Courage

Veronika thought Mariah looked down in the dumps. She seemed sad. She seemed upset.

Veronika climbed up on the couch to sit next to her sister. "What's the matter, Mariah?" she asked. "Are you OK?"

Mariah was quiet for a moment. Veronika saw Mariah's lower lip tremble. She thought Mariah was going to cry.
Then Mariah said, "We were practicing on the stage for the play at school. There were some dolls sitting in the seats where the dolls in the audience (AW-dee-intz) will sit to watch the play. They were pointing at me and whispering and giggling."

"Then I heard them say some words that weren't nice," Mariah continued while Veronika listened. "I won't say what those words were, but I knew they were talking about the color of my vinyl in a way that meant that there was something wrong with being the color it is."
"That isn't nice," Veronika said. "What did you do?" 

"Well," Mariah began, "I tried to concentrate on my lines and to stay in character (KAH-rik-ter). That means keep pretending to be the doll I'm supposed to be in the play."

"That's the right thing to do, Mariah," Veronika agreed. "Did you get through your part OK?"
"Yes, Mariah said, "but those dolls were very hard to ignore. It was distracting, and I felt bad. It made me afraid."

"Why did that make you afraid?" Veronika asked.

"It's just I was thinking," Mariah said, "what if they come to the play and do that during the performance (per-FOR-ments)? What if other dolls in the audience do it, too. I'm already afraid of being on stage with real dolls sitting, watching me. What if I mess up my lines?" she asked.

Mariah continued, "What if I forget where to walk or don't sound like the doll I'm supposed to be? What if I let everyone down because I'm not any good?"
She was glad she could tell someone about how scared she was and Veronika is a good listener.

Mariah sighed. "Now I'm not sure I want to be in the play anymore," she said, "but I promised the teacher. I don't want to let down the other dolls in the play, so I have to go through with it, even though I'm afraid. They need me."

"That shows that you're brave, Mariah," Veronika pointed out. "You have courage (KUH-ridj)."
"Oh, no I don't," cried Mariah. "I'm very afraid. In fact, I'm more than afraid. I'm terrified (TER-a-fyd)!"

"Mariah," Veronika said quietly, "if you weren't afraid you wouldn't need courage. Having courage is going ahead with something you have to do even though you're afraid. If you aren't afraid, it isn't being brave. It doesn't take courage to do something you aren't afraid to do."

"I know you will be fine, Mariah," Veronika went on, "because you're working hard at it. I know if you or one of the other dolls in the play make a mistake, you will cover it up and make it seem as if that's how it was supposed to be. The audience won't know." 

"Even if you aren't able to cover it up," Veronika went on, "it isn't the end of the world. The audience will remember the play and forget the mistakes."

Mariah thought for a moment. "Maybe I don't need to be afraid of acting in front of an audience, but what if those dolls come back and start making fun of me?" she asked.

"If they dare to do that," Veronika pointed out, "someone will tell them to be quiet or even make them leave. When you are in an audience watching someone perform, you are supposed to be quiet and listen."

Mariah thought about that for a while. Then she gave a big sigh. "Why do some dolls have to pick on others," she asked.

"Well," Veronika replied, "I'm not sure what makes bullies. It isn't right for them to try to make you afraid because you are different from them. They don't understand that it's great that we're all different in some way. Even dolls that are all made exactly alike are different inside. Maybe the dolls who are bullies know they're different, but they think it means they don't belong. Maybe it makes them afraid." 

"Maybe they need courage!" Mariah exclaimed. "Maybe they don't know how to be brave, but why do they pick on me?" she asked. "How does that help?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe they try to make themselves believe that the color of their vinyl somehow makes them better than you," Veronika went on. "Maybe they want to think they belong just because of their vinyl color."

"Then they find other dolls who are not afraid and get them to join in being mean, so they feel they at least belong to that group."
Mariah nodded. "If they start calling me names again," Mariah suggested, "maybe I can pretend I'm in a play about bullies." 

"That's a great idea," Veronika agreed. "You'll be the hero of the play!"
"I'll just be kind to them and pretend I'm not upset," Mariah went on. "Maybe I'll pretend I'm trying to set a good example for them." 

"That's a great idea!" Veronika agreed. "Bullies want to see the dolls they pick on show fear. If you pretend you aren't afraid, maybe they will leave you alone. If you are kind to them, maybe they will learn to be kind, too." 

"I'll use my courage," Mariah said. "I can act the part of a doll who isn't afraid."
"Courage is useful, isn't it?" Veronika pointed out. "There are lots of things in a doll's life that can be scary. We have to be brave to get through them." 

Again Mariah nodded. "It's good to have courage" she said.
"It's good to be able to act, too," Veronika pointed out. Then she thought for a moment. "I think when you pretend to be brave, you start to feel brave inside," she said.
Mariah thought about that. She was starting to feel better.

Finally, she said, "I think I can do it. I may have to practice before I get good at it, but it will give me a way to behave. I will just pretend I'm in a play. I think I was afraid because I didn't know what to do."

"Mariah, there are thousands of dolls just like me," Veronika said, "but they only made 250 dolls just like you. Even though there are still a lot of dolls who look like you, you are still one of a kind!"

"There may be thousands of dolls who look like you," Mariah said, "but there's only one of you, too. It always helps me to talk to you."

"You figured it out yourself, Mariah," Veronika said. "You just needed to talk about it with someone."

"You're a good listener, Veronika" Mariah sighed. 
"I guess that makes us both special," Veronika agreed. "We all need to talk things over with someone who listens."

All dolls are special. All children are special, too. Do your dolls know how special they are?

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend

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.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

Image on Mariah's shirt used with permission with thanks, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.


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