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.

Friday, October 11, 2024

A Different Kind of Challenge

Veronika was sitting on the windowsill, reading, when she heard Emil come in through the door.

"How was your day at school?" she asked.

Then she noticed that Emil looked concerned or worried. "What's the matter?" she asked when he looked up at her.

"Well," Emil began, as he climbed up on the windowsill, "there's a boy in my class who is strange," he said. "He coughs a lot, even though he isn't sick, and sometimes he says a bad word. The teacher doesn't scold him. It surprises me that he doesn't. Instead, the teacher scolds the kids who laugh at the bad word."

"Are you talking about Max?" Veronika asked.

"Yes," Emil replied. "How did you know?"

"I know Max," Veronika said. "He's a nice kid. He doesn't mean the bad words he says. He can't help saying them or the coughing. Sometimes his mouth twitches, too," she added. "He can't help that, either."

"You're right!" Emil exclaimed. "He does that, too. I can't even make my mouth move that way. Why does he do that?"

"It isn't something he means to do," Veronika explained. "He can't help it. He came out of the factory that way. That happens sometimes."

"So he's a little like me," Emil said. "I came out of the factory unable to hear and almost unable to see."

"That's true," Veronika agreed. "Your problem has been mostly fixed with your special glasses, but Max's problem is harder to fix."

"Can they do anything for Max?" Emil asked.

"I know he's taking some special pills," Veronika said. "The medicine helps, so it isn't as bad. He's having to learn ways to keep from saying bad words, but it isn't easy."

"The poor kid!" Emil said. "I guess I'm lucky! I think maybe my problem isn't as hard to live with as Max's problem."

"We're very happy you can see and hear with your special glasses, Emil," Veronika agreed.

"You know," Emil said, "I'm glad I'm not the only doll who isn’t perfect. I'm sorry Max has to go through this, but at least I know there's another doll who has problems."

Veronika looked at Emil. Then she said, "No one is perfect. We each have something that we have trouble with, maybe not always something others can see, but everyone has problems, and that isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes what doesn’t work right makes us better in some other way," she explained.

"Like the way I can hear what animals are saying?" Emil asked.

"Yes!" Veronika exclaimed. "Exactly like that! Maybe Max has a superpower no one knows about."
"Is that why some of the other boys pick on Max," Emil asked, "because they're afraid of him?"

"I know the boys you mean," Veronika agreed. "They are bullies. They pick on anyone who is different. They were mean to Mariah, because her vinyl is brown. It made her cry."

"She has learned to ignore them, so they have stopped," Veronika added.
"Do you mean they stopped because Mariah stopped getting upset?" Emil wanted to know.

"Yes," Veronika agreed. "Well, she still gets upset, but she ignores them. The bullies decided it was no fun anymore if they didn't see they were hurting her."
"If they enjoy hurting others," Emil pointed out, "they have a bigger problem than Max has."

"Yes," Veronika said, nodding. "They try to hurt dolls who are different because dolls who are different make them afraid."

"Wow!" Emil exclaimed. "I'm different, but they don't bully me." Then he thought of something. "Wait! Maybe they were trying to bully me when they called me 'Four Eyes,' but I thought it was a compliment. Having four eyes sounds better than having only two eyes. I think I even laughed."

"That's because you're grateful you can see at all," Veronika pointed out, "and by laughing you spoiled their fun."

Emil said, "That was when I was new here. They did it a couple of times and then stopped." Then he thought a moment. "They stopped because I wasn't hurt!"

"Yes," Veronika said. "They must be very unhappy dolls. Being afraid of dolls who are different is a real problem, and one those dolls have to fix for themselves, but we don't have to let it be a problem for us or for others."

"Today the bullies were picking on Max in the school yard," Emil said. "I saw Jolena walk over to where they were. She ignored the bullies and showed Max a book she had. She started talking to Max about the book."

"Max was interested in the book," Emil continued, "and stopped looking at the bullies."
"What did the bullies do then?" Veronika asked.

"They turned around and left," Emil said. Then Emil looked surprised. "I'll bet Jolena did that on purpose to get the boys to leave Max alone!" he exclaimed. "What a great idea!"

Veronika smiled. She knew he was right. It was just what Jolena would do. She also knew that Emil and other dolls were watching...and learning.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

Max the doll has what's called Tourette Syndrome a neurobiological disorder, like attention deficit and depression, that can occur in real human children and teenagers. It can be treated but not cured, although human people sometimes grow out of it.

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, October 4, 2024

Storytime in Bend

Once upon a time there were seven dolls. Their names were Charlotte, Mandy, Veronika, Billy, Mariah, Emil and Jolena.

They all lived together in a big house with a little old man and a little old woman. The little old woman wrote stories about what she imagined the dolls were doing. The dolls enjoyed being written about.

They liked having their clothes changed and their hair brushed and arranged for photos that would go with the stories.

They liked pretending to go on adventures and to have fun together doing things. The dolls were happy that they had fun toys to play with. They were happy that they had books to read and pets to care for.

They liked pretending to sleep or eat. They liked pretending to be real human children.

The dolls listened to the little old man and little old woman talking to each other. The dolls heard them talking about how they were going to go on a trip and would be gone for a week. They talked about having the post office hold their mail until they got back. They talked about what clothes and other things they might need while they were gone.

One day the little old man and the little old woman put some things into the back of the car.

"The car is pulling out of the garage," Jolena said from the windowsill as the other dolls looked up at her. They listened as the garage door closed.

"The little old lady is getting in on the passenger side," Jolena said.

"That's it! They've gone," Jolena said. "The car just drove away."

"What should we do while they're gone?" Billy asked. "We have the house to ourselves."

"Let's clean the house again!" Veronika exclaimed. "That was so much fun the last time!"

"Let us, I mean Emil and me, do the vacuuming," Billy said. "We've done it before, and we're good at it."
"You can do the vacuuming, Billy," Mandy said, "but don't forget, you will need to do the dusting first. Otherwise, the dust will fall on the clean floor. You want the vacuum to pick it up."

The dolls all agreed that cleaning the house again would be fun.
The boys got to work getting the dusting done, so they could get on to the fun part.

Mariah and Jolena changed the sheets on the beds. They had to work together, because it's hard to do when you're so small. They carried the dirty sheets down the hall to the laundry room. Then they got out some clean sheets from the linen closet. They worked together to get the clean sheets on the bed and the pillows into the pillow cases.

Veronika did the laundry. She washed all the white things together and then put them into the dryer. Then she washed the colored things. She would put them into the dryer when it was done. She knew the colors sometimes like to leave one thing and move into something that's supposed to be white.

Mandy and Charlotte cleaned the bathrooms.

When they were done, they got dressed and went looking for the others. They found the other girls in the workroom. The boys were not there.

"Where are the boys?" Charlotte asked when she and Mandy were dressed.

"I think I hear the vacuum downstairs," Mariah told them. "They must still be working."

The girls went downstairs to look for the boys. They found them in the dining room, still vacuuming the floor. They were using the new robot vacuum cleaner. They were having too much fun to stop. All they had to do was push a button, and the vacuum would move around on the floor, sucking up all the dirt and dust. The boys had been letting Billy's teddy bear ride it and pretend to be driving. Billy and Emil knew they were not supposed to climb onto the vacuum, but Teddy is very small and light.

The dolls spent the next few days reading, playing games and pretending to eat and sleep.
Every day, the boys would run the robot vacuum for a while. They knew it wasn't a toy, but they still thought it was fun. They named it "Beatrice (BEE-ah-triss) the Cleaning Lady." They took turns using the remote control to change the way Beatrice cleaned. They laughed when Beatrice bumped into something and just turned away to vacuum in another direction. They knew it didn't hurt Beatrice to bump into things. When Beatrice was tired, she would go back to her charging station.

On the last day, Jolena got some frozen tomatoes out of the freezer and started them cooking on the stove to make jam.

While the jam was cooking, Jolena started a loaf of bread in the bread machine.

When the jam had cooked long enough, Jolena washed some jars. Then she spooned the jam into the clean jars.

She left the jars of jam on the big cutting board on the stove.

When the bread was baked, she took it out of the oven.

While it was cooling, she went and found a clean cloth napkin. She wrapped it in a cloth napkin and left it on the counter.

The little old woman and the little old man returned in the evening.

"I'm tired," the little old woman said, as she put down her suitcase. "I'm not looking forward to cleaning the house,"
"I'll do the dusting," said the little old man. "Then we can run the vacuum. Just let me get a good night's sleep first."

Then the two real human people stopped and looked around. Something was different, and they had the feeling they were being watched.

"The house looks clean," said the little old woman.
"It smells clean, too," said the little old man, "and I think I smell fresh bread! We must have elves!" he added with a laugh. He looked around. (Elves! What a silly thought!)

The "elves" stifled their giggles.

The old couple walked into the kitchen, following the smells.

There they found the jars of homemade tomato jam, still warm.

On the counter was the bread, wrapped in a cloth napkin, also still warm.

The little old lady and the little old man thought they knew who had been busy in their house. "We should do something to thank them," the little old man suggested.
"I know what!" the little old lady exclaimed. "I'll write them a story about how dolls cleaned the house!"
"No one will believe it," the little old man pointed out.
"I'll just start it the way you start fairy tales," she replied, "'Once upon a time...'"
"Does that mean we get to live happily ever after?" he asked with a smile.
The old lady nodded. "It has worked so far," she pointed out.

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 from KTL
Beatrice: Eufy 35C RoboVac
The little old lady and the little old man: themselves

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.

"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.

Author's page on Amazon.

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