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 hearing aids. Show all posts

Friday, September 20, 2024

Emil's Big Problem

Emil woke when his alarm started to shake the bed. He knew it was time to get up. He felt for his glasses, which he had left in the charger the night before. Uh-oh! The charger was empty!

"Now what?" he thought. He couldn't hear without his glasses, because his special hearing aids were in them, and he couldn't see enough to get out of bed without them, either.

Emil knew no one would have taken his glasses. There was no one in the house who would do something mean. He thought and thought about what might have happened. Something must have knocked them out of the charger and onto the floor. "Marmalade!" he thought suddenly.

Cats walk around on tables sometimes. They are careful about where they step, but maybe Marmalade shook the table jumping on or off. They must be on the floor. Emil was afraid to get out of bed when he couldn't see.
"Billy!" Emil called to Billy with his mind. "Billy, I have a problem."
Billy shares the room with Emil. "I'm here, Emil," Billy said. Emil felt a hand on his leg and the mattress move a little bit.

"My special glasses are not in the charger," Emil told Billy. "I think they might have fallen onto the floor."
"I'll look," Billy said, and Emil felt the mattress move again as Billy got down on the floor.

Billy didn't see anything right under the table, but when he looked under the bed, there were Emil's glasses. "Here they are," he said, pulling them out.

Then Billy reached up and put the glasses into Emil's hands.

Emil put his glasses on. Then his face fell. "Oh, no!" he said. "I can't hear anything. I guess the hearing aids didn't charge enough."

"What should we do?" Billy asked.
Emil thought. "Well," he said, "I could put the glasses back into the charger and leave them, but then I won't be able to hear or see. That will take several hours."

Billy nodded. That made sense. "Can you use your glasses the way they are?" he asked. "You could try charging them again tonight, but at least you would be able to see until time for bed again."

Emil thought. That sounded like a good plan. Well, not good, really, but the better choice. "Will you help me today, Billy?" He asked. "There are some things I won't be able to do without hearing," he said.
"I'll help," Billy agreed. "I'm sure the girls will help, too. You just need to tell us what you need to have help with."

"Thanks," Emil said. "I'm glad we can hear each other's voices in our heads. Mandy told me she thinks people used to be able to hear each other in their heads the way we do, but they started being able to make their lips and tongues move, and started to have voice boxes to make sound, so they started talking, and then they forgot how to listen to each other."

"Many people who can't hear have to use sign language to talk," Emil said. "They make different motions with their hands rather than to say words. I can't do that very well, because my wrists don't bend and my fingers don't move much."

"Yes, we all have that problem," Billy pointed out.

It was going to be a long day!

Billy held on to Emil when they walked to school and back, so he could move Emil to the side when a bicycle came by. He would say, "Bicycle" to Emil each time that happened. He stayed next to him on the playground, to get Emil out of the way if there was anything dangerous for someone who couldn't hear.

Emil could hear the teacher's voice in his head, because the teacher is a doll, too, but when the class watched a video, he couldn't hear it. The teacher adjusted the TV so there were words across the bottom of the screen that told what was being said. The teacher put a chair for Emil up at the front of the class, so he could see the words clearly.

After school, it was Emil's turn to help with the laundry. Charlotte offered to do it for him, because he couldn't hear the dryer buzzer go off, but he said it was his job and asked her to let him know when she heard it. "I want to be treated just like everyone else," Emil told her.

All day long, Emil couldn't hear any sounds. There was no music for Emil, no matter how close to the speakers he got. He could feel the music through the chair he was standing on, but it wasn't the same.

He didn't notice when an airplane flew over the house. He didn't hear the train whistle blow. He didn't hear Pierre and Freckles barking at people walking their dogs, although he could hear them talking about it in their heads.
"There's that Mrs. Jones with Fritzi," Pierre said.

At the end of the day, Emil found Marmalade. He asked the cat to please not walk on the table next to the bed at night, and Marmalade agreed.

Emil plugged in his glasses.

Then he went to sleep.

When his shaking mattress woke Emil up the next morning, he reached for his glasses.

They were in the charger! He put them on.

Then Emil waited a moment. He listened. Yes! He could hear the train on the tracks a mile away. He heard the furnace come on in the house. He heard the microwave beep in the kitchen. He heard the toilet flush in the bathroom. He heard the shower running. Then he heard a small crash and a little scream that puzzled him.

Then he heard Veronika's voice in his head, "That's OK," she said. "I'll pick them up."

"Veronika's hairpins!" Emil thought to himself.
Then he thought about how lucky he was that his special glasses could help him see and hear, so he knew what was going on in the house. He lay back on the pillows and smiled to himself.

It was good to feel like a normal kid again.

Cast--
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
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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 and Our Favorite Verses: Poems 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, June 28, 2024

How Emil Came to The Doll's Storybook, Part Two

Billy and Veronika brought a letter to the other dolls, who were busy in the living room.

"We have a letter from Emil!" Billy exclaimed. As the other dolls gathered around, Billy began to read.

"Dear Veronika and Cast of The Doll's Storybook," he read.
"I am so happy to read that you have chosen me to be the new boy doll for your stories. I will try very hard to do a good job."
"I'm sure he will," said Jolena." All the dolls nodded.

"Please tell Billy my name is said like eh-MEEL," Billy continued, "and thank him for asking. I get called a lot of funny things when other dolls don't know." Billy looked up from the letter and tried the new name, "Emil."

The other dolls all tried to think of how many different ways you could say Emil.

Then Billy continued reading. "Please tell Jolena my favorite food is...." Billy paused. "KWIT-chee?" Billy asked and looked at Jolena, puzzled.

Jolena looked at the letter where Billy was pointing.
Then she laughed. "That's quiche," she said, saying it like KEESH. Then she looked up. "I know how to make that. It's sort of a pie with eggs and cheese. I have several good recipes. I'll make my favorite."

Charlotte nodded. "The word is French. You don't say French words the way the letters sound in English."

"Quiche is a French recipe," Jolena added. "All my French recipes have unusual spellings, or maybe they're usual for French, I guess."

Billy continued to read, "I enjoy pretending to eat pretty much anything, though, so tell her not to go to any trouble."

"Forget that," Jolena said. "This is the kind of trouble I like!"

Billy looked back at the letter. "Mariah asked what kind of books I like to read," he read. "Please tell her I like to read lots of things but I especially like stories about real children."
"I like stories like that, too," Mariah said.

Then Billy went on. "I am excited to tell you," he read, "that I can hear music with my special hearing aids. Please tell Charlotte my favorite song is 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm,' because I like all the animal sounds in it. I can only hear these animal sounds for real with my hearing aids."

"I have a book of fun songs," Charlotte told them, looking up from the letter. "I'm pretty sure this song is in there."

"I am very glad that Mandy asked about my hearing aids," Billy read. "The batteries are rechargeable. All I need is an electrical outlet near the bed, because I can't see much when I take off my glasses to sleep. Someone will need to come and get me if the smoke alarm goes off during the night, but I will not need to have someone wake me up in the morning. I have an alarm clock that will shake the bed to wake me up."
"Wow!" Billy exclaimed, looking up from the letter. "An alarm clock that shakes you out of bed! What a cool invention!"

The other dolls all agreed.
"Here's how he ends his letter," said Billy, "Thank you all for choosing me," he read. "I understand from your letter that it was unanimous." Billy sounded out the word, (you-NAN-ih-mus). "That means all of you wanted me. That means a lot to me. I am excited to meet you all! Sincerely, Emil."

"We have a lot to do to get ready," Veronika said, and they did.

Billy cleaned his room and made room for Emil's clothes in the dresser and in the closet, because Emil would be sharing his room. He made sure the outlet next to the bed was easy to get to.

Jolena found her favorite recipe for quiche, and made a shopping list.

Mariah went off to the library to find books of stories about real children.

Charlotte found the music for "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and tuned her violin, so she could learn to play it.

The dolls were busy, so the next few days passed quickly. Before they knew it, Emil was standing in the front hall. The dolls all ran to the front door to greet him.
"You look like Harry Potter!" Jolena exclaimed as soon as she saw Emil.

Emil laughed. "I get that a lot," he said, "but I don't have a scar on my forehead and I can't do magic, so you know I'm just Emil." The dolls welcomed Emil. They shook hands with him and told him their names, one after another. Emil looked at each face as he shook their hands, and repeated that doll's name. He tried to remember all six names and which face went with which name. He thought about what he already knew about each one from their letter.

Billy took Emil upstairs and showed him where to put his clothes. He showed him the drawer for his underwear and pajamas. He could hang his other clothes up in the closet.

Billy helped him plug in his hearing aid charger and his special clock. Emil pushed the clock's bed shaker under the mattress. He set the alarm on the clock for when they had to get up in the morning. Then the two boys went back downstairs.

Emil looked out at the backyard. "You have a nice place to run and play," he said, "and things to climb on, and a slide, too!" he added.

"We have a nice place to run and play," Veronika corrected him. "This is your home now, too."
Emil knew it would be fun to play outdoors here.

Billy showed Emil the bicycles in the storeroom. "Two of them are girls' bikes," he said. "The girls sometimes have to ride when they're wearing dresses, so we have two girls' bikes. I won't mind riding a girl's bike, though, when we go for bike rides together."
"I don't mind, either," Emil said. "How many dolls have bicycles, even just to share?"

"We always wear helmets when we ride," Billy pointed out. "That's why we have one helmet for each bicycle."
"That's really important," Emil agreed. "I have to be careful not to damage my glasses, and the helmet helps protect them as well as my head."
Billy explained that there was also a sled and a skateboard they could share. (The sled was Billy's Christmas present, but he had learned that it's more fun to play with the sled when you take turns.)
Mariah gave Emil the books from the library, so he could read when he wanted to. They talked about the books, and he picked out which one he wanted to read first. He thought Mariah did a good job picking out books that were interesting, and he told her so.

Charlotte played "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" on her violin, while the other dolls pretended to sing. They sat on the stairs and pretended that they were an audience of real children. They had great seats in the theater.
The dolls had fun making the animal sounds. Emil thought it was nice of Charlotte to learn the song just for him. He thought about how much more fun it was to sing it with his new family.

Billy took a photo of all the dolls sitting on the stairs, so they would have something to remember the day Emil came to live with them. He set the timer and then ran to be in the photo.

Jolena made her favorite quiche recipe and salad for supper. When it came out of the oven, she put it on the table to cool while the others got ready to set the table. Emil wanted to help set the table, too, but first he paused to enjoy the delightful smell coming from the quiche.

The dolls pretended to eat the quiche that Jolena had made. It was delicious! The salad was good, too.
By the time Emil went to bed that night, he knew he was in the right place, and it made him happy. Dolls need to have a purpose, and he had found his.
Emil and Billy talked for a while about things they found interesting, until they felt sleepy. Then Emil took off his glasses and plugged them in to recharge. He had to put the end of each earpiece into each of the two holes. Billy noticed that Emil did this without looking at the charger. He used his hands to know where to put in the plugs.

Emil put on his sleep mask, and Billy turned off the light.

The last thing Emil knew before morning came and his alarm clock started shaking his bed was that he was home! His new sisters were pretty and kind. Billy was fun and helpful. Best of all, they enjoyed sharing what they had with him.

Cast--
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

Note to parents: Not all hearing aids can be put in glasses. Billy's hearing loss is conductive. You can find out more about hearing loss and deafness here. Although Emil can hear the thoughts of other dolls and can communicate in the same way, real children cannot. This is one place dolls have an advantage.