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, August 14, 2026

Working Together

Several years ago, when there were only six dolls in "The Doll's Storybook," Jolena came into the workroom, where the dolls like to hang out.
"We have a problem!" she cried.
All the dolls looked up from what they were doing.

"What is it?" Mandy asked.
"The Writer has to stay in bed for a few days," Jolena said. "She's sick!"
"Human people get sick sometimes," Veronika said. "Don't worry. I'm sure she will be well soon."

"Yes, I know, and it isn't serious, but the stories!" Jolena exclaimed. "How can she write this week's story with all the housework that has to come first?"
"I could write it if I were good enough," sighed Mariah.
"I could take the photos," added Billy, "unless I have to be in them." Then he had a thought. "Oh, wait! I can use the phone camera. I can set up the tripod for the photo, set the timer on the phone, then run and get in the photo!"

"Why don't we think about the housework first?" suggested Charlotte. "Then we can see how much help is needed with the stories."
"Yes, we can help with the housework," said Veronika. "In fact, we can even do the housework if we work together."
The dolls made a list of everything that needed doing while The Writer was sick. They started with the things most important to their human family members. Mariah can write quickly, so she wrote the list, while everyone suggested what to put on it.

Here's what the list looked like.

Cooking
Making tea
Feeding the dogs
Washing dishes
Laundry
Groceries
Making the beds
Dusting
Vacuuming
Cleaning the bathrooms
Taking out the trash

Then the dolls worked together to assign each of the jobs to a pair of dolls. They would work in pairs, because they are small, and it's easier to do things if they work together.

Jolena was put in charge of the cooking, including making the tea and buying the groceries. Billy agreed to help. He would be her assistant. When they were done with the food, they could do as much of the dusting and vacuuming that they had time for.
Charlotte and Mandy agreed to do the laundry and clean the bathrooms. Mariah and Veronika teamed up to put the clean sheets on the beds and take all the trash out to the street for pickup. Then they would help anyone who hadn't finished. They went off in pairs to do their jobs.
Jolena and Billy went to the kitchen. They checked the pantry and then the refrigerator to see what foods were running low. Billy held the door so it wouldn't close while Jolena was in there, because it's very dangerous to be inside a refrigerator and not be able to get out, even if you're made of vinyl!

Billy helped Jolena pull out some things from the pantry that she thought would be good together. She looked at her recipes on the tablet to find something she could make with what she had found in the pantry and in the refrigerator. She decided on a stew with black-eyed peas with potatoes and cabbage.

While she was doing that, Billy put down some fresh dog food and water for the real dogs that lived in the house.

Next Jolena and Billy made a grocery list. They wrote down all the food the family needed from the store to get them through the next few days. None of the dolls could drive, so Billy found a grocery delivery service online, and Jolena called to order the food they needed. The person at the other end of the phone call wanted a credit card, so they went to ask The Writer if it was OK to use her credit card. It was. They climbed into The Writer's purse to find it. Billy held the flashlight while Jolena looked through The Writer's wallet.

After the groceries were ordered, Jolena made tea to take to The Writer. She put the teapot, a cup and saucer, a spoon, a pitcher of milk and a little plate of cookies on a tray. Jolena explained to Billy that The Writer doesn't need sugar in her tea, because she is already sweet enough.

Jolena and Billy carried the tray together carefully up to the bedroom. They worked together to get the tray up the stairs without spilling anything.
Then Jolena started some bread in the bread machine. She checked it after just a few minutes to make sure the dough wasn't too dry or too wet, while she could still add water or flour.

The dough looked good, so Jolena and Billy carefully cut up the vegetables and put them into the slow cooker with some black-eyed peas, water, some spices and a can of tomatoes. It would cook for several hours. Then they had time to do something else until it was time to bake the bread in the oven and then finish fixing supper.
While Jolena and Billy were working on the food, Mandy changed into some casual clothes, and she and Charlotte worked together to start the laundry. They put clothes, sheets and towels into the washing machine with some detergent. Then they turned it on.

While the clothes were washing, Mandy and Charlotte got ready to clean the bathrooms. First they put on their wellies.

They would need these boots when they cleaned the toilet. They are small, so it's easier if they work together.

While they worked, Mandy and Charlotte listened for the buzzer that told them the washer was done. When they heard it, they went back to the laundry room and put the wet clothes into the dryer.
Meanwhile, Mariah and Veronika had been working together to put clean sheets on the beds. The Writer had moved to a chair in the bedroom, so they could work. Getting the old sheets off the bed was easy, but putting the clean ones on took more effort. Mariah got on one side to pull the sheets and blankets up and tuck them in.

Veronika helped from the other side.

It took a long time, because they are very small, and the beds are very big, but they could do it, because they worked together.
Meanwhile, Billy and Jolena did the dusting. Mandy had explained to them that they should do the dusting before they ran the vacuum, because when you dust, most of the dust falls onto the floor, where the vacuum can pick it up. You start at the top and work your way down. Some of the things on the shelves had to be picked up and dusted.

"This would go much faster," Billy suggested, "if we didn't have so many little things to dust. Then I could even do it by myself."
"That may be true," agreed Jolena, "but what if we needed one of these little things for a story? Like this rock that I'm dusting, maybe, for a story about geology. That's the study of the earth. It includes learning about rocks."
While Billy thought that over, the two dolls worked together to do the vacuuming. The vacuum is heavy, but Billy and Jolena are very strong when they work together, and they are close to the floor, so they can see tiny things that need to be picked up.

When Mariah and Veronika had finished with the beds, they collected all the trash from the house and put it into the bigger wastebasket that was in the kitchen.

They put a new trash bag into the kitchen wastebasket. Then they took the kitchen trash bag out to the big trash can outdoors. Then they moved the big trash can to the street, because it would be picked up tomorrow. It's very big and heavy, so they had to push hard. They could do it because they are stronger together.

Then they took a turn helping with the vacuuming, because there is a lot of floor to clean.
Jolena and Billy finished the bread by putting the dough into a pan and baking it in the oven. They had to be very careful around the stove, because it can be very hot. They didn't want their vinyl to melt. The bread turned out nicely and no one was hurt.

When it was time for supper, Jolena and Billy put a dish with the stew onto a tray to take upstairs to The Writer.
After they delivered supper, Jolena and Billy found the other dolls waiting for them on the stairs.
"She's feeling better!" Billy exclaimed.
"Yes," agreed Jolena. "Spending the day in bed was just what she needed."

"The Writer said to tell everyone thank you very much," said Billy. "Not only did we take care of the housework, but we also helped write this week's story!"
"It's going to be all about what we did today," Jolena added.

Just then, the dryer buzzer went off. "Bzzzzzzz!" it said. Mandy and Charlotte jumped up and brought the clean, dry laundry into the workroom, where Veronika and Mariah helped them fold it. They told Billy and Jolena to go sit down and rest, because they still had the dishwasher to load in a little while.
Billy and Jolena did sit down to rest, but they knew they could load the dishwasher quickly, because they could work together.

"This has been fun," said Billy after he put the last dish into the dishwasher. "Let's do it again sometime!"
The other dolls agreed with Billy. It was fun to work together to do things that none of them could do alone.

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

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>

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 (FLEES)," 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 is Rambo. He looks the most like a real sheep," Mandy told them.
"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 these hand carders." Mandy lifted two big brushes up onto the table and turned them so the other dolls could see the teeth. The teeth were made of wire.

"They look like dog brushes." Charlotte said.
"They are a lot like dog brushes," Mandy agreed, "and like dog brushes, the teeth, or bristles (BRIH-suls), 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 fibers with their hands as the wheel takes the wool and twists it.

Veronika and I can do this, but it takes two of us together, 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 very easily. 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

Photo of sheep being shorn: freepik.com