Rules for Success

"The game stopped being fun after Sarah changed the rules," Charlotte said, as Mariah sat down on the steps.

"I think so, too," Mariah agreed, making room for Charlotte. "Everyone knows you aren't supposed to step on a line in hopscotch." 

"That's the first thing we told Billy when we taught him to play the game last summer," Charlotte added.

"I think Sarah wanted to change the rules," continued Charlotte, "because she didn't want to have to do four over again. She knew she was going to lose if she had to wait for another turn to try again."

"It was good, though," Mariah said, "that you insisted that stepping on the lines had to be OK for everyone, if it was OK for her."

"Except then no one was having any fun anymore," Charlotte complained. "I wonder why it wasn't fun when we could step on the lines."

Both dolls thought about that for a while.

"Maybe hopscotch is fun because it isn't easy," Mariah suggested. "I mean, when you finish your turn safely, without stepping on a line or losing your balance, or having your stone land in the wrong space, you just feel good that you did it right."

"Success!" Charlotte cried suddenly.

Mariah looked a little startled and maybe confused. "Success?" she asked.

"It's success!" Charlotte explained. "It's like when I play my violin, I think. If it's an easy piece, and I only have to practice it a few times before I can play it right every time, I feel good, but if it's something harder, and I have to practice it over and over, it feels wonderful when I finally get it right."

Mariah thought about that for a bit. "I think I know what you mean," she said. "Sometimes I try to write a poem, and the words aren't quite right, or they sound OK, but it doesn't say what I want it to say. I have to erase and change the words. Then, suddenly I find the right word, and I just want to jump up and hug someone!"

"Then I wonder," Charlotte mused, "why Sarah doesn't know that."
"It's as if she is afraid to lose," Mariah pointed out.

"But it isn't winning," Charlotte said, "if you win only because you changed the rules. It isn't the same game."

Both dolls thought about that for a while.

"Do you suppose maybe Sarah has never done anything that was difficult?" Mariah suggested. "If she's afraid of losing, maybe it's because she has never failed at anything. We know losing a game isn't the end of the world. You find that out when you lose. It hurts for a while, but you get over it. You think about what you could do better next time, and you try again."

"Do you think that the human person she lives with never lets her try anything difficult?" Charlotte asked.
Mariah nodded. "Maybe when she goes home from doll school each day," she suggested, "she just has to go and stand on a shelf and look pretty."

"Aren't we lucky?" Mariah went on. "The Writer lets us run around the house when we get home. She lets us write stories and be in them."

"She lets us play music if we want," Charlotte said.

"There are rules for writing and making music," Mariah said.  "If we didn't follow the rules for those things, they wouldn't be fun at all."

"Billy gets to take pictures with the special phone camera," Charlotte said. "He had to learn how to take care of the phone and how the camera works. He had to learn how to get the photos into the computer. There are rules for that."

"We can ride Brownie whenever we like, too," Mariah pointed out. "There are rules for that. Brownie might accidentally shake you off, if you don't get on her the right way."

"Or if you don't put the saddle on the right way," Charlotte added. "Once you learn how to ride a horse, it's fun and safe!"

"The Writer lets Veronika use her sewing machine," Charlotte continued. "I know, because I've watched her do it. Veronika is very careful. She knows what she's doing. There are rules for that. She is teaching me. The machine won't work if you put the thread in wrong, and you have to be careful, so you don't sew your fingers."

Mariah nodded. "Mandy can use The Writer's knitting needles any time she wants," Mariah pointed out, "as long as she doesn't need them herself. Using knitting needles could be dangerous for Mandy if she didn't know how."
"She has to follow the knitting directions, too," Charlotte added. "If you don't do it right, what you make won't be any good."

"You might start out to knit a sock and find out you had a good start on a sweater, instead!" Mariah pointed out.

"Or you work hard on a sweater and find out you've made a sock!" Charlotte laughed.

"Yes," Charlotte agreed, "but Mandy has learned the rules well enough that she can make up her own patterns now, like Pippa's sweater."

"I remember how she used the computer to make a chart to use," Mariah said.

"That's right," Charlotte agreed. "I remember she kept switching colors, but she used the darker color for the dark squares and the lighter color for the lighter ones. It turned out great, but she almost ran out of the grey yarn!"

"Jolena gets to cook when she likes," Mariah said. "She had to learn the rules, so she wouldn't cut off a finger or melt her vinyl."

"She even is allowed to do flips in the air on her skis," Charlotte said. "That could be dangerous for a doll who doesn't know what she's doing! She had to learn all the rules for how to do that."

"Almost anything we do can be dangerous," Mariah said, "but we learn how to do things the right way, so we stay safe, like wearing helmets when we ride bicycles."

"Or like wearing a seat belt in the car," Charlotte said.

"Imagine if people didn't know how to follow the rules for driving automobiles," Charlotte continued. "It could be a mess!"

"Some rules save us time," Mariah agreed, "and help us get along with other dolls."
"I can't even imagine a world without rules," Charlotte said. "I don't always like them, but I'm glad we have rules."
"I'm glad I don't have to go stand somewhere and just look pretty," Mariah said. "That would be fun for about five minutes!"

"Or have to stay in your box!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Some people buy dolls to keep for a while and then sell. The dolls are worth more if they are never removed from their boxes."

"It keeps them safe, but it wouldn't be fun." Mariah added flatly. "Of course, before I came out of my box, I had no idea what running around indoors or outdoors was like, so I guess I didn't mind. I hadn't learned all the things we need to know about the world."
"I guess there are rules for more things than hopscotch," Charlotte decided. "Maybe we need to play games not just so we learn how to work to do something hard, and that losing isn't the end of the world, but also so we learn how to follow rules for life."

"Do you know what I think?" Mariah asked. "I think Sarah needs to get out more!"
Charlotte nodded. "And I think," she added, "Sarah needs to learn to follow the rules!"
"I think so, too," Mariah agreed. "Let's see if she will play hopscotch with us again tomorrow!"

"Maybe if we explain first why following the rules is so important," Charlotte added, "she'll understand."

"Let's read her this story first!" Mariah exclaimed. "Reading about it in a story is better than having someone explain."

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


Traffic photo by Sorin Gheorghita on Unsplash.

Pippa's sweater free pattern: Pippa's Chilly Days of Fall (Not a beginner project. You will need to learn a lot of rules before you attempt it.)

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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Copyright © 2020, 2024 by Peggy Stuart

The Perils of Pauly and Pippa

"Careful, Pauly," Pippa cried! "Don't touch that!"

Pauly jumped back from the electrical outlet he had been investigating.

"Why not?" he asked. Pippa had sounded so anxious!

"You can get a very bad shock," Pippa replied. "I'm not sure, but I think maybe it could even melt your fingers! Then you would have to go to the doll hospital and get that part of your arm replaced. That might take a long time, if they don't have lots of right-hand-and-arm parts in stock in our size!"

Pauly looked at his hand and his arm. He thought about all the things he needed it for.

"How do you know?" Pauly wanted to know. "I mean, how did you find out the electrical outlet is dangerous."

"Well," Pippa began, "I made a lot of mistakes when I first got here, and the other dolls helped me to learn these things, like when I investigated the medicine cabinet. Mariah found me doing it and said I shouldn't."

"What's wrong with checking out the medicine cabinet?" Pauly asked.

Pippa wanted to roll her eyes, but her eyes don't roll. She really wanted to roll them, though, so she rolled her whole head around instead.

Then she realized that she had been lucky to come into a home with other dolls who knew stuff. Pauly only had Jeffy's bear, and maybe bears didn't need to know all the things dolls need to know. "Mariah told me," she explained, "that stuff like some medicines and mouthwash and cough medicine may smell good, but they can make real children sick if they swallow them. If we pretend to swallow one of them, our readers might think it's OK. It's very important to set a good example. I can see why a real human child might think that mouthwash was good to drink, but it isn't. You're supposed to spit it out. Mariah explained that."

"Then," Pippa went on, "when the Emil and Billy were checking the house for dangerous things because The Writer was going to look after her neighbor's child so her neighbor could go to work, they talked about needing to put stoppers in all the electrical outlets all over the house."

"Come with me," Pippa told Pauly then. "I'll show you all of the things I know are dangerous for children. Some things are dangerous for us, too, like that electrical outlet."

Pippa led Pauly into the kitchen. She opened the oven door, so the two dolls could look inside. "This," Pippa said, "is a stove. It can get very, very hot inside when it's being used. Never open it and touch anything inside when it's on. It can melt your vinyl! Human people and dolls who cook use something called potholders to take things out, but just stay away from it until someone teaches you."

"It can get hot up on top, too," Pippa explained, "because they cook stuff on top sometimes. They have things up there called burners, and I know why they call them that! If you burn your hand, it can melt!"

Pauly thought about that. So many things can melt your vinyl.

Pippa opened the dishwasher and showed Pauly the inside. "Never climb into the dishwasher," she said. "Someone could come along and close it. They could turn it on. It washes everything inside with lots of water. I can't imagine what you would look like after you came out," she added.

Pippa led Pauly to the refrigerator. She looked around until she found what she was looking for. 

She pulled out a container, opened the lid and showed Pauly what was inside. It was grey and fuzzy. "Never," Pippa said, "ever pretend to eat something that looks like this. It's spoiled and could make you pretend to be sick."

It looked like greenish gray velvet, sort of pretty, but it didn't smell pretty.

The dolls put the container back into the refrigerator, because Pippa knew it was part of an experiment Mandy was working on, so she shouldn't throw it out.

"So," Pauly said, "if it could make me pretend to be sick, it could make a real child like Jeffy sick for real!"

"You catch on fast!" Pippa exclaimed. She was beginning to realize that Pauly was actually pretty smart. He just didn't know much yet, but he would learn.

Pippa led Pauly over to one of the cabinets. She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a plastic bag and showed it to him. "This is a plastic bag," she said. "Never, ever, put one of these over your head. You won't be able to pretend to breathe." 

Then she thought for a moment. "Well, we dolls don't really have to breathe. The Writer used a bag one time when it was raining and she was taking Mandy out with her. She did it to keep her from getting wet, but she told our readers that real children should not put a plastic bag over their heads. Real human children need to breathe air, and air doesn't go through plastic. (Mandy just pretended to hold her breath. It's easy for a doll.)"

"We don't want to set a bad example for real human children," Pauly said thoughtfully, and Pippa agreed. 

"Let's go on to the next thing," Pippa said as Pauly followed her into the bathroom, where she opened the cabinet under the sink. "These are cleaning supplies," she said. "You can use them if you're pretending to clean the house, but you have to be very, very careful with them. You need to wait until someone shows you how."

"What can they do to a real human child?" Pauly asked.

"They can damage their eyes," Pippa replied, "or make them very sick if they try to drink some of them."

"Come with me," Pippa said then. They walked down the hall to the front door, and Pippa opened it. "Let's go outside," she said.

When they were outside, they climbed up onto the wicker seat on the front porch. Pippa pointed up to the rail. "You can get a good view from up on that rail," she said, "but don't go up there."

Pauly looked at Pippa. He knew she would explain.

"You could fall down to the ground, and maybe your head would come off and roll away," Pippa explained. "Maybe they wouldn't be able to find it in the bushes. Then where would you be?"

"How do you know?" Pauly inquired. 

"Don't ask!" was all Pippa would say. "Let's go to the street."

"Streets are very dangerous," Pippa said, "especially for dolls and other small creatures. We're hard to see, so if someone is driving a car, they don't know to stop. You have to be very careful and look both ways before you start to cross the street. Look left, then right, then left again."

"What if your ball goes out into the street, though?" Pauly asked.

"Let the ball go!" Pippa replied emphatically. "Always look both ways before you go to get it, and if a car is coming, wait! It's better if the ball gets squished than that you do!"

The dolls went back into the house. "That's a lot of dangerous things to remember," Pauly mused, as they closed the front door. 

"I'll have to be thinking all day long about so many things to stay safe and to set a good example for Jeffy," Pauly added.

"It isn't so bad," Pippa assured him. Soon you'll get where you know what's dangerous and what isn't. You won't have to think about it so much. I'll tell you what," Pippa told him, "Go sit on the couch, and I'll get us some cookies." 

That sounded good to Pauly. He went into the living room and climbed up onto the couch.

In just a few minutes, Pippa climbed up beside Pauly with a plate of cookies. "Help yourself," Pippa said, offering him the cookies.

"What kind of cookies are they?" Pauly asked, as he took one. (He knew there were lots of different kinds of cookies.)

"I don't know," Pippa replied. "They must be really good, though. The Writer and her husband buy a lot of them," she said. "They keep them in a dish on the floor, so they're easy for dolls to get to."

"The dogs love them," Pippa added. "They eat them all the time."

Cast--

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Photo of mold from this post in Wired, cropped.

Special note: The first story in "The Doll's Storybook" appeared on June 22, 2018. Since then, there has been a new story every week. You can find all the stories, in order, 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.

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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Copyright © 2022 by Peggy Stuart