Heat Wave

It was very hot. The dolls were sitting on the workroom table with the fan running. Veronika was helping Mandy put up her hair, because she was pretending her long hair felt hot on her neck. 

"Nothing fancy," Mandy told her. "I just want it up off my neck."
"Why is it so hot," Charlotte asked.

"It's hot because it's summer," Billy observed.

Charlotte tried to roll her eyes, but it's hard to do, because her eyes don't move. "I know that, silly," she said. "I mean, why is it hot in the summer?"

The dolls all looked at Mandy, because it was a Mandy kind of question.

"Remember," Mandy began, "when we talked about the seasons? We pretended the old tether ball was the sun, and my ball of yarn with a needle through it was the earth."

The dolls all thought back.

"Yes," said Mariah, enjoying the breeze from the fan on her neck. "The needle was the earth's axis, except you can't see the real one."

"You can't knit with it, either," Billy added, which caused Jolena to poke him with her elbow.
"You said the axis in the part of the world we live in comes out at the North Pole," Mariah explained. "It's tipped more toward the sun in the summer. I remember, because I got to be summer when we were taking turns being the seasons. I got to hold the earth with the North Pole tipped toward the sun."

"That's right," Mandy said. "Now, think about what happens if the axis at the North Pole is tipped toward the sun. Remember that the air surrounds the earth. It's as if the earth is a ball inside a ball of air."

"I think maybe there is less air for the sun to go through in the summer," suggested Jolena.

"Very good, Jolena!" exclaimed Mandy. 
"I have to use the air when I do my tricks on skis," Jolena said. "The air helps me, so I have to know a little bit about it." She could feel the moving air from the fan blowing her hair across her face.

"I can tell that you have been thinking about it," Mandy told her. "Now," Mandy went on, "the air that covers the earth is called the atmosphere (AT-mus-feer). When our part of the earth is tipped toward the sun, there is less atmosphere for the sun to have to shine through."

"But why is that?" asked Billy.

Mandy thought for a moment. "OK," she said, "just imagine you are standing on the diving board over the center of a pool. Suppose you dive straight down through the water to a point on the bottom that is right under the diving board."

"At the same time," Mandy went on, "Jolena is standing over on the side of the pool, away from the board. She dives toward the same spot on the bottom of the pool, but from the side. Who will get there first?"

"I will get there first," Billy said. "Boy dolls are faster than girl dolls."

Jolena gave Billy a playful swat. "No they aren't," she cried.

Mandy laughed. "You're right about who gets there first, but not about why."

Mariah had been looking thoughtful. "I think Billy had less water to go through than Jolena," she said.

"That's right," Mandy agreed. "When you dive at an angle, you have to go through more water before you get there. That's how it is with the sun's rays. In the summer the sun's rays are like Billy's path through the water in the pool. They don't have to go through as much atmosphere."

"I thought," Charlotte said, "that maybe it's hotter in the summer because the days are longer."

"Having longer days in the summer does add to how hot it gets," agreed Mandy, "because the sun heats up the earth during the day. We have to add that to how the sun has much less atmosphere to get through."

"So how can we cool off," Charlotte wanted to know. "I'm tired of pretending to be too hot."

"I feel cooler when I go for a bike ride," Billy said.

"Good point!" Mandy exclaimed. "That's because you're moving through the air. The air moving across your vinyl cools it off and makes you feel cooler, the way this fan cools us," she explained, "so riding your bicycle is a good way."

"We could play in the sprinkler," Veronika suggested, "but we will have to wear swim goggles if we're going to get our faces wet. We don't want water to get into our heads and make the inside moldy."

"Yes," agreed Jolena. "They will have to take your head off to clean out the mold!"

"That's right," Veronika said. "I'd like to keep my head on!"

"How does playing in the sprinkler cool you," Billy asked.

"There are two things," Mandy said. "First, the water coming out of the pipes in the ground is cool, because not so much heat from the sun can reach it. The water makes you feel cooler right away." 

"Second," Mandy continued, "when you get your vinyl wet, the water evaporates (ee-VAP-er-ates). It turns back into a gas and goes into the air. It uses the heat from your vinyl to do that, so that cools you off."

"I remember," Charlotte said, "when we did the experiment where we took the salt out of the salt water. We made the water evaporate."

"Yes," Billy agreed. "We used the sun's light to do it." They thought about that fun experiment.

"That's right," Mandy agreed. "It's the same thing that happened in our pan of water. The sun warmed the air under the plastic wrap. That made the water in the pan evaporate. Then it condensed back into water when it reached the plastic wrap covering the pan."
"If we get tired of playing in the sprinkler," Mariah said, "we could go to a movie. They have air conditioning, so it's cool inside."

The dolls talked for a bit about what movie they would like to see. They decided on the Disney movie "Frozen."

Then Charlotte had another idea. "We could make popsicles," she said. "We could sit in the shade and pretend to eat them. That would make us cool inside, because the popsicles are frozen."

"I have a good recipe for popsicles," Jolena said. "I pour the mixture into plastic cups and put them in the freezer. Later, after it starts to freeze, I put a plastic spoon in it." Then she smiled and continued, "but I don't have to worry about the heat for a while."

All the dolls looked at Jolena. She could tell they wanted to know why, so she told them.
"I'm going to fly to Argentina (are-jen-TEEN-uh) tomorrow," Jolena said, "with my skis and the other dolls on the Doll Ski Team. It's winter there, because that part of the earth is tipped away from the sun. We're going to practice skiing in real snow for a week."

"I had better finish packing," Jolena added. "I have to go tomorrow."
"We'll help," Mariah suggested.

The dolls all helped Jolena pack her clothes and her ski equipment.

That gave Jolena time the next day to mix up some juice and yogurt in a bowl for popsicles, so her friends could use them to cool off while she was gone. 

"Now we'll keep cool," said Billy. "We know lots of ways we can cool off when it's hot."

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

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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Copyright © 2029, 2024 by Peggy Stuart

Salary or Celery

Pippa and Pauly walked up to the front steps of Pippa's house. Pauly turned to check on Jeffy one more time before they started up the steps to go in. "What did Jeffy get from that human person?" he asked. Pippa turned to see where Pauly was pointing.

"It's called a popsicle," Pippa told him. "It's frozen, and Jeffy will eat it. It's supposed to be nice on a hot day. We make popsicles sometimes," she added.

"Well, Jolena mostly does it," she said, "but sometimes I help." 

"You mix some stuff together," she said, "then pour it into plastic cups. After they have been in the freezer for a little while, you stick a plastic spoon in each one. When it's frozen hard, you take it out of the cup. You can hold it by the spoon handle and pretend to eat it."

"My favorite," Pippa added, "is the one she makes with yoghurt and frozen orange juice."

"How did that human person know Jeffy wanted the popsicle?" Pauly asked. "Did Jeffy call him?"

"Jeffy didn't need to call," Pippa said. "That human person drives that truck around all the neighborhoods when it's warm like this and real human children are not in school. Remember the music you heard? That lets everyone know that he's there, selling ice cream and popsicles."

Pauly thought for a minute. "Selling," he said, "means you give someone something and they give you money for it, right?"

"Yes," Pippa agreed, "and Jeffy gave the money to the human man who drives the truck. He used his money to buy the popsicle."

"Where did Jeffy get the money?" Pauly asked as they began to climb the front steps. He remembered that Jeffy handed the man some money, so that meant Jeffy must have been buying the popsicle, but you can't buy things without money.

"Jeffy's mother must have given it to him," Pippa replied, as she handed Bear to Pauly so Bear wouldn't get dirty on the front steps. "I think Jeffy is too little to have a job."

The two dolls worked together to pull the front door open. The dolls had planned to go to the workroom to find a game to play. Pippa turned to watch the real children run off with their popsicles and ice cream. She wondered what it was like to eat popsicles or ice cream for real, not just pretend.

There were so many things Pauly still needed to learn. Hanging out with Pippa and the other dolls was a good opportunity for him to learn new things. "What's a job?" he asked as they began to climb the stairs.

Pippa wanted to roll her eyes, but her eyes don't move, so she rolled her head instead. Pauly was beginning to think he knew what that meant.

Sometimes Pippa thought Pauly was what she liked to call "clueless," but then she remembered he had only been out of his box for a few months. She hadn't known much in her early days, either. How could she explain what a job was, though. She only knew that it was how most human people got their money. "Let's ask Veronika," she suggested.

By then they had reached the workroom, where Pippa knew Veronika would be, because she had been working on a project.

"Hi, Veronika!" Pippa said, as the two smaller dolls entered the room. "We have a question I think you can help with."

Veronika was using a tool that looked something like a pizza cutter. She stopped working, carefully closed the tool and put it down. She looked at Pippa and Pauly expectantly.

"Can you explain to Pauly what a job is?" Pippa asked.

"Sure," Veronika said. "Human grownups do work for someone else in exchange for money. Usually they go to a place away from home to do their work, but sometimes they work at home, if they have the right kind of job. They get money for their work, something called a salary, and they use that money to pay other people for things they need or want or for things they need done."

"They get celery?" Pauly asked. "Isn't celery something to eat?"

"Not celery," Veronika said. "It's salary." She tried to pronounce it more clearly this time. "A salary is what someone is paid for their work, if they have a job where they work at the same place all the time. Human people who get a salary are paid once a week or every two weeks or once a month. They're paid in money, usually with something called a paycheck. They can take that to the bank where they keep their money."

"So Jeffy probably got the money from either his mother or his father, and that human person has a job?"

Veronika knew a thing or two about the human people who live in the neighborhood, and Jeffy and Pauly live in a house just a couple of blocks away. Veronika and the other older dolls had known Jeffy before Pauly came to live with him. 

"Yes," Veronika told them. "Jeffy's mother is a teacher." 

"She works at the same school where Jeffy goes," Veronika explained. "It's a mile away if you walk or bicycle, because you can take the trail, but she often takes the car, because she has things to carry. If she has to stay later at school, Jeffy walks home."

"So that's where she goes!" Pauly exclaimed. He knew Jeffy's mother sometimes took Jeffy to school and didn't come back until Jeffy did, but sometimes Jeffy walked home and his mother drove the car back. Then he thought for a moment. "Jeffy's father is gone a lot, and not just when Jeffy's in school. Why is that? Do you know?"

"Yes," Veronika replied. "Jeffy's father drives a truck. Sometimes he has to drive it a long way away, so he might be away overnight or even for several days. That's his job."

"Jeffy's mother gets paid by the school," Veronika explained. "Jeffy's father gets paid by the company he drives a truck for. He doesn't have a salary. Instead, he gets paid by how far he has to drive. Jeffy's mother and father use the money from their work to pay for the house they live in and food they eat and other things they need, like clothes, and Jeffy's books and toys. If Jeffy got you from them, they used their money to pay for you!"

"So Jeffy's mother or father must have given Jeffy money for the popsicle," Pippa suggested. She was pretty sure she knew this part.

"Yes," Veronika agreed, although she may not have known what he would do with it. I think Jeffy gets a little money each week. Many human children do. It's called an allowance. Maybe he does work for it at home, like helping make the beds or taking out the trash, but he can spend the money he gets the way he likes. Some human children who are a bit older may do things for other people besides their parents and get money for it, like mowing lawns, shoveling snow, babysitting or delivering newspapers."

"So maybe Pauly a job, too," Pauly suggested. "I've seen him help wash the dishes. He sometimes does other things, too. He helped his father wash the car his mother drives."

"In a way, yes, Pauly sort of has a job." Veronika agreed. "Most human people need to do some kind of work. They can't just stand on a shelf with a wire thing around their waists and look beautiful, the way many dolls spend their lives." (Veronika remembered when her life was like that, before she came to live with The Writer.)

Pippa had been thinking about what she had learned from Veronika. "What about The Writer and her husband?" she asked. "They stay home most of the time. Do they have jobs they can do at home?"

"No," Veronika replied. "They are retired. That means that they worked for many years, but now they get money each month to live on without going to work. The money comes from money that was taken out from their salary while they worked, and that money was put aside by the people they worked for. They also saved money when they could, so they would have it now."

"If you don't stand on a shelf and look beautiful," Pauly asked, "does that mean you have a job? Do we have jobs, too?"

Veronika suppressed a laugh. That means she stopped herself from laughing. She didn't want Pauly to think his question was silly. "In a way we do have a job to do, Pauly," she replied, "but it isn't the kind of job you get paid money to do. The way we get paid is when someone reads one of our stories, and it makes them smile or laugh, or maybe it makes them think or they learn something."

"That's better than money for a popsicle," Pippa declared. 

"Especially when you can only pretend to eat it," Pauly added.

Veronika thought the two younger dolls were growing up, but in the way dolls do, not the way human children do. That would never happen.

"I have an idea," Pippa said. "Jolena and Mariah are in the kitchen. Let's go ask Jolena if she will let us help her make popsicles!"

Guess what Jolena was doing right then!

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Photo of popsicle by Lanju Fotografie on Unsplash

Photo of ice cream truck from Ziggy's Ice Cream Trucks Facebook page

Many thanks to Ravelry friend HazelRose for the idea for this story.

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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.

"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 and Emil: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from Barnes & Noble,  BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties 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 St. Jude.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2022 by Peggy Stuart