Friday, November 12, 2021

Sky Blue

There once was a little girl doll who lived in a very big house by a very big wood. 

Her hair was the color of ripe wheat in an autumn field, ready for harvest, and her eyes were such a light blue that they were like the sky on a cool fall afternoon.

The little girl doll's eyes were so remarkable that the human child she lived with called her Sky Blue, instead of her name. The parents of the human child she lived with called her Sky Blue, too, and so did the human child's brother. The little girl doll had been called Sky Blue so long, she had forgotten her real name. It didn't matter, though, because she was happy being Sky Blue. Life was good!

The human child Sky Blue lived with was a nice little girl, but she could be forgetful sometimes. One day, when the little girl had Sky Blue outdoors in the woods, playing, the little girl's brother came by, and the little girl ran off to play with him, leaving Sky Blue on the ground, pretending to sleep.

Sky Blue couldn't sleep, of course, because the little girl had left Sky Blue's sleep mask at home in the dolls' clothes box. Sky Blue is the kind of doll with eyes that don’t close, so, of course, she can’t sleep without a sleep mask. Time passed, and it was getting late.

Soon it began to grow dark. The little girl had forgotten Sky Blue, who, by now, was tired of pretending to sleep.

Sky Blue folded up the blanket and looked around. It was getting darker quickly now. Soon she wouldn’t be able to see where she was walking. She did not know the way home, because the little girl had carried her, but she could see lights through the trees. Maybe that was where the house was, so she made her way carefully through the woods in the direction of the lights.

Sky Blue came to a big house for human people, but it was not her home.

It was now quite dark, though, so instead of wandering off to look for her own home with no idea which way to go, she went up onto the front porch. She rapped on the door, because she could not reach the doorbell. She waited.

After a few minutes, she knocked again, and again she waited.

When no one came, Sky Blue knocked as hard as she could on the door with both hands. The lights were on! Someone must be home!

Finally, the door began to open, but slowly, as if with great effort, and Sky Blue saw a face above her in the doorway.

"Who are you?" asked the face.

"I am called Sky Blue," she told the face. "I'm lost. My human child forgot about me and left me in the woods. I don't know my way home."

The face turned out to belong to what seemed to Sky Blue as a very tall boy doll. He opened the door and invited Sky Blue in.

Sitting around in the living room were six other very big dolls.

I have come to the home of a family of giants, Sky Blue thought. There are seven of them! I'm in the home of The Seven Giants!

Now, Sky Blue had never heard of The Seven Giants before. She thought that The Seven Giants sounded like a baseball team, but she was pretty sure seven was not enough to play baseball. However, thinking of them as The Seven Giants made Sky Blue feel more comfortable about being there.

The Seven Giants invited their visitor to sit with them in the living room. They were just getting ready to have tea.

While one of the dolls passed out the tea cups, Sky Blue told them how the little human girl she lived with had left her in the woods and forgotten her.

The little girl had not really forgotten Sky Blue, at least not forever. When she had arrived home with her brother after it got dark, she had looked for her doll and then remembered that she had left Sky Blue in the woods, pretending to sleep. It was too dark now to go out and look for her, and it made her sad. When she brushed her teeth, she did not see her own face in the mirror in the bathroom. Sky Blue's sweet face filled the mirror! 

The little girl had several dolls, but Sky Blue was the fairest of them all!

When Sky Blue's child saw her bed, she saw Sky Blue's pajamas, lying there, right where she had left them. 

When the little girl climbed into bed, there was no Sky Blue to snuggle with, so she had to settle for her bear, who was very nice, but not Sky Blue.

By the time the little girl had gone to sleep, her pillow was damp. Can you guess why?

Meanwhile, while one of The Seven Giants was getting more pretend tea, Sky Blue finished telling her story about why such a small doll was out alone in the dark.

"I know where you live," one of the dolls said. "It's a big house with a family that has a human boy and a human girl. Let's get our human old lady to take you home."

The human old lady The Seven Giants lived with wasn't exactly a witch, but she had been around for a while and knew some things. When they explained Sky Blue's problem to the old lady, she agreed to take Sky Blue home. She left to put her broom away. She would not need it to take the little doll home. She had a car.

"But you must take this to your child," she said, when she returned, holding out an apple to Sky Blue. "It isn't magic, exactly, but when she eats it, she will wake up to her responsibilities. She will never be able to forget you in the woods again."

Sky Blue thought that sounded like a good deal, and it made her happy. She took the apple and headed to the door with the old lady, holding the apple with both arms and dragging the blanket behind her. (The apple was very heavy!)

When the little girl woke up in the morning, her pillow was dry, but then she remembered her doll and began to cry again. Suddenly, through the tears, she noticed who was with her in bed. It wasn't just her bear, but Sky Blue was there, asleep next to her. Sky Blue was wearing her own pajamas and sleep mask. How did she get there?

"Did I just dream about leaving you in the woods?" the little girl asked out loud. "Was it just a bad dream? It seemed so real!" The little human girl gave her doll a kiss. Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed.

Sky Blue woke up when her child kissed her. She smiled to herself. She knew she had been missed.

After she got out of bed, the little girl noticed an apple on the tray by her bed.

She was suddenly very hungry.


Cast--
Sky Blue: Götz Little Kidz Lotta (Pippa)
The Seven Giants:
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

Photo of wheat field Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash
Many thanks to the Brothers Grimm for unearthing the story that became "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." It was this story that inspired "Sky Blue." If you are very brave and mostly grown up, you can find out more about the original story here.

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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 StorybookClassic 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
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.



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Copyright © 2021, 2024 by Peggy Stuart



2 comments:

  1. My girls cheered at the end when she found her way back home. Another excellent story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So glad she made it home. Just magic!!!

    ReplyDelete

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