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 wolf. Show all posts

Friday, September 17, 2021

Little Green Greatcoat––A Fairy Tale.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a little girl.

Because she always wore a green greatcoat when she went out, the people in town called her "Little Green Greatcoat," or "Greenie," for short.

One day, Little Green Greatcoat's mother opened a window upstairs and called down to her.

"There's basket of food next to the front door," her mother said. "Please take it to Grandma. She can't go out today. I made her some bread and other things for her tea."

Little Green Greatcoat was an obedient girl who enjoyed helping others, so she picked up the basket and headed off to her grandmother's home, which was on the other side of the big wood.

While Greenie was walking through the wood, she came across a wolf.

"How are you today?" Greenie asked the wolf.

"I'm fine, thanks!" the wolf replied.

"Um," Greenie began, "you don't look fine. In fact, you look troubled. Is something wrong?" she asked the wolf.

"Well," the wolf said, "you're right. I'm supposed to go to Grandma's house, but I don't know where it is."

Greenie laughed. "No worries," she said. "I know where it is. I'm just going there now, and you can come along with me. It will be nice to have company along the way," she added.

Greenie continued along her way with the wolf beside her. They walked in companionable silence, both thinking what a lovely day it was.

Greenie was thinking how nice it was to have company. The wolf was thinking how nice it was to have company who knew the way to Grandma's house.

Every once in a while, they would sit and rest for a few minutes and listen to the birds singing and watch squirrels scamper about.

Finally they came to Grandma's house. Greenie opened the door and invited the wolf in. She asked him to take a seat in the living room, while she took the basket to the kitchen. Then she checked on Grandma, who was in bed, sleeping. Greenie came back to the front hall and hung up her coat.

Then she came to sit on the couch next to the wolf.

"Grandma is asleep," she said. "Now tell me, what did you need to come to Grandma's house for?" she asked.

"I'm supposed to eat Grandma," the wolf said, "and then you."

"Well now," Greenie said, "that's just silly!"

"Why is that?" the wolf asked.

"Come with me," Greenie replied, "and I will show you."

Greenie got down from the couch and walked out of the room, with the wolf at her heels. She led the wolf into the bathroom and helped him climb up on the vanity. Then she pointed to his reflection in the mirror. "There!" she exclaimed. "Tell me what you see!"

"Um," said the wolf, "I see a wolf."

"That's your reflection," Greenie explained. "That's what you look like. Now look at yourself and tell me, how big are you?" she asked the wolf.

"I'm as big as I always am," the wolf answered.

"And how big am I?" Greenie asked, pointing to her reflection.

The wolf looked at Greenie's reflection in the mirror. "You're as big as you always are," he replied.

"Well, let me explain," Greenie said to the wolf.

"Grandma is much bigger than I am," she began.

"I am much bigger than you are," Greenie continued. "You are much smaller than both of us."

"There is no way you could fit Grandma in your stomach, let alone both Grandma and me!"

The wolf looked at her reflection and then his. He tried to cock his head to one side, the way wolves and dogs do when they're puzzled. It wouldn't move, though, so he just pretended to cock his head to one side.

Finally the wolf said, "You have a point. What should I do instead?" he asked.

"We should talk about that," Greenie replied.

While Greenie was helping the wolf down from the vanity, the doorbell rang. Greenie ran to answer the door, so her grandmother wouldn't be disturbed.

When Greenie opened the door, she found a tall man standing on the doorstep. She recognized him as the woodsman.

"Hello, Mr. Woodsman," Greenie said. "What can I do for you?"

The woodsman seemed puzzled. "Um...I think I'm here to rescue you and your grandmother from the wolf," he said. "Why aren't you in the wolf's stomach?" he asked.

"I see that you and the wolf have been reading the same books," Greenie said. "Please come in. I'll make us some tea, and we can have a chat."

Greenie left the woodsman and the wolf together in the living room while she made the tea.

When she had returned to the living room, and they all had some tea, Greenie cleared her throat and began. "I think," said Greenie, "you two have been confused about your jobs."

"First of all," she said to the wolf, "wolves don't go around eating people. They eat other animals, usually just the ones that are old and weak, and the ones that will die soon anyway, or they eat animals that are already dead. They keep the forest creatures healthy by keeping the forest from becoming overcrowded. They help clean up the forest, so dead things aren't lying around getting stinky. They do not eat people."

Then Greenie put down her tea and slid off the couch. She walked over to the woodsman. "Mr. Woodsman," she said, "Woodspersons do not rescue grandmothers and little girls from wolves. That is not your job. Your job is to look after the forest. You are supposed to plant trees and make sure they are healthy. Your job is to clear away brush and to put out fires before they get too big and give talks to people who are interested in learning about the forest. If you rescue anyone, it's someone who gets lost hiking in the forest, not grandmothers who are home in bed, minding their own business."

There was a long silence, while all three thought about that.

"So," Greenie said finally, "you see, you are both supposed to look after the forest. You are supposed to work together!"

"Ew!" the wolf exclaimed suddenly. "Eating dead stuff doesn't sound good to me at all! I'm not sure how much I like being a wolf, if that's what I have to do."

"Well," said the woodsman, "cutting wolves open to rescue someone wouldn't be my first choice of occupation." Then he had a thought. He turned to the wolf. "Do you like kibble?" he asked.

The wolf imagined the woodsman giving him dog kibble, which he had eaten when he found it outside people's homes, left there by people for their dogs or cats. (Even cat kibble was tasty!)

When the wolf said he did, the woodsman invited him to come home with him and have some kibble. "I've been thinking of getting a dog," the woodsman said, "to protect my home when I'm away in the forest. I think a wolf would be even better protection."

The wolf agreed, and Greenie showed the two new friends out.

After she closed the door, she went to check on her grandmother again.

Her grandmother was awake now. "Someone is here," she said. "I need my glasses, the better to see you with."

Greenie picked up Grandma's glasses and handed them to her.

"Greenie!" Grandma exclaimed when she had them on, "It's you! I'm so glad you're here. Now I need my hearing aids, the better to hear you with!"

Greenie handed Grandma her hearing aids.

"Now I can hear you," Grandma exclaimed, when she had put on her hearing aids.

"I've just made tea," Greenie said. "I brought you some fresh bread and some other things to have with your tea."

"Just let me put in my false teeth," Grandma said finally, "the better to eat it with." She reached for the glass with her teeth, while Greenie brought Grandma the tea and opened the basket of food. While Grandma had her tea, the two settled down for a chat. "What have you been up to?" Grandma asked.

"Oh, mostly just the usual," was Greenie's reply, as she looked out the window and sipped her tea, "School, walking through the forest and playing, but now I'm thinking about writing an advice column for our local paper."

Note: Readers will recognize similarities with the story of Little Red Riding Hood, a story that has been told to children for centuries, including the famous version by the Grimm Brothers. While we are grateful to these versions for the inspiration, this story from The Doll's Storybook is what really happened. You can't believe everything you read.

Cast--
Green: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni

Mother: Herself
The Wolf: Wolf from Defenders of Wildlife

The Woodsman: Himself

Grandma: Herself

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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 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 16, 2021

The Boy Doll Who Cried "Wolf!"

Once upon a time there was a boy doll who lived out in the country. He didn't like to go to school, and dolls are not required to go, so he didn't.

He had to do something, though, because not all dolls can stand around on a shelf and look beautiful, so he decided to tend the toy sheep that had come to the backyard and were pretending to graze.

The boy doll had to lead the toy sheep to the pasture each day, so they could pretend to eat the green grass. Then it was his job to keep them safe, because he was their shepherd (SHEH-perd).

Day after day, the boy doll watched the toy sheep. Each day was just like any other. Nothing interesting ever happened.

No one came to play with him. The other dolls went to school and then read or did homework when they came home. The toy sheep never did anything interesting. The boy doll was very bored.

One day, the boy doll had an idea. He decided he would have some fun with the two dolls who lived in the house with him.

He left the toy sheep in the pasture and went into the house. "Wolf!" he cried, trying to sound upset and frightened. "There's a wolf after the toy sheep!"

The other dolls in the house heard him and came running. They followed him back out to the pasture, where the toy sheep were peacefully pretending to graze on the green grass.

"Where's the wolf?" smaller of the two dolls asked.

"I don't see a wolf," the bigger one said.

The boy began to laugh. "Ha-ha!" he exclaimed. "I played a trick on you, and you fell for it!"

The other dolls did not think that was very funny, and they told him so. They left him there and went back into the house.

The next day, the boy became bored again. "That was so much fun yesterday," he said to himself. "Their faces looked so surprised, or they would have, if they weren't made of vinyl."

He decided to try the same trick again. He left the toy sheep and went back into the house.

"Wolf!" he yelled, using his upset voice. "There's a wolf after the sheep!"

Again the dolls in the house came running. They followed him back out to the pasture, where the toy sheep were still pretending to eat the green grass.

"I don't see a wolf," the little doll exclaimed in exasperation.

"I don't see a wolf, either," the larger one said.

Then they heard the boy doll laughing. "I fooled you again!" the boy doll laughed.

The other dolls turned around and stomped back to the house, clearly displeased.

"That wasn't nice!" they both yelled at him. "That was a mean trick!"

The next day, while the boy doll was out in the pasture with the sheep a real wolf came along. At least, the boy doll thought it was a wolf. The creature had sharp, pointed teeth and a taste for stuffed toys, so it must be a wolf.

The boy doll ran into the house. "Help!" he cried. "There's a wolf after the sheep!"

"Right!" the larger doll said, turning a page in her book.

"Very funny, smaller doll said, not moving from her seat.

Neither one of the dolls would come and help him protect the toy sheep. No amount of pleading did any good. They would not budge.

The boy doll was really worried about the toy sheep, because no one would help him. He ran back to the pasture, where he expected to see all the toy sheep with their stuffing pulled out, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen. The sheep were still pretending to eat grass.

The boy ran down to the pasture to check to see if each sheep was OK.

"You're very lucky this time," a voice behind the boy doll said.

The boy turned and saw the biggest toy sheep standing there.

"The unthinkable could have happened," the biggest toy sheep said. (He meant that it could have been so horrible, you couldn't even bear to think about it!) "You could have come back out and found nothing but bits of fluff all over the grass," he explained, clearly having thought about it, in spite of the horror.

"Where is the wolf?" the boy asked.

"Someone––one of the human people from the house––threw a ball," the biggest toy sheep replied. "After that, the wolf forgot all about us. You were lucky this time, but next time might be different."

"But I was bored," the boy doll said. "Sitting around watching toy sheep is very boring."

"Pretending to eat grass," the biggest toy sheep pointed out, "isn't exactly fun. You should try it."

The boy doll sat down thought about that. "Trying to get other dolls to help chase a wolf away isn't fun, either," he said, "especially when they wouldn't come."

The boy doll was relieved that the toy sheep hadn't been eaten by the wolf, but he was very sad that the other dolls might never trust him again. "Maybe I'm not meant to be a shepherd," he said to the big sheep. "Maybe school isn't so bad after all!"

Just then, the bigger girl doll came out of the house. "There's a doll at the door," she called. "She's asking for you! It's about the sheep!"

The boy doll left the flock of toy sheep and ran through the house to the front door. There was a girl doll there, standing in the front hall.

"Hi!" said the girl doll. "I got a text from Rambo. He says that he and the other sheep are all here at your house, pretending to eat your lawn."

"I've left them alone long enough," the girl doll explained, "but now it's time for them to come home, wagging their tails behind them."

The boy doll went out and brought all the toy sheep from the backyard, leading them to the front door. There was a lot of tail-wagging. The girl doll handed the boy doll her shepherd's crook*, so she could take the toy sheep with the floppy legs.

"Thank you," the girl doll said. "They are very afraid of wolves, but I'm sure they felt safe here. You must have taken very good care of them, or Rambo would have texted me sooner."

When all the sheep who could walk were out the door, and the girl doll had the sheep with the floppy legs comfortably in her arms, the boy doll gave her shepherd's crook back.

Then the boy doll opened the door again, because the girl doll had her hands full, carrying the sheep with the floppy legs and her crook, and the door knob was very high up.

After the girl and all of her toy sheep were gone, the boy turned and looked at the other two dolls. "I think that girl doll is in my class," he told them. "I think her name is Bo. I've decided that I want to start going to school again."

"Yes," agreed the larger girl doll. "You still have a lot to learn."

*Shepherd's crook: A tool used by shepherds to guide and catch sheep, to look for sheep in deep bushes and for balance on steep slopes.

Cast--

The Boy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London (Billy, who would never tell a lie or play mean tricks but is good at acting)
Bo Peep: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen (Jolena)
The Other Dolls: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris (Charlotte) and Götz Little Kidz Lotta (Pippa)

The Sheep: Themselves

The Wolf: Dusty Stuart (not a real wolf, but related to wolves, and a real, live creature, not a toy)

Apologies to Aesop's Fables and the unknown original writer of "Little Bo Peep," now part of our collective oral tradition, for changing the details of their stories.

This story is found in our book "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook."