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 responsibility. Show all posts

Friday, August 2, 2024

Looking After Pets

Veronika stood over the fishbowl. "Hello, Cleo," she said, as she sprinkled some goldfish food on top of the water.

Veronika knows that she needs to feed Cleo every day. She is responsible (re-SPON-sih-bul) for the health of her goldfish. That means that looking after Cleo is her job.

Veronika knows that real fish use their gills to breathe their water, so once a week, she pretends to change Cleo's water so she can pretend to breathe the way real fish do.

Charlotte and Billy take care of their dogs. They feed them every day and make sure they have fresh water to pretend to drink all the time.

Charlotte and Billy take their dogs for a walk every day. Pierre and Freckles need exercise and fresh air. Sometimes one of the other dolls will go along, just for fun.

Charlotte and Billy pick up any messes their dogs pretend to leave on the sidewalk, the grass or under bushes, because that's what good dog parents do.

The dolls like to throw a ball or a toy for the dogs, and the dogs race to get to the ball or toy first.

The dolls teach their dogs not to chew up anything that doesn't belong to them and not to jump on people.

The dogs need brushing sometimes, so their hair doesn't tangle or come out on the furniture. Charlotte and Billy help each other brush their dogs, because Freckles and Pierre don't always want to stand still.

The dogs need to have their pretend teeth brushed, too.

Mandy doesn't have to take Marmalade for walks, but she does need to clean his litter box every few days.

Mandy gave Marmalade a cardboard box to use to pretend to sharpen his claws so he doesn't use the furniture. She showed him what he was supposed to do by making clawing motions with her hands.

Mandy helps make sure there is water in the water bowl, because Marmalade shares the water with the dogs.

Mandy brushes Marmalade, too. It isn't always easy, because the brush is so big, but she has found a way.

Brushing keeps him from leaving hair on the furniture. It also keeps him from swallowing too much hair when he washes himself. If he has hair in his stomach, he pretends to throw up a hairball. That can make a mess on the floor.

Dogs and cats need to have shots so they don't get sick and so they don't make other dogs and cats sick. Pierre, Freckles and Marmalade are toy animals, so they don't really get sick, but they go to the vet for pretend shots and for the vet to check to make sure they are still pretending to be healthy.

The dolls share a little horse named Brownie, but Emil is responsible for her. The dolls decided he should be the one, because Brownie can tell him what she needs and teach him how to look after her.

A horse is a pet you can ride. The dolls know they need to wear a helmet when they ride, just like when they ride a bicycle. The helmet protects the dolls' heads in case they fall off the horse.

Before his first ride, Emil put the halter and reins (raynz) on Brownie. He needs the reins so he can guide her when he rides. The halter is the part that goes over her head, so the reins stay put.

Brownie's halter doesn't have a bit, the metal bar that goes in the horse's mouth, because Brownie's mouth doesn't open. She is like the dolls in that way.
Then Emil put the saddle on Brownie. She told him how to do it.

Emil reached under Brownie's belly to fasten the saddle, so it wouldn't come off.

Emil used the reins to lead Brownie out to the backyard for a ride. They went out through the dog door.

When they got to the backyard, Emil talked to Brownie and pet her, so she would trust him to ride her.

He had to adjust the stirrups, so they would be in the right place for his feet. If they are in the right place for Emil's feet, they will be in the right place for the feet of most of the dolls, because they are the same size as Emil, but if a bigger or smaller doll is going to ride Brownie, Emil will adjust the stirrups for that doll.

Brownie explained to Emil that he had to get on her from her left side, so he did. Then he rode around the yard for a while. Emil gave Brownie a pat on her neck every once in a while to encourage her. She had never had a rider before. She had never been outdoors before.

Brownie knew real horses are supposed to be outdoors for riding, so she was proud and happy. She pretended to be a real horse. She let Emil ride her around the yard until they were both tired.

Brownie needs to be brushed every time she comes back from taking a doll for a ride, so after Emil took the saddle, the reins and the harness off of Brownie, he gave her a good brushing. He brushed down her sides.

Then Emil brushed Brownie's mane and tail with a different kind of brush. He talked to Brownie and called her by her name. He told her what a good horse she is.

Emil put a blanket over Brownie, so she would stay warm.

Brownie isn't a real horse. She has to stay in the house with the dolls and the other doll pets, but Brownie doesn't sleep in a bed the way the dolls do. That would be silly.

A real horse is supposed to stay in a stable in a little room called a stall (stawl). Horses sleep standing up or lying down on straw on the floor. The house doesn't have a stable, so the dolls made a stall for Brownie out of one of the kitchen cabinets. When Brownie was in the stall, Emil pretended to feed her a sugar cube as a reward. He petted her face and told her what a good horse she is.
"You are a good horse, Brownie," Emil said.

Every day Emil will bring Brownie some oats to pretend to eat or he will take her out to the backyard, so she can pretend to eat the grass.

Dogs, cats, horses, and some kinds of birds and fish, can make good pets because animals like these have lived with people for a long time. They are used to being with people. They are nice family members. The same is true of toy animals. They have lived with dolls and are used to them.

Some kinds of real animals have to live in the wild or in a zoo. We can't just bring home any animal we find and make a pet out of it. That could be dangerous for us and for the animal.

If you find a wild animal in trouble, tell a grownup, who will call someone who knows about animals that live in the wild.

There are plenty of pets to choose from, so almost anyone can have a pet.

Only people with a lot of room outdoors can have a horse. Many people have other kinds of pets, especially dogs and cats, but some families are unable to have a dog or a cat. Sometimes those people have birds or fish, but sometimes they can't even have birds or fish. Everyone can have doll pets.

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
Brownie: Götz Big Plush Combing Horse
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats
Cleo: Herself. (Cleo is actually a paperweight that was given to The Writer by a very old woman she knew when she was a child.)

Many thanks to Alpine Veterinary Clinic for allowing us to shoot "on location" in their waiting room.

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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Friday, July 5, 2024

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.