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.

Friday, October 25, 2024

A Baseball Game With a Strange Ending

"I'm not the best one to ask," Jolena told Billy as they were walking home from school. "I think you should ask Veronika."

"That's a good idea," Billy replied. "I'll ask her as soon as we get home."
"I'll come, too," Jolena said. It's something I really want to understand. It's very puzzling."

When the dolls arrived home, they saw Veronika on the couch in the living room.

She was sewing a button on one of Emil's shirts.
"Welcome home," Veronika said with when she saw them. "Did you have a good day?"

"Well," Jolena said. "Like most days, there was some good and some not so good."

"Did you have a problem today,?" Veronika asked, putting down her sewing, as the other two dolls climbed up onto the sofa to sit with her.

Jolena looked at Billy. That's my cue, he thought. It means Jolena wants me to explain.

"Lauren hit me!" he blurted out. "I don't know why. I didn't get into trouble this time, because I didn't hit her back, but I don't understand why she hit me. I thought we were friends."

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Veronika suggested. "Most dolls don't just go up to someone and hit them."
Billy thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, we were playing baseball, because it didn't rain, and the field is dry.

"I was on first," Jolena said. "The game was almost over. The other team was ahead by one run, and our team had two outs. I would have been biting my fingernails if I'd had any. Billy was on second."

"It all depended on Lauren," Billy added. "She was at bat. She swung at the ball twice and missed. Then she hit the next pitch."
"The ball went way over my head and then over the fence!" Jolena exclaimed. "We were so excited!"

"It was a home run," Billy said. "I got to run home and score!"
"Then I scored," Jolena added.
"Then Lauren scored," Billy said. "I was so happy with her I gave her a hug!"

"That's when Lauren hit Billy," Jolena said. "She bopped him right on the nose!"

The dolls were quiet for a moment to let Veronika think. Billy thought he could almost hear wheels turning in Veronika's head. He often wondered if Veronika had a little machine inside her head that helped her figure out why dolls act the way they do, and what's the right or the wrong thing to do. While he was still thinking about that, Billy thought he heard the wheels stop.

"I don't think it's your fault, Billy," Veronika said. "I think Lauren was upset by the hug, but you didn't mean to upset her."
"Why would a hug upset her?" Billy asked. "I was excited to win the game. She looked happy and excited, too, until I hugged her."

"Well," Veronika began, "we do a lot of hugging in our family," she explained. "It's perfectly natural for you to give someone a hug if they have just done something you like, or if they are unhappy, and you want to comfort them. Not everyone likes hugs, though, or they only like hugs from dolls who are close to them, like family members."

"So Lauren doesn't want Billy to hug her?" Jolena asked.
"That's my guess," Veronika agreed. "Not every doll would hit you, though. Some might say not to touch them again, or they might not say anything but just look unhappy, or laugh and pretend it was OK."

"What should I have done?" Billy asked. "I can see I did something she didn't like."
"If you want to give someone a hug, Billy," Veronika said, "it's best if you ask if it's OK. We shouldn't touch anyone without asking first," she explained. "It's sort of like borrowing their things without asking."

"Well, now I have question," Jolena said. "There's a boy doll in my class, Johnny, who keeps coming up behind me and touching me or grabbing me before I know he's there. I don't like it. I don't know what to do about it. It makes me feel very uncomfortable, but I know I shouldn't hit him."

"You have a right, Jolena," Veronika said, "not to be touched if you don't want to be. You can tell Johnny to stop it or push him away, and if he doesn't stop doing it, tell one of the teachers."
Jolena looked down at her hands. "I have been worrying about it," she said. "I thought I was doing something wrong to let him touch me at all, but I didn't know what to do."

Veronika gave Jolena a hug. She knew Jolena would like a hug, because Jolena often gives her hugs. "I think I understand how you feel," Veronika said, "but you did nothing wrong. It isn't your fault."

"Some dolls just haven't learned how to behave with other dolls. They think it's OK, or they want to do it even if it isn't OK," Veronika explained.
Billy had been thinking. "Did I make Lauren feel bad the way Johnny made Jolena feel bad?" he asked.

Now it was Billy's turn to have a hug. "You didn't know, Billy," Veronika told him, "and giving someone a hug isn't the same as sneaking up on them and touching them or grabbing them."

"If you feel bad about what happened," Veronika went on, "is there something you can think to do to feel better about it?"

Billy thought some more. "How about," he said finally, "how about I tell Lauren I'm sorry I hugged her, and I won't do it again? I'll tell her I didn't mean to upset her. I'll tell her she has the right not to be touched if she doesn't like it."

Veronika laughed. "She may not need the whole explanation," she said, "but when you talk to her you can figure out how much you need to tell her."
"Lauren hit a home run," Jolena said. "That's pretty cool!"
"With two dolls on base!" Veronika added.

"We can ask if it's OK to give her high fives," Billy suggested.
Billy and Jolena got down from the couch. They had homework to do.

Billy went into the kitchen to get a cookie to pretend to eat. Jolena stopped at the door to the living room. "Thanks, Veronika," she said.

Then she was gone.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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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, October 18, 2024

Being Green Makes It Easy

"I think," Emil said, looking down at the brown grass on the front lawn, "when I arrived, most of the plants looked green."

Emil and Billy had come out of the house to sit on the deck, to watch the squirrels and birds.
"That's true," Billy agreed.
Emil looked at Billy. "You mean the plants don't look as green to you?" he asked. "I thought my eyes were getting worse, or my special glasses weren't working," he added. "That's a relief!"
Then he thought for a moment. "Well, if the plants aren't as green, that makes me wonder why," he said finally, as they sat down on the steps.

"I remember it was the same way last year," Billy told him. "You came in September, when everything was still green. When I came, almost a year before you, it was November. A lot of the plants and grass were already turning brown and the trees had lost their leaves. Don't worry, though. If it's like last year, they will all be mostly green again in the Spring."
Both boys were quiet for a moment, lost in thought.
"Why are plants green," Emil wondered, "and not another color?"
"Yes, I wonder why that is," Billy said.
The boys looked at each other. "Let's ask Mandy!" They both said at once.

Mandy was sitting on the windowsill in the living room, knitting. She looked up when they came in. "I know you have a question," she said. "I can tell by the way you're looking at me. What is it?"

"We were wondering why the plants stopped being green," Billy said. "I'm pretty sure it's connected with the snow somehow," he added, "but I don't know why."

"It isn't exactly because of the snow," Mandy said, "but the color of the plants changing, the leaves falling from the trees and the snow are all part of the seasons we have in this part of the world."

"I remember," Billy said, "when you showed us how the sun is at a lower angle this time of year, and that causes winter."
"Very good, Billy," Mandy said. "I'm glad you remembered that. You should explain to Emil how it works."
Billy nodded. He enjoyed teaching Emil things. He felt like a big brother.
"I know how the seasons happen," Billy said, "and I know that the plants and leaves change color, but I don't know why they're green during the warmer part of the year."
"Yes," Emil agreed. "I want to know that, too. That's our question. Why aren't they red or blue?"

"Flowers can be all different colors: yellow or red or blue or purple," Billy added, "or sometimes several different colors all on the same flower, but almost all of the leaves are green, except in the Fall when some of the leaves on the trees and bushes change to yellow, orange or red, before they fall to the ground."

The boys looked at Mandy.
"That's because leaves have something called chlorophyll (KLOR-uh-fill) in them" Mandy explained. "It's green. The plants use it to make their food."

The boys both repeated the word "chlorophyll."
"How does that work?" Emil wanted to know. "Is it like a kitchen?"
"Sort of, or like a factory," Mandy agreed, "but very, very tiny; so small you can't see it with just your eyes, or with your special glasses Emil."

"Even good eyes, like Billy's?" Emil asked.
"Even good eyes like Billy's," Mandy agreed. "We would need a microscope (MY-kroh-skope) to see it, and even then it wouldn't look like a kitchen or a factory."
"I know what a microscope is," Billy said. "It makes things bigger, so you can see things that are too tiny to see."

Mandy thought for a moment. Then she suggested they go to the other window, where one of the houseplants was.

"You will notice," she began, after she climbed up next to the plant, "that each of the houseplants is close to a window, and their leaves are green."
The boys nodded. "I know plants need light," Billy said.

"I know most plants are green," Emil added. "Do they need light to make their food?" he asked.
"That's right!" Mandy exclaimed. "That's exactly what they do. We give plants water and a place where they have light. Plants use their chlorophyll to turn what they get from the water and the air they breathe in into food. They use the energy they get from light to do that. The way they do it is called photosynthesis (foto-SIN-thih-sis)."

The boys both said photosynthesis, the way Mandy had said it, so maybe they would remember it.
"So that's why we need to water plants," Emil said.

"Mostly," Mandy agreed. "Plants can dry out if they don't have enough water, and they need water to carry food and other things they need to the rest of the plant, but they also use parts of the water to make their food."

"Then why do most of the outdoor plants stop being green in the winter," Billy asked.
"They go to sleep," Mandy explained. "When the days get shorter, the leaves lose their chlorophyll. They dry up and fall to the ground. We say that the plants go dormant (DOHR-munt). That's how they live when the weather is too cold and the days are too short to make their food."

"Lots of trees are still green," Billy pointed out, like the big Christmas tree in the front yard."

"Yes," Mandy agreed. "The big tree in the front yard is a fir (fur) tree. It's one of the kinds of trees we call evergreen because they stay green all year. It has needles instead of leaves. The needles are sturdy and don't stay covered with snow for long, so they can keep working all year, even when it's freezing and the days are short."

The dolls sat down on the sofa to finish their chat. Marmalade climbed into Mandy's lap to be petted.
"Now I have another question," Billy said.

"I've been thinking," Billy continued, "about how you said the plants breathe in air. I don't breathe in air, because I'm a doll, but I know real children breathe in air."

Mandy nodded.
"So why is there still air all around us?" Billy asked.
"I wanted to know that, too," Emil put in. "With people and animals and plants all breathing in the air, why isn't the air all gone?"

"That's the best part," Mandy explained. "People and plants don't use up the air. "When plants breathe in the air, they only take out what they need from it. What they need is called carbon dioxide (KAHR-bun dye-OX-ide). It's made of one part of something called carbon (KAHR-bun) and two parts of something called oxygen (OX-uh-jun). The plants use the carbon and breathe out the oxygen."

"People and animals need oxygen," Mandy continued, "but they can't take it out of the carbon dioxide. When they breathe, they take the oxygen out of the air and breathe out carbon dioxide. That way plants help people and animals breathe, and people and animals help plants breathe."

The three dolls sat and thought about that for a few minutes. They thought it was amazing. Mandy had understood this for a long time, but she still found it amazing.

"You know," Billy said finally, "I was thinking about that plant we were looking at. "It had red flowers on it. If the green chlorophyll helps the plants make their food, why don't they put it in their flowers, too?"

"That, my dear brother," Mandy replied, removing Marmalade from her lap, "is another long story, and one for another day. I need to get back to my knitting!"

Mandy knows that if you give a doll too much new information at once, they don't remember it as well.

Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL

New words: chlorophyll, microscope, photosynthesis, dormant, carbon dioxide, oxygen