows and knees that bend, but he worked hard to try to do some of the things the other dolls did.

Pauly and Nico live in other homes in the same neighborhood as The Writer and the other dolls from The Doll’s Storybook. Nico only arrived a few weeks ago, so Pauly is trying to help his new friend settle in and get comfortable in his new home. Pauly likes how it makes him feel important, and he’s glad he isn’t the new doll anymore. Pauly remembered to thank Nico for ringing the doorbell, and told him it was good that he did it, because he’s taller.

Pippa was the first one to reach the door when the bell rang. She was almost sure it was Pauly, and Pippa considers Pauly to be her own special friend, because they are the only two dolls who are so small. It’s nice to have a friend you have something in common with, especially when that thing is something that makes you very different from almost everyone else.

“Hi, Pauly! Hi, Nico!” Pippa exclaimed. “Come on in! We’re working on the puzzle in the dining room, and you can help.”

“Yes,” Mariah called from the dining room, “Come join us! It's fun!”

“That sounds great,” Pauly replied, “but Nico has a problem he needs to talk over with Veronika first.”

Nico nodded. 

Pippa had noticed that Nico didn’t talk much, but maybe that was just because he was new. Maybe he still had a lot to take in and would talk when he felt ready. Maybe he would talk to Veronika. “Veronika’s in the workroom, sorting the quilt blocks for the quilt she and The Writer are making together,” Pippa said.

Nico thought that working on a puzzle with the other dolls sounded so much like fun, he almost said so. He just nodded instead.

Then Pauly asked Pippa to help him get Nico up the stairs. It would be easier with two. Nico needed help climbing, because his elbows and knees don’t bend.

It took a few minutes to get up the stairs. Pauly and Pippa have done this before. They know that it is easier when you work together.

Things like dressing, eating and climbing stairs are difficult for Nico, and it’s faster if he has help. Lots of dolls have this problem. It’s one reason they like to live with real children or with grownups who collect dolls. Human people can help you with the buttons and ties, as well as other things.

Veronika was sitting on the daybed in the workroom, looking at some pieces of fabric that had been sewn together to make parts of a quilt. Later, she and The Writer would sew these blocks together to make the top for the quilt. Veronika was deciding which block would go where, so it would be pretty. She looked up from her work when the three dolls came in.

“Hi, Nico!” she said when she saw that the new boy doll was with Pippa and Pauly.

The two smaller dolls helped Nico climb up onto the day bed.

Nico greeted Veronika with a wave of his hand...or his whole arm, actually.

“Nico wants to talk to you,” Pippa told Veronika.

“Nico needs to talk to you,” Pauly corrected. “He’s worried about something, and I told him he should talk with you about it. It’s sort of a secret, so he didn’t even tell me, but I told him he could trust you with it, and you wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

“Sure,” Veronika agreed, moving the quilt blocks aside and inviting Nico to sit down next to her. “I listen to other dolls and human people, and I’m not allowed to tell anyone what we said unless they say it’s OK. The Writer made me promise that when I came to live with her. She said it was part of my job.” 

“Come, Pippa,” Pauly said. “Let’s just go downstairs and help with the puzzle. Nico can call us when he’s through talking with Veronika. Then we can come back up and help him down the stairs.” 

Pippa was curious to know what Nico’s secret was, but she thought it was better not to ask. Curiosity could be a nuisance sometimes!

After the two smaller dolls had closed the door and gone, Veronika turned to Nico. “Now, Nico, tell me what it is that has you worried,” she urged

“Well,” Nico began, “I know I’m supposed to help Frankie when he’s upset. I’m supposed to comfort him when he has a problem. I’m supposed to listen to him and help him figure out what to do, but he has a very big problem. It’s a problem for his whole family, and I don’t know how to help.”

“Can you tell me what the problem is?” Veronika asked. “I mean, I know you said it was secret, but I’m good at keeping secrets, if it helps you to tell someone.”

Nico thought for a moment. He knew they were alone. The door was closed. The other dolls were all busy somewhere else. Maybe it would be OK to tell one other doll. After all, Frankie had told him the secret. Nico hadn’t known Veronika long, but he already knew that he could count on her to live up to her promises. If she said she was good at keeping secrets, she wouldn’t tell anyone.

“It’s a really big deal,” Nico said when he had finally made up his mind that it was OK to tell Veronika. “I don’t really understand it, but it’s something that has the whole family upset.”

Veronika nodded. Then she waited for Nico to organize his thoughts.

“Frankie told me that his family came here from another country years ago,” Nico began. “He doesn’t remember it, though, because it was before he was born. Being born is something like when I came out of my box, I think.”

Veronika nodded and agreed that it was a lot like that.

“I didn’t understand,” Nico continued, “why coming from another country was a problem, because I came from another country.”

“So did I,” Veronika agreed. “A lot of dolls do. Most of us were made in factories in countries a long way away and sent here to live with human people.”

“Frankie told me that it had to do with something called papers,” Nico explained. “He said that these papers gave his parents permission to live here.”

“Frankie’s father is sort of a gardener,” Nico said, continuing his story as Veronika listened. “He used to work for a company that took care of people’s yards and gardens. I found out they call that landscaping. In the warm months, they plant and care for bushes and trees, pull weeds and mow lawns.”

“In the winter they remove the snow from walkways and driveways for people,” he said, wondering what it was like to play in the snow, as he had never seen it.

“Frankie’s father is really good at picking the right plants and planting them where they will look good. He’s so good at it,” Nico continued, “that after a couple of years working at that company, he started a landscaping company of his own.”

“Frankie’s mother runs the office of their landscaping company,” he added, “and she often helps with the gardening, too.” 

“They were able to buy their house and a few nice things for Frankie and his sister. That’s how I got to come here.”

So far, Veronika didn’t hear a problem. It sounded as if everything was going well for Nico’s family, so she said so.

“That’s where the secret comes in,” Nico said. “Remember I mentioned the papers?”

Veronika nodded.

“Well, it turns out,” Nico continued, “the papers were only good for a few years. Frankie said it was like when you check a book out of the library, you can only have it for a couple of weeks, and then you have to take it back or get it renewed (ree-NYEWD). If you get it renewed, you get another couple of weeks to keep the book.”

“Frankie said he thinks the papers were like that, only they couldn’t get them renewed,” Nico explained. “He said it wasn’t because they had done anything wrong. It had something to do with the office that works with these kinds of papers.”

“I understand,” Veronika said. “Frankie’s parents are supposed to have the papers renewed to stay, and they don’t want to break the law by staying here, but they also don’t want to leave their home and their business.”

“Frankie’s father has ten people working for him,” Nico pointed out. “He’s worried about all of them, too, and their families, and they have a lot of customers. What will they do? There aren’t enough landscapers in town to take care of all the people who need them, which is why he was able to start his own company. Many of his customers are older people who can’t do their own gardening or shovel their own snow.”

“So they––Frankie's parents––aren’t telling anyone,” Veronika concluded. “That’s why it’s a secret. They don’t want to get into trouble, but they feel responsible for all these other human people.”

“What worries me,” Nico said, “is what can I do to help? When I came here, I thought my job would be something like helping Frankie pick out which shirt to wear to school or help make him feel better after his soccer team lost a game. I don’t know how to help with this!”

Veronika thought for a moment. Then she said, “Nico, I think you’re already doing all you can. Human people can sometimes have very big problems. All we can do is listen to their problems and be there to cheer them up when they’re sad or worried.”

Nico thought about that.

“It’s actually a big thing we do,” Veronika added. “Frankie is lucky to have a doll who wants to do more, but we’re not magicians. Even dolls who are supposed to be magicians can’t fix human people’s problems, but imagination is our superpower, and we can do a lot with it. Sometimes people who talk to us start to use their own imaginations and figure out things they can do they hadn’t thought of before talking to us.”

Nico thought about that. Maybe he could learn to listen the way Veronika does. He would try. Maybe Frankie's parents would find a way to solve their problem. Maybe they could share the secret with someone who could help, someone they could trust.

“Thanks, Veronika,” Nico said finally. “I’m still new at this, and I want to do my job well. I was afraid I wasn’t. I feel better now.” Then he remembered the other dolls working on the puzzle downstairs. “I guess I’ll call Pauly and Pippa to help me get down the stairs now. I’d like to learn how to put together a puzzle!”

“Your family’s secret is safe with me, Nico,” the older doll said. Veronika would have winked at him, but her eyes don’t close. (Who knew that Nico would turn out to be so talkative after all, she thought.)

The next thing Veronika knew, there was a “thump,” and Nico had disappeared. She looked over the side of the daybed.

“Um,” Nico said from where he was, lying on the floor, “If you help me get up, I think I’ve figured out how to get down the stairs without help.”

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Nico: Götz Hannah-Zoé at the Ballet

Photo of man cutting weeds: Maxim Tolchinskiy on Unsplash (cropped and straightened)

Photo of woman gardening: Luiza Braun on Unsplash (cropped)

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.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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Copyright © 2023, 2024 by Peggy Stuart