Together

"I wasn't here for most of the year," Emil said one day in early January. "What did all of you do together before I came?"

The dolls were sitting around the fire, because it was cold out. They all thought back over the past year.

The first big event they thought of was Veronika's birthday, which will be coming up again soon.
"Veronika's birthday!" Billy said, looking up at Veronika. "That was fun!"

"Yes," Charlotte said. "Instead of a regular party, we made pretend popcorn and put together a packet of food for people who don't have anything to eat."

"We each brought something to go in it," Jolena added, "instead of a present for Veronika. It's what she asked for for her birthday. The Writer gave it to a person she saw when she was out. The person was holding up a sign."
The dolls who were at the party remembered putting the food into a bag. It made them happy to help a real person who needs real food to eat.

"One day The Writer was sick," Mandy said. "She couldn't get out of bed to do the housework."

"We were worried that she wouldn't be able to write the story that week," Charlotte said, "so we worked together to do the housework for her."

"That was a lot of fun," Billy said. "I felt just like a real boy, running the vacuum with Jolena!"

"When it was time for Mandy's birthday," Jolena said, "she told us she wanted to donate money to help sick children. We didn't have any real money, but we thought about all the bottles and cans that The Writer paid a deposit (de-PAW-sit) for. We took them to the store to get a refund (RE-fund) of the deposit. They gave us back the money she paid."

"We had to climb up on the bottle and can machines to put the empty bottles and cans in," Jolena agreed. "I got to go into the store to pick up the money, like a real girl."

"We had permission to do that," Veronika put in, "and to send the money to a place that helps sick children."
"We got a thank-you letter from them," Mariah added.

"Another time, we made soup out of matzoh crackers," Jolena said. "It was for Charlotte's special meal for Passover.
"We all did something to help," Mariah added. "It was fun!"

"Remember that day when we came home and found we were locked out?" Billy asked. "We had to wait. It was boring just sitting around."
"We made things out of the paper from the recycling bin," Veronika said.
"Billy and I had to go through the dog door to get the tape," Jolena explained.

"I liked when we put on the play about the fuzzies," Mariah said. "I felt like a real actor!"
"We each had things we had to learn to say," Veronika said, "so we would say the right things at the right time."

The dolls all nodded. They thought the play went well, and that made them happy.

"Then one day," Charlotte said, "the weather got so hot we thought our vinyl would melt, so we tried to find ways to cool off."

"Not too long after that," Billy said, "we helped Jolena make ice cream! We used a special machine. I like machines."

"We played a lot of indoor games together," Mariah said, "like cards or gossip."

The dolls remembered that they played outdoors, too. They played jump rope, hide-and-seek, and hopscotch.

They rode their bicycles and played on the play set in the backyard. They went for hikes together.

"You know," said Billy finally, "We did a lot of fun things before you came, Emil, but I think the most fun thing of all started with your letter."
"I agree," Jolena said. "We didn't know how much we needed you until you came. It started out with the letter. Don't you all agree?" Jolena looked at the other dolls.

"Yes," Veronika agreed. "You said you would like to come live with us. We talked it over together. We all thought it was a good letter."

"Then we voted on it," Mandy said. "Every doll agreed that we should invite you to come and be part of our family."

"When you arrived," Jolena said, "that was even better!"
"That was the best part for me, too," Emil agreed, and laughed.

"Now we have adventures with you!" Billy exclaimed. "Those are the best adventures!"

"Like when The Writer went away for a week and we were all alone in the house?" Emil asked. "We sat around and remembered all the things each of us did by ourselves."

All the dolls nodded. "That was fun!" Billy agreed. "All the other things we did during that week were fun, too."
They thought about it for a moment. Then all the dolls laughed at the same time.

What do you suppose these well-behaved dolls did when they were home alone for a whole week? What would you do, if you were home alone for a whole week?

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

If you want to go back and read the stories the dolls talked about, here they are.

Veronika's Birthday
A Good Turn
The Birthday Gift
Celebrations
Paper Fun
Fuzzy Town––A Play
Heat Wave
Ice-cream Social
The Last of Summer
Emil
Welcome, Emil!
And a story yet to come....

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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.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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