Planting Bulbs

From the window, Charlotte could see Mariah and Jolena out in the yard. They looked busy, so she went out to see what they were doing.

Each doll had a spoon in her hand. They were sitting in the garden near the little cherub statue.

The two dolls appeared to be trying to dig dirt from the ground with spoons. They looked up when she came close.

"What are you doing, girls?" she asked them.

"We learned that if you plant bulbs in the fall," Mariah replied, "you'll have lovely flowers in the spring."

"Yes," said, Jolena. "We want to have flowers to cheer up the little cherub statue when spring comes, because he has to stay out in the cold all winter."

"It's very nice to have flowers in the spring," Charlotte said, "but where are your bulbs?"

"Why, they're right here," Jolena replied, showing Charlotte a collection of bulbs on the ground. "Didn't you see them?"

"This is a small bulb," Mariah explained. "We think it will give us a small plant with small flowers."

"This bulb is not so small. It's big," Jolena said. "We think it will grow big flowers."

"Here's one that's bigger. It should grow even bigger flowers," Mariah explained.

"This bulb is the biggest," Jolena said. "We think it will grow flowers that are the biggest of all."

"So you're planting these?" Charlotte asked. "These bulbs won't give you flowers."

"They won't?" Asked Mariah.

Mariah and Jolena looked at each other, puzzled.

"But we read in an online gardening blog that if you plant bulbs in the fall, you will have flowers in the spring," Jolena explained. 

"It was online, so it must be true," Mariah added.

"Not everything you read or see online is true, Mariah," Charlotte said, "but in this case the person who wrote the blog probably just thought that if you were smart enough to be reading a gardening blog, you would know what kind of bulbs to plant," she continued. "You are smart dolls. You can read and understand what you read, but you haven't been out of your boxes long. This is new for you. You need flower bulbs to get flowers from the bulbs you plant."

"Then what are these bulbs for?" Jolena asked.

"These are light bulbs. They will give you light if you put them into a lamp that is plugged into an electrical outlet," Charlotte explained. "That's a special hole in the wall that brings electricity to where we need it in and around the house."

"The little bulbs give a little bit of light. The big ones give more light, and the biggest bulb gives the most light of all." 

"Then how can we give the cherub some flowers in the spring?" Mariah wanted to know.

"I'll go into the house and look," Charlotte suggested. "I think I saw some flower bulbs in the garage. You two can go back to digging while I run get them."

The girls picked up their spoons and began to dig. After a while Charlotte appeared, dragging a bag of something that looked to Jolena, who liked to cook, a little like garlic.

"These are flower bulbs," Charlotte said.

"We can open the bag and plant them here, so the little cherub will have flowers to look at after the long, cold winter."

The three dolls thought about that. They could imagine daffodils.

Or maybe it would be tulips growing in the flower bed.

Charlotte gave each doll a bulb to plant.

Then she picked up one for herself.

"Mandy told me that not all flowers come from bulbs. Some come from seeds," Charlotte said. "We wait until spring to plant flowers that come from seeds. Some flowers plant their own seeds, like the dandelion.

They do that in the summer or in the fall. The yellow dandelion flower turns into a white, fluffy ball. The wind or animals blow the seeds away, and they fly through the air, like little umbrellas."

"Then in the spring, new plants grow. They make more dandelion flowers," Charlotte continued.

Charlotte brought another spoon from the house. The three dolls dug holes in the dirt and placed a flower bulb in each one. While they did that, they imagined the pretty flowers coming up in the spring.

Their backs were turned, so they didn't notice the little cherub smiling. 

Can you see the cherub smile?

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris

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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.
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Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic 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. 

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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.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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