"So, what's pawternity leave, anyway?" Pippa asked as the dolls sat around the big table in the workroom.
Mandy turned to Veronika. "Would you like to explain, or do you want me to?" she asked.
"It's like maternity leave or paternity leave," Veronika explained. "Maternity leave is when a mother stays home from work for a time to look after a new baby. Paternity leave is when the father stays home to look after a new baby."
"As you know," Mandy explained, "The Writer and her husband have a new puppy, so The Writer is going to take pawternity leave for a few weeks to look after him and train him."
"Real puppies can get into a lot of trouble," Veronika said, "until they know what they can do and what they can't do. They need to learn where to sleep and eat, and where to potty. They need to learn what is OK to chew on and play with, and what's OK to eat."
"Like eating dolls hair," Billy suggested. He already had experience with the new puppy.
"I thought he was going to take my wig off!" He exclaimed.
"New puppies like to chew things," Mandy said. "Maybe a doll's hand might feel good to chew on, but a puppy has to learn what things are OK to chew on and play with." The dolls had watched the new puppy chew his chew toys and play with the older dog and his toys. They had been staying up off the floor as much as possible since the puppy joined the family.
"Where's Jolena?" Mariah asked then.
"She's in the kitchen," Veronika replied, "fixing tea for The Writer, so she can relax for a bit."
"The puppy is in his playpen right now," Mandy said. "He went into his crate to take a nap. Puppies are very busy, but they nap a lot, too."
"So," Veronika said, "while The Writer is on pawternity leave, we decided we would help by getting more stories ready."
"Mariah can write up some ideas for stories," she added.
Mariah nodded. She liked to write, and she had lots of ideas.
"Billy can take lots of photos," Mandy suggested.
"Charlotte can play her violin to help the puppy sleep," Veronika said.
"I know lots of lullabies," Charlotte put in.
"We can all help with new stories," Mandy pointed out. "We can work on getting together the wardrobe––that's the clothes––for each story and setting the stage––like where we will act out the story and what will be in the photos, like furniture and props. Props are things like books or dishes or knitting," she added.
"I want to help," Pauly exclaimed, "but I can't think of anything I can do!"
"Don't worry," Pippa assured him. "You and I will just get into trouble as usual, so Mariah will have something to write about."
"Also," Mandy added, "our readers sometimes have good ideas. They can write us with questions they want to know more about. They can send us emails. In the meantime, until the puppy is trained, we will need to stay off the floor!"
Do you have questions for the cast of The Doll's Storybook? If so, write us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.
Since this story was written, The Writer and Mariah have begun writing one new story a month and reediting past stories to post at the normal time on the other weeks. This gives Mariah a chance to reread each one and correct any typos or information that might not be right. If you can't wait and want to read them all, you can do that here.
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
"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.
Copyright © 2023, 2024 by Peggy Stuart
What a cute story! That little puppy is adorable. I love the way you are able to capture the expressions on the dolls’ faces - so realistic!🥰
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