Veronika was reading in the living room when Jolena came home. "How did practice go, Jolena?" she asked.
Jolena brought her ski equipment into the hall and stopped.
"Practice was OK," she replied as she put skis down, "but I think I did something wrong, and it's making me feel bad."
"Come and sit next to me," Veronika suggested, patting the couch next to where she was sitting, "and tell me about it."
"I don't know how you can help," Jolena replied, "but I do think I would like to talk about it."
Jolena climbed up on the couch and sat next to Veronika. For a long time she was silent, just collecting her thoughts. She wasn't sure how to start.
Veronika waited.
Finally, Jolena gave a big sigh. "I broke the binding to one of Jason's skis," she said.
"How did that happen," Veronika asked.
"I stepped on it," Jolena said. "We were all taking our equipment off. Then I decided to take off my jacket, because it was warm in the lodge. I stood up to put my jacket on the bench. That's when I stepped on his ski. The binding broke."
"What did Jason say?" Veronika asked.
"He didn't see it happen," Jolena replied. "He had left his skis and gone off to talk to someone."
Jolena was quiet for a while. Then she went on. "I didn't know what to do," she said, "so I didn't do anything. I just picked up my things and put them away. When Jason came back and saw that his binding was broken, he was upset."
"Did you explain what happened?" Veronika asked.
"No," Jolena replied. "I was afraid he would be mad at me. I just pretended I didn't know anything about it. I feel bad that it happened. I didn't mean to do it."
"I know you feel bad, Jolena," Veronika said then. "You feel like you damaged something that belongs to someone else, but it isn't just because you accidentally broke Jason's binding."
Jolena looked up. "What is it, then?" she asked.
Veronika explained, "You also feel bad because you caused Jason to be upset and you didn't tell him about it. That's dishonest."
Veronika paused, so Jolena could think about it. "Then," she went on, "you couldn't apologize, because he didn't know you did it. You can't apologize without telling the person what you've done. Apologizing makes everyone feel better about what happened."
"Oh, no!" Jolena exclaimed. "Now it's too late!"
"It's never too late, Jolena," Veronika assured her, "but now you will have to confess to him. It's just harder because you didn't do it right away."
"I'll tell him tomorrow," Jolena decided. "I have some money saved. Maybe I can pay for fixing it."
Veronika clapped her hands. She thought that was a great idea.
Jolena felt a little better now, because she had a plan. Now she knew what she needed to do. She thought it over in her head. She decided just what she would say. She decided she would say, "I'm the one who broke your ski binding! I'm sorry it happened, and I should have told you right away. I can pay for your binding to be fixed. Just let me know how much it is."
Veronika was reading with Pippa when Jolena came home the next day after ski practice.
Jolena put down her things and took her jacket off.
"Well?" Veronika asked after Jolena had taken off her jacket.
"I told him," Jolena said as she placed her hair band on the table. "I explained that I was the one who stepped on his ski and broke the binding. I told him I was sorry it happened and that I was sorry I didn't tell him right away. I told him I would be more careful from now on, and watch where I step." Jolena paused, as she climbed up onto the couch.
Veronika encouraged Jolena to go on.
"I told Jason I thought I had enough money saved to pay to have the binding fixed," Jolena explained.
"What did Jason say?" Veronika wanted to know.
"Jason said he had been thinking about what happened," Jolena replied. "He said he realized it was really his fault. He should have put his skis up in the rack before going off and leaving them where they could be stepped on. He wasn't mad at me. He wouldn't even let me pay for the repair."
Jolena gave a big sigh. "I feel so much better!" she said.
"Not everyone will be as nice as Jason," Veronika pointed out. "Some people don't like to accept the blame for something they did wrong, so they're happy to put it on someone else, "but we always feel better when we confess what we've done if we damage something that belongs to someone else or do something that hurts them. We feel better when we admit what we did wrong and apologize. It makes us feel better because we know we did the right thing."
"At least I know it was an accident," Jolena said.
"Yes," Veronika agreed. "Sometimes we do something on purpose that hurts someone, and then the apology is even more important."
Jolena couldn't imagine hurting another doll on purpose, but she supposed it could happen. "It must be really hard to say you're sorry," she said, "if you aren't."
"Um, Veronika," Pippa said then. "Remember your box of pins you found spilled all over the workroom floor?"
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
"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.
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