"What are you doing, Mariah?" Pippa asked as she climbed up next to the older doll.
Mariah turned to look at Pippa. "I'm doing my homework," she replied.
"But you just got home!" Pippa cried. "Don't you want to play for a while before you do homework?"
Mariah laughed. "That isn't how I do it," she said.
"I've found that I do better if I do my homework before I play," Mariah explained, "while what I learned is still fresh in my mind. That's why I always do my homework first."
"Don't you need a break?" Pippa asked.
"I walked home with Charlotte," Mariah said. "That was a nice break. We talked about interesting things while we walked."
As you know, Charlotte and Mariah often walk to school and back together.
Sometimes they they ride bicycles if it's their turn to use them.
There are only three bicycles for eight dolls. Pippa is a little bit too small for the dolls' bicycles, so that's really three bicycles for seven dolls. It means that Mariah and Charlotte could ride almost every other day, if they wanted, but they often let the other dolls have their turn because they would rather walk.
"Walking home from school is a nice break," Mariah said again.
"Don't you want to play outside before it gets dark?" Pippa asked.
"We played outside during recess," Mariah said.
"I want to be sure my homework is done," Mariah added, "and sometimes I think of something later that I want to add to or change from what I've done. It would be too late to start if I'm already putting on my sleep mask to go to bed."
"I have found that doing my homework first works better for me," Mariah explained. "That's why I do it as soon as I get home."
Then Mariah thought for a moment. "Pippa," she said, "when do you do your homework?"
"When I feel like it," Pippa said, throwing her hands up in the air to emphasize her point.
"When do you feel like it?" Mariah asked.
Pippa had to think about that. "Usually about bedtime," she replied. "Whenever I get to choose what I'd rather do, one thing or the other," Pippa explained, "I choose the activity I like best. If I have to decide whether I want to play or do my homework, I would usually rather play. If I have to decide whether I want to do homework or go to bed, I would rather do homework."
Mariah shook her head. Well, she rolled her head, actually. She would have rolled her eyes, but her eyes don't move, so she rolled her head instead. When she stopped rolling her head, she asked the younger doll, "And how is that working out for you?"
Pippa had to think about that. She didn't have a ready answer, because she had never thought about how well her decision-making was working for her.
"Sometimes," Pippa said, looking up to help her remember, "I don't get my homework finished, because you and the other dolls turn out the lights," she said, "even though you could sleep just fine with the lights on, because you're wearing your sleep masks. It's hard to write holding a flashlight!"
"Does that mean you go to school the next day without finishing your homework?" Mariah asked, clearly shocked.
"Yes, sometimes," Pippa replied.
"What does your teacher think about that?" was Mariah's next question.
"We had a talk a few days ago," Pippa said. "My teacher said she thought I was using my size to get away with not doing my work."
"Your size?" Mariah wanted to know. "What does your size have to do with it?"
"It's because I'm different from the other dolls," Pippa said. "Everyone else is your size, and I'm the only one who's small. My teacher said that even though some things are harder for me because I'm small, learning isn't one of them."
"That's certainly true!" Mariah agreed. "Your teacher is right. Your head may be a lot smaller than mine is, but your brain is just as big, because doll brains don't take up any space. That's why if someone takes our heads off, what they see inside looks like mostly empty space. You can't see our brains, because they are pretend brains."
Both dolls were quiet for a few minutes.
Finally Mariah spoke again. "It sounds like that––I mean, how you handle your homework––isn't working for you very well," she said, thoughtfully.
Both dolls were quiet for a few seconds. "I have an idea," Mariah said suddenly. "Why don't you bring your homework here and do it now, while I'm doing mine. We can do our homework together! That way, if I have a question about my homework, I can ask you, and you can help me," she suggested.
Pippa thought it would be nice to help Mariah, so she ran off to get her school books and her worksheet. Soon the two dolls were working side-by-side.
Every once in a while, Mariah would ask Pippa her opinion about something.
Pippa is a very good reader, so she has already learned a lot since she came out of her box. She knows that everything you read (including these stories) teaches you something you didn't know before.
Yes, Pippa is a very good reader...and Mariah is a very good teacher!
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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