Emil and Billy had come out of the house to sit on the deck, to watch the squirrels and birds.
"That's true," Billy agreed.
Emil looked at Billy. "You mean the plants don't look as green to you?" he asked. "I thought my eyes were getting worse, or my special glasses weren't working," he added. "That's a relief!"
Then he thought for a moment. "Well, if the plants aren't as green, that makes me wonder why," he said finally, as they sat down on the steps.
"I remember it was the same way last year," Billy told him. "You came in September, when everything was still green. When I came, almost a year before you, it was November. A lot of the plants and grass were already turning brown and the trees had lost their leaves. Don't worry, though. If it's like last year, they will all be mostly green again in the Spring."
Both boys were quiet for a moment, lost in thought.
"Why are plants green," Emil wondered, "and not another color?"
"Yes, I wonder why that is," Billy said.
The boys looked at each other. "Let's ask Mandy!" They both said at once.
Mandy was knitting on the windowsill in the living room, knitting. She looked up when they came in. "I know you have a question," she said. "I can tell by the way you're looking at me. What is it?"
"We were wondering why the plants stopped being green," Billy said. "I'm pretty sure it's connected with the snow somehow," he added, "but I don't know why."
"It isn't exactly because of the snow," Mandy said, "but the color of the plants changing, the leaves falling from the trees and the snow are all part of the seasons we have in this part of the world."
"I remember," Billy said, "when you showed us how the sun is at a lower angle this time of year, and that causes winter."
"Very good, Billy," Mandy said. "I'm glad you remembered that. You should explain to Emil how it works."
Billy nodded. He enjoyed teaching Emil things. He felt like a big brother.
"I know how the seasons happen," Billy said, "and I know that the plants and leaves change color, but I don't know why they're green during the warmer part of the year."
"Yes," Emil agreed. "I want to know that, too. That's our question. Why aren't they red or blue?"
"Only flowers are red or blue or purple," Billy added. "Almost all of the leaves are green, except in the Fall when some of the leaves on the trees and bushes change to yellow, orange or red, before they fall to the ground."
"That's because leaves have something called chlorophyll (KLOR-uh-fill) in them" Mandy explained. "It's green. The plants use it to make their food."
The boys both repeated the word chlorophyll.
"How does that work?" Emil wanted to know. "Is it like a kitchen?"
"Sort of, or like a factory," Mandy agreed, "but very, very tiny; so small you can't see it with just your eyes."
"Even good eyes, like Billy's?" Emil asked.
"Even good eyes like Billy's," Mandy agreed. "We would need a microscope (MY-kroh-skope) to see it, and even then it wouldn't look like a kitchen or a factory."
"I know what a microscope is," Billy said. "It makes things bigger, so you can see things that are too tiny to see."
Mandy thought for a moment. Then she suggested they go to the window where one of the houseplants was.
"You will notice," she began, after she climbed up next to the plant, "that each of the houseplants is close to a window, and their leaves are green."
The boys nodded. "I know plants need light," Billy said.
"I know most plants are green," Emil added. "Do they need light to make their food?" he asked.
"That's right!" Mandy exclaimed. "That's exactly what they do. We give plants water and a place where they have light. Plants use their chlorophyll to turn what they get from the water and the air they breathe in into food. They use the energy they get from light to do that. The way they do it is called photosynthesis (foto-SIN-thih-sis)."
The boys both said photosynthesis, the way Mandy had said it, so maybe they would remember it.
"So that's why we need to water plants," Emil said.
"Mostly," Mandy agreed. "Plants can dry out if they don't have enough water, and they need water to carry food and other things they need to the rest of the plant, but they also use parts of the water to make their food."
"Then why do most of the outdoor plants stop being green in the winter," Billy asked.
"They go to sleep," Mandy explained. "When the days get shorter, the leaves lose their chlorophyll. They dry up and fall to the ground. We say that the plants go dormant (DOHR-munt). That's how they live when the weather is too cold and the days are too short to make their food."
"Lots of trees are still green," Billy pointed out, like the big Christmas tree in the front yard."
"Yes," Mandy agreed. "The big tree in the front yard is a fir tree. It's one of the kinds of trees we call evergreen because they stay green all year. It has needles instead of leaves. The needles are sturdy and don't stay covered with snow for long, so they can keep working all year, even when it's freezing and the days are short."
The dolls sat down on the sofa to finish their chat. Marmalade climbed into Mandy's lap to be petted.
"Now I have another question," Billy said.
"I've been thinking," Billy continued, "about how you said the plants breathe in air. I don't breathe in air, because I'm a doll, but I know real children breathe in air."
Mandy nodded.
"So why is there still air all around us?" Billy asked.
"I wanted to know that, too," Emil put in. "With people and animals and plants all breathing in the air, why isn't the air all gone?"
"That's the best part," Mandy explained. "People and plants don't use up the air. "When plants breathe in the air, they only take out what they need from it. What they need is called carbon dioxide (KAHR-bun dye-OX-ide). It's made of one part of something called carbon and two parts of something called oxygen (OX-uh-jun). The plants use the carbon and breathe out the oxygen."
"People and animals need oxygen," Mandy continued, "but they can't take it out of the carbon dioxide. When they breathe, they take the oxygen out of the air and breathe out carbon dioxide. That way plants help people and animals breathe, and people and animals help plants breathe."
The three dolls sat and thought about that for a few minutes. They thought it was amazing.
"You know," Billy said finally, "I was thinking about that plant we were looking at. "It had red flowers on it. If the green chlorophyll helps the plants make their food, why don't they put it in their flowers, too?"
"That, my dear brother," Mandy replied, removing Marmalade from her lap, "is another long story, and one for another day. I need to get back to my knitting!"
Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
New words: chlorophyll, microscope, photosynthesis, dormant, carbon dioxide, oxygen
Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as CURE Childhood Cancer, St. Baldrick's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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