The Doll in a Hat

Pauly watched Charlotte and Emil go in through the front door to the house. "Why does Emil wear that saucer on his head?" he asked. 

"It isn't a saucer," Pippa told him. "It's sort of a hat."

"But it isn't the hat he usually wears," Pauly pointed out. 

"He has three hats,I think," she said. "A doll can have more than one hat."

"I know his regular hat is like mine," Pauly said, taking his hat off.

"Yes," Pippa said. "That type of hat is called a ball cap, and Emil and Billy both have them, just like you. Girls wear them, too!"

Pauly had never seen Billy and Emil wear their winter hats, so he didn't know about them.

Pauly only had one hat to wear, so he thought that was all a doll needed. "We wear hats on our heads," he said, "and each of us only has one head."

"Lots of dolls have more than one hat," Pippa told him. "It's like the way you have several shirts and sweaters to wear." Pippa tugged on her sweater for emphasis. "If you don't have two heads, you only wear one hat at a time, the way you wear only one shirt at a time if you only have one body, although you can put a sweater or sweatshirt or jacket over it if it's cold."

Pauly tried to imagine a doll with two heads and one body or one head but two bodies. It was difficult, but dolls come with good imaginations.

"You have other pants to wear, too," Pippa pointed out, "and pajamas to sleep in, and you have three pairs of shoes."

Pauly wondered how Pippa knew he had pajamas. He never wore them to Pippa's house. He decided that she just assumed (uh-SOOMD) he had pajamas, because she had pajamas to sleep in. Don't all dolls have pajamas to sleep in?

"Well," Pauly said, "I've never seen Emil wear that hat before. In fact...I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear a hat like that."

"In fact," Pauly continued, before Pippa could get a word in, which he had learned meant you had to keep talking, "I don't think I've even seen a hat like that in a picture!" 

Pauly likes books, and he had seen a lot of pictures in them, but this was something new for him, and something new was always interesting.

"Emil just about always wears that hat when he goes to the synagogue (SIN-uh-gog)," Pippa said matter-of-factly, as if she knew all about it. "That's where they've been," she added.

When Pauly just gave her a blank stare, Pippa wanted to roll her eyes, but she remembered that Pauly hadn't been around all that long, so he didn't have her vast knowledge of the world, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings, because she's a kind doll, and Pauly is her very best friend.

"That's where they go to learn about God," Pippa explained.

"So it's a church," Pauly suggested. "But this is Saturday! Jeffy goes to church on Sunday. He took me along to Sunday School one time."

"Yes, sort of," Pippa agreed. "Only they––Emil and Charlotte––usually go to the synagogue on Saturday. Mariah goes to the mosque (MOSK) on Friday, and the rest of us go to church on Sunday."

"You can go with us sometime, if you like," Pippa suggested, "if it's OK with Jeffy. We go to the doll church, of course," she added. "I'm sure Jeffy took you to the human people church."

"I didn't see any other dolls there," Pauly agreed, "so it must have been the human people church." Jeffy had taken Pauly to his school once for something called "show-and-tell," and it was sort of like that, only he remembered that there were more grownup human people at the church.

Pauly kept wanting to get back to Emil's hat, though. "So why does he wear that hat when he goes to the synagogue?" (He was enjoying his new word. He wanted to say it a lot, so it would be part of his doll brain.)

Pippa didn't know the answer to that. Now that Pauly brought it up, she was curious. "Let's go ask!" she suggested.

The two dolls got up from the front steps and went into the house.

Emil and Charlotte were in the living room, talking to Mandy, who was knitting something very big. They noticed when the two smaller dolls came in.

Pippa and Pauly climbed up on the big piece of furniture that was always in front of the sofa. It wasn't a table and it wasn't a chair, but something in-between. (Pippa thought it was called an auto-something, but it had nothing to do with cars, that she could see.) "We were wondering something, Emil," Pippa said right away. "We noticed that you always wear that funny, I mean, strange, I mean unusual hat whenever you go to the synagogue. Why is that?"

"The funny hat is a kippah (KIH-puh)," Emil told them, taking it off so they could see it.

"I don't have to wear it, but it's a tradition (truh-DIH-shun) for human boys and men to wear a kippah in the synagogue. We dolls like to try strange and new things, but we also like to take part in traditions, because human people do."

"It's like how we always read together on Christmas Eve," Emil said. 

"We read books we like, but we always include The Night Before Christmas. That's a tradition with us," Mandy explained.

"Christmas?" asked Pauly. "Christmas Eve?"

"That's right!" Pippa exclaimed. "You weren't here for Christmas last year! You're going to love it, but don't worry if a tree suddenly appears in your living room!"

The older dolls were trying to think of another example of a tradition for Pauly, one he would have experienced already.

"I know!" Mandy exclaimed. "We in the United States have a big celebration for Independence Day on July 4th! We've done that since you came to live with Jeffy. It's a set holiday, but remember how Jeffy's mother put the flag up in that holder in the front of the house? That's a tradition. Some people put a flag out every day, if that's their tradition, but most of us do that for special holidays."

"We did that, too," Charlotte explained. "In fact, even having a flag is a tradition. That's a tradition in all countries around the world. Each country has its own flag design."

"Remember the fireworks?" Emil asked Pauly. "That's a tradition where we live. We always have fireworks on July 4th!"

"Yes!" Pauly exclaimed. That was something he really remembered well. Jeffy's mother had let them stay up late to watch out of the upstairs window. They had turned off the lights, so they could see the night sky better. The loud sounds had scared him at first, but Jeffy had told him that was part of the fun.

"When we do something because human people have done it for a long time, it's a tradition," Mandy said.

"Some traditions," Charlotte put in, "are shared around the world, and some are just traditions for your family, like our tradition of sitting together by the fire on the last evening of the year and talking about what happened that year. We always do that."

"Having turkey for Thanksgiving dinner," called out Jolena from the kitchen doorway, "with stuffing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie." She must have heard the conversation while she was cooking.

The little doll chef disappeared again into the kitchen, so she must have had something on the stove. 

"Trick-or-treat on Halloween!" Charlotte added. "That will be soon!"

"You're going to love Halloween, Pauly!" Pippa cried. "Just wait! Children get dressed up in costumes and go from house to house, asking for candy. Some human people decorate their houses to look scary, but it's all in fun."

"What's the most fun," Mandy put in, "is The Writer sometimes dresses a couple of us up in costumes and puts us in the front hall, where children can see us. When children come to the door, she tells them we were the first trick-or-treaters, and look what she did to us! She made us tiny. It always makes them laugh."

"Having a cake with a candle at your birthday!" Charlotte said. "That's a tradition."

"Um..." Pauly began, "this is a lot to remember! Should I be taking notes?"

"Don't worry about it," Mandy assured him. "Just enjoy the fun. After a while, you'll remember all of these things."

So will our readers!

Maybe...just maybe...our readers can think of some traditions they already know about, but that we haven't mentioned!

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

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Photo of flag on house by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Photo of flags outside UN building from Kids World Travel Guide.

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 and soon Classic Tales Retold: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 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. Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author for $20 including shipping. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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

We've Got Email!

Billy was in the living room reading to Pauly and Pippa when they heard Charlotte call out to them. (They are both good readers, but there's something special about reading a story together with people you care about.)

"We're having a meeting upstairs!" Charlotte called out to them. "I came to get you! It's important!"

Soon the dolls were climbing the stairs...all except for Pauly, who still stood at the bottom of the stairs.

Pippa turned around and called to him, "Pauly, come on! It always takes us longer to get up the stairs!"

"But it's a family meeting!" Pauly answered back. "It's just for all of you, isn't it?"

By then, Charlotte was almost at the top of the stairs. "You can come, too, Pauly! It isn't private or anything, and this way you'll be the first to know." It was obvious that Charlotte knew something about what the meeting was for.

Pauly started up the stairs a bit hesitantly. "But what if Jeffy needs me?" he asked. "He'll be home from school in a little while."

"The meeting won't take that long," Charlotte reassured him, "and Veronika told me you should come."

"Jeffy can call us," Billy called down to Pauly. "He has our number now, and he'll know you're here if you aren't home! If you're really worried, you can use our phone to call him."

Because he got off to a late start up the stairs, Pauly was the last one to join the dolls seated at the big work table. He really did want to know what the meeting was all about; he just didn't want to be pushy. He climbed up on the tall stool to sit next to Pippa.

Veronika and Mandy were ready to begin. Veronika waited for Pauly to get settled, and then she cleared her throat––well, she cleared the inside of her neck, where her throat would be––and began. "Everyone is here except for Jolena," she said, "and we can explain all this to her when she gets home from her ballet lesson. She should be here soon. The Writer has asked Mandy and me to share this with all of you." Veronika then looked at Mandy.

"We now have something very few dolls have," Mandy began, as Veronika helped her lift a big sheet of paper from behind them on their seat.

They held up the sheet of paper. "We," Mandy said proudly, "now have our own email address!" On the sheet of paper the dolls could see "thedollsstorybook@icloud.com."

"Wow!" Billy exclaimed. "That's huge!"

Mariah had been thinking. "I have a question," she said. "Why do we need an email address? We're dolls. Dolls don't usually have email addresses."

"Most dolls don't, that's true," Veronika replied, "but we're a little different, because we're in stories and now books."

"You see," Mandy began, "people sometimes have difficulty leaving comments on the story blog, and The Writer has a lot of trouble answering the comments when she sees them, even if Billy helps. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

"And there's no way for people to comment on the books," Veronika pointed out. "They can write the publisher or comment wherever they bought the book, but that's what we call cumbersome (KUM-ber-sum). That means it's a lot of trouble to do and it doesn't work very well."

"If it's too much trouble," she said, "some human people don't bother. They may have more important things to do."

"People comment on Facebook sometimes," Mandy added, "and that's nice, but The Writer has to see the comments, and then she responds to the comment, and if it's something for one of us, she tells us about it. This way, though, we can answer the emails ourselves, too, without bothering The Writer. Besides, someone may have a comment or question they don't want the whole world to know about, like what Billy wants for his birthday, and they want it to be a surprise. If you want something to be secret, you don't talk about it on Facebook!"

"Will people be able to use the email address to order our books?" Pippa asked.

"That's a very smart question, Pippa!" Veronika exclaimed, "As a matter of fact, they will. Of course, the books are for sale in book stores, but if someone wants a signed copy, they have to get it from The Writer, and they can use this email for that."

"However," Mandy broke in, "we have another plan for this email. I mean, it will be good for more than just getting comments on the stories and selling the books."

"Yes," Veronika agreed. "We want our readers to use it to ask questions that they want us to answer. Maybe some of the questions will end up in stories."

While the dolls were still thinking about that, Jolena appeared in the doorway. "Sorry I'm late for the meeting," she said. "What did I miss?"

As Jolena climbed up next to Emil, all the dolls started talking at once.

All, that is, except for Mandy and Veronika, who just folded their hands in front of themselves and waited. They could correct anything the others got wrong. It's good for dolls to tell others about something they had just learned, and this was also a way for the two older dolls to find out if there was anything someone didn't understand.

Many dolls might be confused with everyone talking at one time, but not Jolena. She was used to being in a large group of dolls all talking at once when she traveled with the Doll Ski Team. Her little doll brain picked out each thing that was said and organized it into something that made sense.

Pippa and Pauly have higher voices, so they were easy to pick out.

When the dolls had all reached the part of the story where Veronika had said, "Maybe some of the questions will end up in stories," Jolena was caught up. 

"So someone's question might be an idea for a new story?" Emil asked when they were ready to go on. "Someone might send us an email asking why Brownie hasn't been in a story lately, for instance?"

Mandy nodded. "Yes, and that's a great idea!" she agreed. "They might have a question about science or nature we can help them with."

"Someone might want to know how you learn to be a writer," Mariah suggested.

"Maybe someone wants to know how to bake a cake!" Jolena exclaimed.

"Or what's the most fun about playing the violin!" Charlotte joined in.

"Or how to take good photos," Billy added.

"Or how to stay out of trouble," said Pauly, giving Billy a meaningful look.

Billy tried very hard to wink at Pauly, but all he could do was pretend, because his eyes don't close.

Mandy laughed. "That's too complicated for one story," she said. Each situation is different. Dolls can get into trouble in lots of different ways. It's a great idea, though. Each one could be a story."

"Wow!" Pauly almost shouted. "Jeffy might be in college by the time we finish them!"

"So," said Veronika, trying to bring the meeting to a close, "we want to ask our readers to let us know if they have any questions for us, or if there's something they want us to know. They should just email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com. We promise not to share their email address with anyone."

"Pinky swear!" Pippa exclaimed, grabbing Pauly's pinky finger with her own.

"Pinky swear!" Pauly responded. Pippa had taught him this little ritual. Jeffy may be the center of his life, but he was happy to be included with this group of friends. Who knew being a doll could be so much fun!

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

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

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 here: 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 and soon Classic Tales Retold: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 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 (not featured in every story).

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

Copyright © 2022 by Peggy Stuart