Once upon a time there was a boy doll who lived out in the country. He didn't like to go to school, and dolls were not required to go, so he didn't.
He had to do something, though, because not all dolls can stand around on a shelf and look beautiful, so he decided to tend the toy sheep that had come to the backyard and were pretending to graze.
The boy doll had to lead the toy sheep to the pasture each day, so they could pretend to eat the green grass. Then it was his job to keep them safe, because he was their shepherd (SHEH-perd).
Day after day, the boy doll watched the toy sheep. Each day was just like any other. Nothing interesting ever happened.
No one came to play with him. The toy sheep never did anything interesting. The boy doll was very bored.
One day, the boy doll had an idea. He decided he would have some fun with the two dolls who lived in the house with him.
He left the toy sheep in the pasture and went into the house. "Wolf!" he cried, trying to sound upset and frightened. "There's a wolf after the toy sheep!"
The other dolls heard him and came running. They followed him back out to the pasture, where the toy sheep were peacefully pretending to graze on the green grass.
"Where's the wolf?" smaller of the two dolls asked.
"I don't see a wolf," the bigger one said.
The boy began to laugh. "Ha-ha!" he exclaimed. "I played a trick on you, and you fell for it!"
The other dolls did not think that was very funny, and they told him so. They left him there and went back into the house.
The next day, the boy became bored again. "That was so much fun yesterday," he said to himself. "Their faces looked so surprised, or they would have, if they weren't made of vinyl."
He decided to try the same trick again. He left the toy sheep and went back into the house.
"Wolf!" he yelled, using his upset voice. "There's a wolf after the sheep!"
Again the dolls in the house came running. They followed him back out to the pasture, where the toy sheep were still pretending to eat the green grass.
"I don't see a wolf," the little doll exclaimed in exasperation.
"I don't see a wolf, either," the larger one said.
Then they heard the boy doll laughing. "I fooled you again!" the boy doll laughed.
The other dolls turned around and stomped back to the house, clearly displeased.
"That wasn't nice!" they both yelled at him. "That was a mean trick!"
The next day, while the boy doll was out in the pasture with the sheep a real wolf came along. At least, the boy doll thought it was a wolf. The creature had sharp, pointed teeth and a taste for stuffed toys, so it must be a wolf.
The boy doll ran into the house. "Help!" he cried. "There's a wolf after the sheep!"
"Right!" the larger doll said, turning a page in her book.
"Very funny, smaller doll said, not moving from her seat.
Neither one of the dolls would come and help him protect the toy sheep. No amount of pleading did any good. They would not budge.
The boy doll was really worried about the toy sheep, because no one would help him. He ran back to the pasture, where he expected to see all the toy sheep with their stuffing pulled out, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen. The sheep were still pretending to eat grass.
The boy ran down to the pasture to check to see if each sheep was OK.
"You're very lucky this time," a voice behind the boy doll said.
The boy turned and saw the biggest toy sheep standing there.
"The unthinkable could have happened," the biggest toy sheep said. (He meant that it could have been so horrible, you couldn't even bear to think about it!) "You could have come back out and found nothing but bits of fluff all over the grass," he explained, clearly having thought about it, in spite of the horror.
"Where is the wolf?" the boy asked.
"Someone––one of the human people from the house––threw a ball," the biggest toy sheep replied. "After that, the wolf forgot all about us. You were lucky this time, but next time might be different.
"But I was bored," the boy doll said. "Sitting around watching toy sheep is very boring."
"Pretending to eat grass," the biggest toy sheep pointed out, "isn't exactly fun. You should try it."
The boy doll sat down thought about that. "Trying to get other dolls to help chase a wolf away isn't fun, either," he said, "especially when they wouldn't come."
The boy doll was relieved that the toy sheep hadn't been eaten by the wolf, but he was very sad that the other dolls might never trust him again. "Maybe I'm not meant to be a shepherd," he said to the big sheep. "Maybe school isn't so bad after all!"
Just then, the bigger girl doll came out of the house. "There's a doll at the door," she called. "She's asking for you! It's about the sheep!"
The boy doll left the flock of toy sheep and ran through the house to the front door. There was a girl doll there, standing in the front hall.
"Hi!" said the girl doll. "I got a text from Rambo. He says that he and the other sheep are all here at your house, pretending to eat your lawn."
"I've left them alone long enough," the girl doll explained, "but now it's time for them to come home, wagging their tails behind them."
The boy doll went out and brought all the toy sheep from the backyard, leading them to the front door. There was a lot of tail-wagging. The girl doll handed the boy doll her shepherd's crook*, so she could take the toy sheep with the floppy legs.
"Thank you," the girl doll said. "They are very afraid of wolves, but I'm sure they felt safe here. You must have taken very good care of them, or Rambo would have texted me sooner."
When all the sheep who could walk were out the door, and the girl doll had the sheep with the floppy legs comfortably in her arms, the boy doll gave her shepherd's crook back.
Then the boy doll opened the door again, because the girl doll had her hands full, carrying the sheep with the floppy legs and her crook, and the door knob was very high up.
After the girl and all of her toy sheep were gone, the boy turned and looked at the other two dolls. "I think that girl doll is in my class," he told them. "I think her name is Bo. I've decided that I want to start going to school again."
"Yes," agreed the larger girl doll. "You still have a lot to learn."
Bo Peep: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen (Jolena)
The Other Dolls: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris (Charlotte) and Götz Little Kidz Lotta (Pippa)
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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Copyright © 2021 by Peggy Stuart
What a great story and beautiful pictures ! thank you :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind comments. We had fun making this one. The dolls love it when they get to play someone other than themselves.
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