What Dreams May Come

Veronika looked up from the book she was reading in bed to see Billy at the door to the room where she sleeps.
"Veronika, may I come in?" Billy asked.

"Sure, Billy," Veronika replied, "you can come in, but I thought you were asleep."

"I was asleep," Billy said, climbing up on the bed with Veronika. "I had a bad dream. I don't think I dare go back to sleep again."

Veronika closed her book and patted the bed to invite Billy to sit next to her.
"Do you remember your dream, Billy?" she asked.
"Yes, I do," he replied. "That's why I'm afraid to go to sleep."

"Maybe it will help you if you tell me about your dream," Veronika suggested.

"Well," Billy began, "in the dream a monster came out of the laptop and chased me around. I ran and ran, but it kept getting closer. Then I was falling. Falling doesn't usually scare me, because I know my vinyl is sturdy, but I kept falling and never hit the floor. Then I woke up. I was afraid the monster would be hiding somewhere in the bedroom."

"You know dreams aren't real, don't you Billy?" Veronika asked. "It's just something your doll brain does when you're asleep."
"This sure seemed real," he said. "I remember it as if it really happened."
"Well," said Veronika, "dolls are made to be like people, so our brains work the same way. I read that people who study how people's brains work have been trying for a long time to understand dreams. They think there is a purpose to them, like if you are learning lots of new things during the day, you will dream a lot more at night. Maybe it's the brain's way to organize and store what it has taken in all day."

Billy thought about that. "I guess I am learning a lot now," he said. "Before I came out of my box, I dreamed, but I don't remember much of what I dreamed about, just that it was sometimes interesting and never scary."

"Dolls sleep most of the time that they are in their boxes, so they have lots of dreams," Veronika explained. "That dreaming is what dolls do to get ready for the lives they will lead when they come out of their boxes. It helps teach them how to be companions to the children they will belong to. A companion is like a friend who is always there for you, who keeps you company. We dolls do that."
"But this dream was scary," Billy said.

"It's called a nightmare," Veronika explained. "It's normal to dream. Even dogs and cats dream. Sometimes you can see their legs move as if they are chasing something or running from something."
"I have seen Freckles and Pierre do that," Billy agreed. "Does that mean they are having scary dreams? Nightmares?"

"I don't know for sure," Veronika replied. "It probably means they are dreaming, but it could be a happy dream. The people who study dreams haven't figured out what dreams are for, only that there must be some purpose for them. If there is, it seems to be something animals need, too, so they dream."
"So that means sometimes children have nightmares?" Billy asked.
"Yes, they do," Veronika said, "and because children have nightmares, we have to understand what it's like, so we can comfort them."

"Children and dolls can have nightmares," Veronika went on, "especially after something scares them, like a scary movie. Maybe something happened that scared you, Billy." Then she remembered how Billy said that the dream monster came out of the computer. "Did something on the computer scare you?" she asked.
Billy thought for a long time. Then he seemed to have an idea. "I was playing a game on the computer and having a good time in the afternoon," he said.

"A picture of a strange person came on the screen," Billy went on. "Well, it looked almost like a person, but not quite. It was like a monster person. This thing told me I had to do what it told me to do, or it would hurt me. It was never there when I played that game before." Billy shivered as he talked about it. "It really scared me!"

Veronika considered what Billy had told her.

"I think there's a good chance that your brain was working through that fright," she suggested. "There are some bad people in the world who want to use our computers to hurt us, but they can't really hurt us if we don't tell them who we are or where we live, and they can't make you do something you don't want to do."

"I think I knew that. It sure scared me, though," Billy said, clearly relieved.
"If it happens again, come and get one of us older dolls," Veronika told him. "Maybe we can fix the computer so the bad person can't get through to your game."
Billy got up. "Thanks, Veronika," he said. "I think I can go to sleep now."
"I'm glad to help," Veronika replied. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Billy said.

Billy went back to the bedroom where he sleeps. He looked into the closet. There was some stuff there, but no monster.

He looked under the bed. There was some stuff there, but no monster.

He checked the whole room. There was no monster anywhere. With a sigh he climbed into bed and turned out the light. "Make me do something I don't want to do! I don't think so!" he said to himself. 

Then Billy pulled on his sleep mask and went to sleep. This time he had a happy dream. In this dream he was using the computer to make his photos better. It was fun. Billy smiled in his sleep.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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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Copyright © 2019, 2026 by Peggy Stuart

Soft, Warm and Fun To Make

Charlotte and Mariah went to see what Mandy was doing. They found her on the table in the workroom, organizing her yarn.

They were interested in the yarn. They were curious.
"Yarn is interesting," Mariah said. "It's so soft and squishy." 

"But it's strong, too," Charlotte said. "What is it made out of?" she asked, pulling on a strand of yarn.

"Yarn can be made of many different kinds of fibers," Mandy replied, "but this yarn is made of wool." She explained that wool comes from sheep. The dolls thought about sheep....
The sheep they imagined were toy sheep, because they had never seen real sheep. They imagined the sheep were pretending to be grazing in a pasture, because that's what they knew real sheep do.

"The wool is their hair, only it's called fleece," Mandy explained. "It's what keeps them warm outdoors when the weather is cold."

She brought one of the make-believe sheep up on the work table where the two dolls could see it. "This one looks the most like a real sheep," Mandy said.
"His fleece doesn't look like yarn," Mariah pointed out, picking up one of the balls of yarn.

"That's because it's still on the sheep," Mandy explained.
"This sheep's fleece is white," Mariah pointed out. "Did the fleece for this yarn come from pink sheep?" she asked.
"No," Mandy laughed. "Sheep come in some colors, like shades of black, brown and grey, as well as white, but white fleece can be colored with something called dye to make it pink or other colors."
"Feel how soft he is," Charlotte said. The girls all put their fingers into the fleece. It was soft.
"This wool is real," Mandy explained, "because this toy sheep was made with real sheep's fleece."

"The first step in making yarn is to give the sheep a haircut," Mandy said. "That's called shearing the sheep. Sheep farmers do this in the spring, when the sheep doesn't need its warm coat anymore."

"That's nice of the farmer," Charlotte said.
"Farmers take good care of their animals," Mandy agreed. "After the fleece, the sheep's coat, is off the sheep, it needs to be washed, then spun into yarn," she continued. "Some people who make yarn like to spin it just the way it is. Others like to comb it, to get all the fibers, or hairs, going in the same direction and to remove pieces of grass and dirt that didn't come out when it was washed. Sometimes they use a machine to do that, but we can do that with hand carders." Mandy lifted two big brushes up onto the table. The brushes had teeth made of wire.

"They look like dog brushes." Charlotte said.
"They are a lot like dog brushes," Mandy agreed, "and like dog brushes, the bristles, the little wires that stick out, are sharp, so we have to be careful when we handle the carders."

"So then you spin it? How do you do that?" Mariah wanted to know.
"Spinning twists the fibers together into a long strand. This makes the yarn stronger and keeps the fibers together." Mandy replied. "People can use a machine that runs on electricity if they need to make a lot of yarn, or they can use something called a spinning wheel. People sit and use their feet to make the pedals go up and down while they control the wool with their hands as the wheel takes the wool and twists it.

Veronika and I can do this, but it takes two of us, because we are so small. We can't reach the pedals and hold onto the fiber at the same time. Maybe we can show you sometime. We can also use a tool called a drop spindle," Mandy went on, showing them what looked like a top with yarn on it.

"It's a slower way to make yarn," Mandy explained, "but it's easier for dolls our size, especially with this small one of Veronika's. You use one hand to start it spinning." Mandy showed them.

"Then, while it keeps going, you control the wool with your hands," she went on. "You sort of pinch it and try to keep the same amount of fiber going through your fingers all the time."

"Then, before the spindle reaches the floor," Mandy said, "you stop spinning and wind the yarn onto the spindle. We think it's fun to spin to make yarn."
Mandy showed the girls another drop spindle that was larger. It had arms on it.

"I think it's interesting that making something useful can be fun," Charlotte said.
"Lots of things that are useful are fun to do," Mandy agreed. Then she went on. "When you have enough yarn made this way, you can put two or more strands together if you want. This is called plying. It makes yarn that is stronger and thicker and can't untwist. You can knit with the yarn, or make fabric for clothes another way, like with a hook or weaving on a loom."
"Are there enough sheep in the world to make everyone's clothes?" Mariah wanted to know as she and Charlotte put the balls of yarn back into the basket.

"Sheep make wool, but we can make clothes out of other kinds of fibers" Mandy explained. "Some fibers come from other kinds of animals, but people also use fibers from plants. They even use fibers made by insects. Cotton (KAW-tuhn) is the most common," Mandy said, "Cotton comes from a plant. It's what cotton balls are made of." She showed them a cotton ball.

"People have even learned to make fibers from chemicals, too." 
"It's very interesting," said Mariah. "What fun it is that there are so many different kinds of fiber to make clothes out of!"
"My favorite kind of fiber to knit with is wool. It's pretty, it's warm even if it gets wet, and I think sheep are cute."

Just then, Billy came in. He was wearing the sweater vest that Mandy had made for him. 

"I love my new sweater vest, Mandy!" Billy exclaimed. "It's so soft and warm. I'm going to wear it to school tomorrow with my new shirt. Some of us are having our pictures taken for the yearbook, so I was trying everything on."
"Billy, you look very nice," Mariah said.
Charlotte nodded her head to show that she agreed. "That's a very nice outfit," she said.
"I'm glad you're here, Billy," Mandy told him. "I was just explaining to Mariah and Charlotte about different kinds of fibers for clothes. You can help me. Come up here for a minute." 
Billy climbed up onto the work table. Mandy pointed to Billy's new vest. "What do you think this vest is made out of?" she asked the girls.

Mariah felt Billy's sweater.

"Wool!" she said.
"How do you know it's wool?" Mandy asked.
"Because it's soft and warm-looking," Mariah said.
"It looks knitted, too, and Billy said you made it," Charlotte added. "We know you like to knit with wool."

"That's right, of course," Mandy laughed, "and his shirt and pants are made of cotton. His socks are made from something called nylon (NYE-lawn). That's one of the fibers people make from chemicals. It's very strong."
The dolls were amazed that Mandy knew so much about fibers, but Mandy knows a lot about many things, because she reads a lot.

"This was very interesting," Charlotte said. "I should go do my homework now, though. I love that we have learned more about one more thing dolls can do for fun but that's useful, too."
"Yes," agreed Mariah. "Thank you for explaining about wool, Mandy, and thank you, too, Billy for taking most of the photos for this story," she said. "I especially liked how you used your tripod. You set the timer on the phone and ran to the door, so you could pretend to be just coming in!"

"We do a lot of pretending in these stories, don't we?," Charlotte said. "Now we should do our homework for real!"

Then all the dolls went to do their homework.


Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
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

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.

Our latest book is available from BookBaby and other booksellers: Billy: Stories from The Doll’s Storybook. The Stories included are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After, and Money in a Jar.

Royalties go to an organization that provides pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don’t get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to our designated charity. 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, or ask your library to get our books 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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2019, 2026 by Peggy Stuart

Snow!

It snowed. It snowed and snowed and snowed. It snowed so much that school was canceled.
Mariah and Charlotte were disappointed. They were looking forward to school.

"Well, I guess we have more time to study for the arithmetic test we were supposed to have today," Mariah said.
"I think I already know my times tables well enough," said Charlotte, "but a little more study won't hurt, I guess."

Two of the other dolls were not sad. Jolena and Billy were happy for a snow day. They like to play outdoors in the snow.
"Maybe I can go skiing," said Jolena. She climbed the stairs and put on her ski clothes. She found her skis, ski poles and ski boots. She picked up her goggles and her helmet.
"Maybe I can go sledding," Billy said. He put on his hat and his jacket. He picked up his sled.
Both dolls were excited. "I will need a ride to the ski slopes," Jolena said, as she looked out the window at the snow.

"I will need a ride to the park, where the hills are," said Billy, looking out at the snow.

"Let's take our stuff to the front porch, so we will be ready," Jolena said.
The two dolls went out the front door. Jolena carried her skis and Billy took his sled. They stopped and looked at the driveway.

"I think we may have a problem," Jolena said. It had snowed so much that the cars were buried. They could hardly find them. Can you find the cars in the driveway?

Billy sat down on his sled. He knew it was going to take a long time to get all the snow off of one of the cars, so someone could drive them. Jolena was disappointed, too. By the time the driveway was cleared, it would be too late to go to the ski slopes.

"Maybe we can go sledding and skiing in the backyard," suggested Billy. The two dolls went back into the house. They wiped their feet and went to look out the back window.

"There is a lot of snow out there, too" said Jolena.
"You're right," agreed Billy. 

"What's that big lump out there?" Billy asked, as he pointed to a little hill in the backyard. 

Jolena looked. "I think there is a bush under that lump," she said. "That could be dangerous if you don't know it's there. You could fall through and get hurt if you climbed on the lump. Snow could fall in after you, and you could be buried in the snow until it melts! Your vinyl could freeze!"
"I don't think I would like that," said Billy.

"I don't think I can ski on the slide where I gave Bella her first skiing lesson," Jolena sighed. "There is too much snow." There was so much snow on the branches of the trees, it was even hard to find the slide.

"I think the snow is over our heads," said Billy. "That's too deep for sledding, too."

"I don't think we're going to be able to ski or go sledding today, Billy," Jolena said. "I guess we got on our snow suits for nothing!"
"Maybe not for nothing," said Billy. "I have been wanting to get a photo of you in your ski clothes. I never get to go to the ski area when you go skiing. Maybe we could go out in back, but on the deck, where the snow isn't too deep," he suggested. "We could pretend that you are ready to ski, and I could take photos of you."

"That sounds like fun," Jolena agreed. She went to get her skis while Billy went to get the phone camera and his tripod.
The two dolls went out through the dog door to the back deck. Billy set up his tripod close to the house, where the roof protected him, so his phone camera wouldn't get wet from all the snow coming down.

Jolena stood where the deck had been cleared, but where there was a lot of snow. "It's still snowing," she said.

"That makes the photos better," Billy said. Billy took several pictures. The snowflakes made little streaks in the photos as they fell. Billy liked that and said that it was interesting. He said that you could tell it was snowing.

"Here's one that looks like you can see your breath," Billy said, looking at the screen on his phone camera. "That's funny, because dolls don't breathe."
Jolena wanted to see it. Billy showed Jolena the screen.
"I think a snowflake fell right in front of my phone camera when I took the photo," Billy said.
"You can tell that my face is wet, too, from the snow," Jolena said. "The snow must melt when it hits my vinyl, but it doesn't melt quickly on my clothes."

"Maybe your vinyl is still warm from being indoors," Billy suggested. After Billy thought he had enough photos, the two dolls went back through the dog door into the house. They wiped their feet and took off their boots, which were covered with snow. They put their boots on a towel. Then they took off their jackets and hung them up. When they were back in their indoor clothes, Billy sent his photos of Jolena to the computer.
Billy let Jolena help him select the photos. They picked out their favorite. Billy used the computer to make it look right.
"I like it best, because you can see my skis, and I love my skis," Jolena said.

"I like that you can see your helmet," Billy said. "Your helmet keeps you safe."
"Yes," agreed Jolena. "We should always wear a helmet when we ski or ride a bicycle or skateboard or horse! It protects your brain if you fall." 
"I also like that you're smiling," Billy added. "You look happy, even though we had a big disappointment."
"It was disappointing not to be able to ski today," agreed Jolena, "but we have had a good time anyway, haven't we?"
Here is the photo they liked best.

Mariah and Charlotte were finished studying for the arithmetic test. They were ready for it. They decided to get out the cards for a card game and invited Jolena and Billy to play, too.

 
"This is fun," Jolena said. "I like to ski, but it's fun to stay in where it's warm, too."

Cast--
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories 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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2019, 2025 by Peggy Stuart