The Doll's Storybook

Stories about dolls who live in our world. Although these stories are suitable for children, they should check with their parents before reading and always be careful online. Readers are invited to donate to a charity supporting pediatric cancer treatment and research. Images shown are taken by the author or from a free image website with attribution and appreciation. The author has no connection with Götz Puppenmanufaktur, but gives them credit for the amazing dolls they produce.

Showing posts with label Elephant. Show all posts

Friday, March 14, 2025

Meeting the Elephant

Mandy looked up from her knitting when Jolena, Charlotte and Mariah came into the room.

"Mandy, we have a question we thought you might help us with," Charlotte said. The other two dolls nodded. "We celebrate each other's special holidays. All of you celebrated Hanukkah with Emil and me, and Ramadan with Mariah, and we all celebrated Christmas with you."

"Yes," Mariah said, "and we all have special holidays in the spring. We know we will celebrate those special days together, too."

"We know that all these special days have something to do with what we believe about God," Jolena said. "What we don't understand is, why don't all dolls believe the same thing?"

Mandy took off her glasses and put them on top of her head, so they knew she would have a lot to say.

"I can give you my opinion," Mandy said, "but this is something that no one knows for sure. If you asked a question about science (sigh-ence)," Mandy said the word clearly for them, "I could give you an answer that I know, or we could look it up and find out. This isn't science, though; it's something called religion." She pronounced it again carefully for them, "Ree-lih-juhn. It isn't about what we know for sure and can prove, but what we believe to be true."

Mandy thought for a minute. "I think the best way to explain what I think is to tell you a story I read once," she said.

The dolls love stories, so they settled down to listen to Mandy.

Here is the story Mandy told the other dolls:

Once upon a time, in the Land of the Dolls, there was a magical elephant. All the dolls in the land wanted to find out about the magical elephant. They came from all over the Land of the Dolls to learn what they could. They brought their sleep masks with them, because they had heard that no one was allowed to see this wonderful being.

Only one doll at a time was allowed to go into the room where the magical elephant was, so they waited patiently for their turns. (Dolls are good at being patient.) When each doll went into the room, they had to feel around to find the elephant.
Some of the dolls touched the elephant's side. "This feels like a wall," they would say. "The magical elephant is like a wall."

Some of the dolls touched one of the tusks of the wonderful creature. "This is very sharp, like a knife," they said. "The magical elephant is like a knife."

Other dolls found the trunk first. "Ooooo, the creature is like a snake," they would say to themselves.

Some of the other dolls found one of the legs. Those dolls decided that the elephant was like a tree trunk.

Still more dolls found the tail. "Clearly, the magical elephant is a kind of rope," they said.

Other dolls touched the ear. "This creature must be some kind of fan or maybe a sail," they thought.

There were even some dolls who felt around in the room and never found the elephant at all. They said, "I don't think there really is a magical elephant. I couldn't find one."

Each doll was sure they knew the truth and that the other dolls were wrong.

Most dolls like to discuss things, but they don't like to argue, because they know they are supposed to set a good example for the children they live with, so they decided that it was fine that they all believed different things.

This made all the dolls happy, even though they didn't know everything there was to know about the magical elephant.

"So in a way, all the dolls were right," Jolena said when Mandy had finished the story.

"They just didn't know all of it,"Mariah said, "so they thought the others were wrong."

"I see the point of the story," Charlotte said. "The magical elephant is like God, and dolls believe different things because they only see part of what God is like."

"Yes," Mandy said, "but that is just what I believe. We all experience God through our own religions, and some dolls don't experience God at all, but there is no way to be sure that what you know in your heart is true is really the whole story."
"Why is that?" Mariah asked.

"We can prove many things," Mandy explained. "There are things we know that help us know ahead of time what will happen," she said.

"That's where science comes in," Mandy continued. "We use science to learn about the world, and we can use what we have learned to know within a few days when it will rain, or what medicine will cure an illness, or what time the sun will rise in the morning."

"What we know in our hearts but can't prove is called belief," Mandy said. "That's what religion is. If someone believes differently from you, it doesn't make what you believe wrong, just different."

"I think things that are different are interesting," Jolena said, "but I like going to my church on Sunday."

"Yes," said Mandy, "So do I. But Mariah goes to a place called a mosque (mosk) on Friday, and Charlotte and Emil go to a place called a synagogue (sin-a-gog) on Saturday. What I believe is that we are all learning about and worshiping the same God, whether in church, in a mosque or in a synagogue, and the familiar words and music help us with that."
"I like going to the mosque," Mariah said. "I like to pray there with others who believe the way I do."

"I like my synagogue," said Charlotte. "I learn something new every time."

"What about the dolls in the story who never found the elephant? Do some dolls not believe in God?" Jolena asked.

"Some don't, and I think that's fine. It's something each doll has to decide alone," Mandy said. "No one can make you believe something you don't. You may change how you believe because of what happens to you in life, but your beliefs are your own. Most dolls believe in The Doll Code, though. That's the rule we have that we must be kind to each other, look after dolls in need and set a good example for the children in our lives."
"I've learned we need to set a good example for each other, too," Mariah said.
Mariah and Jolena stood up, and the three dolls got ready to go.

Mandy looked around at them. "I have a wonderful doll family," she added with a sigh. "You prove it to me every day, so that's not a belief; that's a fact!"

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Magical Elephant: Himself

Special note from the author: Mandy's story is based on the parable of the six blind men and the elephant, which originated in ancient times on the Indian subcontinent. It was popularized in the English-speaking world through a poem by John Godfrey Saxe.

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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 Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Author's page on Amazon.

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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Friday, April 29, 2022

A Little Friend

"Guess what!" cried Pippa as she ran into the room. "Guess what! Guess what!" she repeated.

Mandy looked up from her knitting.

She moved her glasses to the top of her head, so she could look at Pippa.

"Um..." she began, "um...someone was riding an elephant in the park?"

"No!" Pippa exclaimed. "That would be silly! The only elephants in this whole state are in the zoo!"

"Well," Mandy mused, "then it must be that someone flew over you in a balloon and dropped candy bars, and one of them hit you on the head."

Pippa would have rolled her eyes, but her eyes don't move, no matter how hard she tried, so she looked up at the ceiling and threw out her arms.

"No!" she exclaimed again. "Whoever heard of someone dropping candy bars from a balloon!"

"Well," Mandy considered, "how about you were walking home and you saw a squirrel protesting for Earth Day?"

Pippa thought that squirrels would really appreciate Earth Day, but she didn't think they could spell "Save our Earth."

Pippa tried rolling her head, since she can't roll her eyes, but she realized she would have to take it off to get it to roll. That was the only way she could roll her eyes...unless she just took out her eyes and rolled them like marbles. That seemed like too much trouble.

"I have an idea, Pippa," Mandy suggested. "How about you tell me what has you so excited. Obviously, I'm not very good at guessing."

Pippa thought Mandy was good at making up stuff but not very good at guessing, so she settled on the couch next to her sister. "Well," she began, "we have a new doll in my class at school."

"My," said Mandy, "that really is exciting!"

"Well, you know," Pippa said, "we get new dolls in the class sometimes. Sometimes a real human child who lives near here gets a new doll for their birthday, and that doll comes to school with us, so that's not really all that exciting."

"Tell me, then," Mandy said, "what is so exciting about this new doll."

"She's my size!" Pippa exclaimed. "She's just as tall...I mean short...as I am! Her hands and feet are the same size as mine! Her head is the same size as mine. She even looks a lot like me!"

Mandy had to admit that she was amazed. There were no other dolls Pippa's size in the dolls' school. "That really is exciting," she agreed, "and she's in your class, too. Will your teacher be able to tell you apart?"

"That's no problem," Pippa assured Mandy. "She doesn't look exactly like me, just sort of."

"The teacher gave her a seat next to mine," Pippa went on. "I have to sit in the front row, you know, because I'm small and can't see over the other dolls' heads, so Polly has to sit in front, too. She sits right next to me!"

"Do you think you and Polly will be friends?" Mandy wanted to know.

"Oh, yes!" Pippa agreed. "We have so much in common, being the same size, and all, but not only that," she added, getting up on her feet so she could show Mandy how important she felt about this next part. "Teacher wanted me to help her find where everything was and what the schedule was and make sure she had everything she needed."

"Where does Polly live?" Mandy asked.

"That's the best part!" Pippa cried. "Polly lives only about three streets over from us! She's in our neighborhood, and we can walk to school together!"

"I told Polly I would pick her up in the morning at her house," Pippa confided. "Her child...she lives with an actual real human child, you know, not an old lady who writes stories. Her child dropped her off at the school this morning, and then we walked home together when school was over."

"Maybe Polly can come over and play sometime," Mandy suggested.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" Pippa gushed. "I'll invite her tomorrow. Maybe she can come home with me after school one day. The child she lives with has soccer practice after school sometimes, so I'm sure she'll be able to."

"That's even more exciting than someone riding an elephant in the park," Mandy commented.

"Yes," Pippa agreed, "but I love to see elephants at the zoo, so seeing someone ride one in the park would be special."

"Having a new friend," Mandy continued, "is more exciting even than having someone fly over you, dropping candy bars down on you."

"Yes," Pippa said, "but it would be lovely to get to pretend to eat a candy bar, even if it just hit you on the head and was all broken."

"Well," Mandy said, "having a new friend is definitely better than seeing a squirrel protesting on Earth Day!"

"Yes," Pippa said thoughtfully. "That would be very strange and interesting, but squirrels just run around in the trees, and eat nuts and seeds. If they protest anything, it's another squirrel trying to raid their stuff!"

"There's almost nothing better," Pippa exclaimed, "than having a new friend, unless it's having old friends."

"Or a sister," Mandy said, giving her a hug.

"Or a sister," Pippa agreed.

Note to children: Dolls walk on the furniture sometimes because they're small, and they have to, but it's OK because their shoes aren't dirty. You walk outdoors, so you should take off your shoes before you put your feet on the furniture.

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Photo of person riding elephant: Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of balloon by Austin Neill on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of elephant at zoo by topcools tee on Unsplash

Photo of squirrel protesting from Bored Panda

Photo of candy bar by Thibault Penin on Unsplash (cropped)

Photo of ordinary squirrel by Daniel Olaleye on Unsplash