Mandy took Mariah and Billy for a hike in a state park. As they walked she pointed out interesting things to them that she noticed. She explained what she knew about the plants and birds, and about other animals.
Up on the hilltops they came across a lovely view of the mountains in the distance.
Down in the forests, they came across other things to look at, like this pond, where a creature was sunning herself, balanced on a log.
As they walked along beside the pond, Mandy explained that the green stuff on the water was probably something called algae (AL-jee), but she would need to take a sample, or a little bit of it, to know for sure. "Algae are neither plant nor animal," Mandy explained, "but something in between."
After a morning of hiking, the three dolls arrived back at the parking lot where there was a picnic area where they could sit and watch human people run and play with their dogs.
Mandy took the lunch out of the car. She also grabbed the cell phone, so she could let the other dolls know they were back safely from the hike. Mariah took her notebook and pencil from the car, while Billy helped Mandy with the picnic basket.
The three dolls sat down on a quilt to eat their lunch, and Mandy called home. Then she put down the phone. With a sandwich in one hand, Mariah pulled out her notebook and pencil and got ready to write, while Billy helped himself to one of the sandwiches, and Mandy passed around the carrots and blueberries.
After erasing and rewriting some of the lines, Mariah was satisfied with the poem she had written. She read it to Mandy and Billy while they ate.
"On a log in the pond was a turtle;
She told us that her name was Myrtle;
She had copied a frog
Jumping over a log,
And found herself caught by her girdle."
Mandy and Billy laughed and clapped their hands.
"Very good, Mariah," Mandy said, "and funny! That's a limerick, and it's a good one."
"What's a limerick?" Billy asked.
"I want to know, too," Mariah added. "I didn't know I was writing a limerick. I must have read one of them along with the other poems I've read. I must have copied the rhyme and meter."
Mandy explained that a limerick is a short poem with five lines. The first two and the last one rhyme, like "turtle," "Myrtle" and "girdle." The other two lines are shorter and rhyme with each other. "Limericks are usually funny or silly," she said. "Sometimes they are rude, but I really like yours, because it isn't rude, just funny."
"What's a girdle?" Billy asked.
"It's something worn around the waist," Mariah said. "I think people used to wear a special girdle to hold in their tummies long ago, so they would look thinner," she added.
"That wouldn't work for us," Billy pointed out. "Our tummies are firm vinyl. They are what they are."
"Mariah is right," Mandy agreed, "but a girdle can also be a belt or a sash, and you're right, too, Billy. There's no way to make our tummies smaller than they are, and it wouldn't be good for you if there were."
"That's an interesting turtle," Mariah mused. "It made me wonder what turtles are like. This one was out in the middle of the pond, where we couldn't get close to look," she added.
"Is a turtle like a frog wearing armor?" Billy asked Mandy.
Billy and Mariah thought Mandy probably knew all about turtles, because she knows so much about the world.
"Frogs and turtles are only distantly related, Billy," Mandy explained, as she picked up a juicy blueberry. "They both have backbones and they both lay eggs, but a frog is something called an amphibian (am-FIH-bee-an) because the eggs hatch in water and the frog starts out sort of like a fish."
"A baby frog is called a tadpole. It can breathe water, just like a fish," Mandy explained.
Mandy found a photo on the cell phone and showed it to them. "Here's a tadpole," she said.
"See, it looks like a fish," she explained, "but you can just see the hind legs starting to grow, and if you look carefully, you can see through the skin where the front legs will be."
Billy and Mariah thought this was interesting. Mandy explained that the tadpole grows legs and then when it's ready, it comes out of the water, able to breathe air. Then it can hop and sing and swim, just like an adult frog.
The three dolls sat down on a quilt to eat their lunch, and Mandy called home. Then she put down the phone. With a sandwich in one hand, Mariah pulled out her notebook and pencil and got ready to write, while Billy helped himself to one of the sandwiches, and Mandy passed around the carrots and blueberries.
After erasing and rewriting some of the lines, Mariah was satisfied with the poem she had written. She read it to Mandy and Billy while they ate.
"On a log in the pond was a turtle;
She told us that her name was Myrtle;
She had copied a frog
Jumping over a log,
And found herself caught by her girdle."
Mandy and Billy laughed and clapped their hands.
"Very good, Mariah," Mandy said, "and funny! That's a limerick, and it's a good one."
"What's a limerick?" Billy asked.
"I want to know, too," Mariah added. "I didn't know I was writing a limerick. I must have read one of them along with the other poems I've read. I must have copied the rhyme and meter."
Mandy explained that a limerick is a short poem with five lines. The first two and the last one rhyme, like "turtle," "Myrtle" and "girdle." The other two lines are shorter and rhyme with each other. "Limericks are usually funny or silly," she said. "Sometimes they are rude, but I really like yours, because it isn't rude, just funny."
"What's a girdle?" Billy asked.
"It's something worn around the waist," Mariah said. "I think people used to wear a special girdle to hold in their tummies long ago, so they would look thinner," she added.
"That wouldn't work for us," Billy pointed out. "Our tummies are firm vinyl. They are what they are."
"Mariah is right," Mandy agreed, "but a girdle can also be a belt or a sash, and you're right, too, Billy. There's no way to make our tummies smaller than they are, and it wouldn't be good for you if there were."
"That's an interesting turtle," Mariah mused. "It made me wonder what turtles are like. This one was out in the middle of the pond, where we couldn't get close to look," she added.
"Is a turtle like a frog wearing armor?" Billy asked Mandy.
Billy and Mariah thought Mandy probably knew all about turtles, because she knows so much about the world.
"Frogs and turtles are only distantly related, Billy," Mandy explained, as she picked up a juicy blueberry. "They both have backbones and they both lay eggs, but a frog is something called an amphibian (am-FIH-bee-an) because the eggs hatch in water and the frog starts out sort of like a fish."
"A baby frog is called a tadpole. It can breathe water, just like a fish," Mandy explained.
Mandy found a photo on the cell phone and showed it to them. "Here's a tadpole," she said.
"See, it looks like a fish," she explained, "but you can just see the hind legs starting to grow, and if you look carefully, you can see through the skin where the front legs will be."
Billy and Mariah thought this was interesting. Mandy explained that the tadpole grows legs and then when it's ready, it comes out of the water, able to breathe air. Then it can hop and sing and swim, just like an adult frog.
She found this photo to remind them of what a grownup frog looks like.
"A turtle, on the other hand," Mandy continued, "is a reptile (REHP-tile). The mother lays her eggs on the land, and the babies hatch out already able to walk and breathe air."
"Does the baby have to go and look for a shell to wear?" Billy wanted to know.
"A turtle, on the other hand," Mandy continued, "is a reptile (REHP-tile). The mother lays her eggs on the land, and the babies hatch out already able to walk and breathe air."
"Does the baby have to go and look for a shell to wear?" Billy wanted to know.
"No, Billy," Mandy said, "they grown their own shells, but there is a creature that does that. The hermit crab doesn't grow its own shell, but instead looks for an empty one and climbs in. As it grows, it has to find bigger and bigger empty shells to use. Each time it leaves its old shell behind, perhaps for another hermit crab to use."
She showed them this photo of a hermit crab on her phone.
"So how does a turtle get a shell?" Mariah asked.
"They grow them," Mandy replied, "the same way children grow hair and fingernails. In fact, their shell is made of the same material as hair and fingernails."
Mandy found a photo of a turtle, so Mariah and Billy could see what they look like close up.
"What's it for? The shell, I mean." Billy asked.
"It's protection," Mandy explained, "from animals that might want to eat them."
"It's protection," Mandy explained, "from animals that might want to eat them."
"So it IS like wearing armor!" Billy cried.
"Yes," Mandy agreed, laughing, "but a turtle can pull his head inside his shell to protect it, so he doesn't need a helmet."
"Do all turtles live around ponds?" Mariah asked.
"No," Mandy replied. "Actually, the turtle family is divided into true turtles, who have flippers or webbed feet to swim with, and tortoises, who have feet."
"Tortoises live on land," Mandy went on, "like in the desert, where there is very little water, and turtles spend their lives in water. The sea turtles have flippers instead of feet."
"They only come out on land to lay their eggs," Mandy continued. "They bury the eggs in the sand and then go back into the ocean."
"They only come out on land to lay their eggs," Mandy continued. "They bury the eggs in the sand and then go back into the ocean."
Mandy found another photo, this time of a sea turtle under the water. "They breathe air, like porpoises and whales. They come up for a breath, then they swim down in the water to look for food."
"I would love to see a sea turtle!" Mariah said.
"You can," Mandy replied. "We have a sea turtle at home. It is just a toy turtle, but it looks a lot like a real one. We can look at it when we get back."
As soon as the dolls arrived home, Mandy found the stuffed toy sea turtle and showed it to Mariah and Billy.
"Let's name her Myrtle," Mariah suggested. Then she looked at Myrtle's face and sighed. "I'm not sure she likes her name," she said. "She looks disgusted. Look at her face!"
Billy laughed. "Maybe Myrtle is really a boy!"
"Or maybe," said Mariah with another sigh, "Myrtle didn't like my limerick!"
"I think Myrtle just misses the ocean," Mandy suggested.
Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Myrtle (the real turtle): Herself
Myrtle (the toy): Sea Turtle from The Nature Conservancy
"I would love to see a sea turtle!" Mariah said.
"You can," Mandy replied. "We have a sea turtle at home. It is just a toy turtle, but it looks a lot like a real one. We can look at it when we get back."
As soon as the dolls arrived home, Mandy found the stuffed toy sea turtle and showed it to Mariah and Billy.
"Let's name her Myrtle," Mariah suggested. Then she looked at Myrtle's face and sighed. "I'm not sure she likes her name," she said. "She looks disgusted. Look at her face!"
Billy laughed. "Maybe Myrtle is really a boy!"
"Or maybe," said Mariah with another sigh, "Myrtle didn't like my limerick!"
"I think Myrtle just misses the ocean," Mandy suggested.
Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Myrtle (the real turtle): Herself
Myrtle (the toy): Sea Turtle from The Nature Conservancy
Tadpole photo: Scienceprofonline.com
Common map turtle: Photo by Peter Paplanus, Animal World
Grey tortoise: Photo by Luca Ambrosi on Unsplash
Frog: photo by henry fournier on Unsplash
Mountain view and turtle pond photos were taken on location at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in Washington County, Oregon.
Mountain view and turtle pond photos were taken on location at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in Washington County, Oregon.
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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.
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"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 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.
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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