The Case of the Homeless Holiday Dinner
[phone ringing]
“Hello?”
“Daisy! It’s Attorney Malkah!”
“Hi Malkah! What’s up?”
“Not much! I wanted to let you know that today we are going to visit a local homeless shelter to help prepare a holiday meal for all the people who live there. It would be great if you could come with us! Do you want to go?”
Asked Attorney Malkah.
[birds chirping & music]
On a chilly, December morning, powdery snowflakes fell from the sky as Attorney Malkah chatted on the phone with her good friend Daisy Dolly.
Malkah explained to Daisy that they would go with a couple of their other friends, Petunia Dolly and Rebecca Dolly. Daisy grew excited and curious about what this holiday dinner was all about.
Malkah and the doll girls wanted to help these less fortunate people who had no homes of their own and no families to be with during the holidays. This is why they lived in a homeless shelter. Attorney Malkah and the dollies could spread some holiday cheer by preparing a delicious meal so these less fortunate people could experience something very special.
Well, Daisy Dolly thought this was such a wonderful plan that her friends were doing this – a real act of kindness and replied to Malkah,
“This is such a lovely idea! I would love to go!”
“Wonderful! We’ll all be together. In fact, we are leaving in one hour! Can you come to my house?”
Malkah asked.
“I’ll be there in a jiffy!”
Replied Daisy. With that the girls finished their call.
Daisy had been to Malkah’s house many times and in fact, lived just around the corner. So, she scurried to get ready.
As Daisy headed out, Attorney Malkah gathered her thickest coat, fluffiest scarf and chunkiest boots and then prepared a list of duties to help the dollies get organized since they had a full day ahead of them.
The doorbell rang just as Malkah was feeding her two cats, Boss Kitty and Jackie Clover, and giving the last snack to her small dog, Joselita.
She greeted Daisy with a huge hug as the two were very close. Together, they walked toward the homeless shelter which was not far from where they lived. It was quite a sight to witness a doll seemingly alive as she held hands with a human! Albeit her walk was a bit stiff since she did not have joints like humans and animals. Heads always turned for folks could not believe their eyes! But for Malkah and Daisy, the friendship was as real as could be.
They arrived just as Petunia Dolly and Rebecca Dolly approached. A round of warm hugs circled, as if Malkah and the dollies hadn’t seen in other in ages; even though they had all met for high tea just the day before.
For a few moments, they chatted quietly amongst themselves before entering the shelter. Naturally, the dollies were quite girly in their own, individual ways, and enjoyed observing each other’s appearances.
As the girls entered, they were quickly surrounded by disheveled people, some with alarming appearances. A lot of them didn’t look very healthy. And most wore shabby clothes that did not fit well and were dirty. Some did not appear to be very clean and were even a bit stinky. But there were those who smiled at the girls with kindness in their eyes and that was the gesture that touched them the deepest. Attorney Malkah and her dolly friends could tell that these people were quite poor, which made their hearts to ache.
The disturbing conditions of these homeless people disturbed Malkah and her dolly friends. And yet, they all welcomed the girls with kind greetings which caused the girls to realize how lucky they were to have their families and live in nice, stable homes. The girls were touched and eager to create a holiday memory that these people deserved and would remember.
Making their way into the kitchen in the back of the building, they found a large, two-door refrigerator, a couple of massive sinks and tons of counter space and appliances.
“This feels like we’re in a restaurant kitchen!”
Exclaimed Daisy Dolly
“Wow! We’re gonna be cooking for a lot of people!”
Expressed Petunia.
Attorney Malkah exclaimed to her dolly friends,
“Let’s get busy, dollies! We’ve got a lot of cooking to do!”
Cooking was one of Malkah’s hobbies, even at the young age of 8. Jeepers, she was a wiz in the kitchen and could cook her mother under the table with any of her amazing culinary creations. When she wasn’t busy cooking up solutions to drama situations with her dolly friends, she was in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.
Attorney Malkah’s eyes practically popped out of her head when she opened the refrigerator, for she saw so many yummy ingredients! There were all sorts of plump vegetables, colorful fruits, aromatic herbs, blocks of tofu, beans, and bottles of sauce to prepare an incredible meal.
Most importantly, Malkah was impressed by all the generous people in the neighborhood who had donated these items to the shelter.
“Dollies! Get a load of this!”
As Malkah ushered the doll girls over to the refrigerator.
“Do you dollies know what amazing dishes we can prepare with all these incredible ingredients?”
Asked Malkah.
Attorney Malkah and the dollies carefully removed ingredients from the refrigerator to begin preparations for the festive holiday meal. Daisy Dolly washed veggies in the massive sink while Petunia Dolly chopped fruits and nuts and shredded cheese. Malkah began to mix and sizzle ingredients on the stove top that released an irresistible aroma of home cooking, love and generosity. The girls’ cooking released a delicious aroma of kindness and belonging throughout founds its way throughout the shelter. One by one, some of the folks shyly approached and asked if they could help with the preparations. Attorney Malkah could tell that they were not accustomed to such generosity, out of the kindness of their hearts.
“Madame, all this cooking is splendid. What can I do to help?”
Timidly asked a very tall, boney man who seemed quite hungry.
“Would you mind placing all these utensils in baskets around the main table?”
Replied Petunia.
As she gathered heaps of forks, knives, spoons, napkins and plates, and handed them over to the skinny man.
Another commented,
“Dear, we are so thankful to have you here with us and appreciate all that you are doing. We don’t have much. But your generosity and care make us feel so special.”
The lady must have been close to her mother’s age. Attorney Malkah was touched.
An elderly lady limping with a cane grasped Daisy’s arm and claimed,
“My dear dolly, who in heaven’s name sent you to us?! I’m Helga. You remind me of my daughter when she was a young girl. I haven’t seen her in ages. Thank you!”
Both Malkah and Daisy noticed that the lady was not surprised that Daisy was in fact a living dolly!
Then, Helga helped Attorney Malkah prepare all the containers in the cafeteria section so that when the food was finally ready it would stay nice and warm for the entire evening.
Attorney Malkah walked back into the kitchen and instructed the other dollies,
“It’s time to prepare the rest of the dishes because they might take some time to bake.”
However, upon opening the refrigerator, Attorney Malkah noticed that one of the big, brown grocery bags that contained the most important ingredients was missing. She closed the refrigerator and looked everywhere for any sign of the misplaced bag. She looked on the countertops, on the stovetop, in the sink and even on the floor. She noticed that Daisy and Petunia were still very busy preparing ingredients. Yet, she did not find the brown bag.
Attorney Malkah replayed the day’s activities since their arrival at the shelter, and suddenly, it occurred to her that Rebecca Dolly was nowhere to be found! She thought that was odd.
Concerned, she quickly walked back into the kitchen and asked Daisy and Petunia,
“Have you dollies seen Rebecca?”
To which the dollies replied,
“Why, no. We have not seen her.”
Attorney Malkah continued to question the dollies,
“Have either of you seen the big, brown bag that contains the main ingredients?”
The dollies were so distracted chopping and cooking that they replied almost in unison,
“No, we haven’t seen it! Where could it be?”
“I’ll be back in a jiffy!” claimed Attorney Malkah.
She threw on her coat and scarf, left the dollies in the kitchen, and ran outside wondering, where could Rebecca Dolly have gone?
Now, Attorney Malkah was in fact an attorney which meant that she was quite accustomed to digging into situations, asking questions, and solving mysteries and problems. Growing more and more suspicious, she asked herself,
“How can I find the missing brown bag? And why is Rebecca Dolly also missing?”
She suspected that there might be a connection between Rebecca and the missing brown bag. She certainly did not want to pass judgment against her dolly friend unless she had proof. If Rebecca Dolly had stolen the brown bag of ingredients, it was her duty to make it right!
Not sure what to do next, Attorney Malkah followed a tiny voice inside that told her to walk down the block toward her home. Surprisingly, she noticed Rebecca Dolly walking in front of her! It seemed that Rebecca was carrying something bulky, causing her to walk in an awkward sort of way.
Stepping up her pace, Attorney Malkah thought to herself,
“Oh, dear! Please Rebecca Dolly…I hope you haven’t stolen the brown bag because that’s a bad thing to do!”
Within seconds, Malkah was right behind Rebecca Dolly and cried out to her darling friend,
“Rebecca! Is it you?”
Startled, Rebecca twirled around at the sound of Attorney Malkah’s voice. In a split-second Malkah witnessed that Rebecca Dolly was in fact carrying a big, brown bag! And it looked identical to the one that had been in the refrigerator.
In fact, Rebecca was so taken aback that she dropped the bag! Oh my. Out roled oranges, tomatoes, grapes, cheeses, nuts, cakes, and more! And many of the items rolled into the street. The girls gasped! In a matter of seconds, a car drove by and ran over everything. Even a delicious chocolate cake was now a flattened pile of smooshy frosting.
The attorney and the dolly looked at each other in shock. They were both devastated! Neither knew what to do in that awkward moment – Rebecca because she had been caught red-handed, stealing; and Attorney Malkah because she had witnessed her dear dolly friend in the act of stealing. Now, they did not have all the necessary ingredients they needed to complete their holiday dinner!
Before Attorney Malkah could say a word, Rebecca Dolly confessed,
“Oh, Malkah! I am so sorry! I was going to give the brown bag to my parents because they do not have the money to buy food for our holiday dinner.”
As much as she cared about her parents, Rebecca felt guilty as tears swelled in her eyes.
In that moment, the young, compassionate, Attorney Malkah felt bad for her dolly friend. But she also realized that stealing is wrong no matter the reason, and that the situation needed to be corrected.
“Rebecca Dolly, I’m really sorry for your family’s struggles. But that brown bag was not yours to take. It was for the people at the homeless shelter. Now, we don’t have the ingredients we need to complete the dinner.”
“What can we do to make this right?”
Attorney Malkah asked. To which Rebecca Dolly replied,
“I know! Maybe we can walk down to the supermarket, and I can use my allowance to buy the same ingredients and return them to the shelter!”
“That is such a great idea! I am so proud of you, Daisy.”
Praised Malkah.
Though Rebecca had learned a valuable lesson, Attorney Malkah felt sad that her dolly friend might have to spend her hard-earned allowance to replace the missing ingredients for her family to enjoy a lovely dinner together. Yes, it was a lesson learned in doing the right thing but it also strengthened their friendship as Rebecca had Malkah’s full support.
“Oh Rebecca! I feel bad for you and your family! I had no idea. But I want to help. Since you are willing to replace the brown bag, I will take some of my allowance and buy some fruits and veggies to give to you and your family for your Thanksgiving dinner.”
Offered Attorney Malkah.
Touched by her generous offer, Rebecca Dolly gave Attorney Malkah a huge hug and cried,
“Oh, thank you, Attorney Malkah! You really are such a dear friend!”
Once back at the shelter carrying two, big brown bags – one for the homeless and the other for Rebecca Dolly’s family – the other dollies curiously asked,
“Where have you two been?”
Malkah and Rebecca looked at each other in a moment of silence. Not wanting to embarrass her friend, Attorney Malkah replied,
“We went to the supermarket to purchase ingredients for Rebecca Dolly’s family holiday dinner.”
Before the other dollies could ask more questions, Attorney Malkah claimed,
“Quick dollies! We need to prepare the rest of the meal! Who knows best what spices to use?”
Knowing very well that both Daisy and Petunia would jump at the chance.
“I do!” Replied the dolls in unison.
“Ha!Ha! Great!” cried Attorney Malkah.
“Rebecca and I will finish preparing the rest of the food!”
A few hours later, the cafeteria with overflowing with the yummiest cuisine they had ever prepared. The delicious aroma filled the air as the homeless people lined up for the best meal they had eaten in a long time. Smiling and chatting with these nice people, they all thanked the girls repeatedly, as Malkah and the dollies filled their plates to the rim.
The end.
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How a frozen pop stops a pandemic
On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Pete relaxed in a crunchy bed of ice, browsing the local paper.
Suddenly, a headline caught his eye about a scary virus happening overseas in East Asia. Pete had never been to that part of the world. He was especially concerned by the news since his distant cousins the Mochi family lived there.
In fact, Pete was so disturbed that he jumped out of his ice bath and right into his cold suit. He ran out the door, hopped on his scooter and raced to the local newsstand. He gasped as right before his eyes; every single magazine blasted headlines about an unknown virus invading East Asia.
It was called The Corona Virus
Naturally, Pete wanted to learn everything he could about this virus since he was quite a curious popsicle who loved to read. So, he purchased several magazines. After arriving home, he read every word he could find about the virus and even went on his computer to research further. The more he learned, the more nervous he became.
Pete became so nervous that drips of grape began dribbling down his forehead. The more he thought about the virus, the more he melted! Pete dashed into his freezer for relief, dreaming of a way he could prevent people from catching this terrible virus.
Pete was a take-action kinda pop
Generally speaking, popsicles don’t get sick. But Pete was concerned that he could catch the virus since nobody knew very much about it. Then he learned about a big word called pandemic. A pandemic is a disease that spreads and hurts people around the world. The Corona Virus was a pandemic!
Nestled in his chilly freezer, Pete breathed deeply to calm his nerves. At this point, he thought the best thing to do was to stay home where he was safe. That way he wouldn’t catch the disease if it really was so contagious. If he had to go outside for any reason, maybe to dump the trash or go to the grocery store, he would wear a face mask and plastic gloves. These thoughts relaxed Pete and soon he climbed out of his freezer, ready to tackle the world.
We all know that Pete has a big warm heart
Every time he worries or gets emotional, his heart swells which causes a melt. This is a very dangerous situation for a popsicle. Thank goodness Pete had invented the cold suit! He wore it to stay frozen during times when he needed it most.
The empowered popsicle got to thinking. What if he could invent another suit similar to the cold suit? This one would keep people safe from catching the virus. People could wear this special suit all day and all night. It would have temperature and humidity control. Since viruses don’t like warmth, a temperature button would keep the suit nice and warm inside. And since they don’t like humidity, a humidity button would keep the suit moist. A de-activation button would melt the suit right off the person when the virus was gone. Pete decided to call it the Corona Suit.
Holy papaya popsicles! That's it!
Pete needed advice from his two good friends Paolo Pistachio and Carmine Caramel. They were the Gelato brothers and boy were they a couple of smarty pants. Paolo was an epidemiologist who worked at the Center for Sick Control. His job was to keep people healthy. Carmine Caramel was a scientist who worked at DuPlunk Corporation. His work was to make amazing suits that kept people safe from dangerous substances. The Gelato brothers knew a lot about viruses and helping people stay safe and healthy.
Introducing the Corona Crew
The three sweet treats talked about the pandemic. Paolo was curious about how the virus came about; Carmine was interested in what was needed to make the virus go away; Pete wanted to find out how to stop the virus from hurting people. Paolo and Carmine were well aware of Pete’s talent as an engineer because they each had their very own Cold Suit that Pete had made for them. They thought it was super cool that Pete wanted to invent the Corona Suit. Together, they formed the Corona Crew. That’s when Pete talked about his Master Plan.
Pete planned to sketch his ideas of the Corona Suit on paper. Carmine described to Pete how the suit could keep the virus out. It must be made from a special fiber material that was air resistant in order to keep out all the germs. It should also have a face shield that covered a person’s face, complete with a built-in oxygen purifier. It should also enclose their shoes. Special zippers and Velcro would keep the suite airtight.
Pete could design and engineer the entire suit with no problem! He was especially excited when Carmine announced that he had a ton of extra fabric that he and his scientist friends at DuPlunk were about to toss away. He was happy to donate the fabric to Pete to use for the suits.
Paolo chimed in. Once several suits were complete, he could help sell them to people around the world. He knew a lot about marketing and social media. Paolo elaborated about the influential people that he knew at Center for Sick Control. Through his contacts, he could inform everybody in the world about the Corona Suit and how much folks needed it to protect themselves against the virus.
What? Hot Pink Flowers?
There was one tiny detail that Carmine almost forgot to share. The conversation grew a bit awkward as he revealed that, well, the fabric was covered in hot pink flowers. Seriously? Hot pink flowers?? But Pete quickly remembered that the brightly flowered fabric was all they had. Paolo reasoned that the hot pink flowers might be cool. Maybe the suits would make a fashion statement and people would love wearing them.
Yippee yam yogurt! Pete was thrilled by the the support of his friends
It was time for Pete to get busy. On the top shelf of his bedroom closet sat a sewing machine that Pete had never used. Mama Victoria Vanilla Popsicle Cold had given it to him for his fifteenth birthday. That was ten years ago. At the time, Pete had no idea what he, as a male popsicle, would do with a sewing machine. Weren’t they for girls? But he didn’t want to hurt Mama Victoria’s feelings. Somehow, she knew that one day he might need it. Pete was convinced that his Mama Victoria could predict the future. Growing up, that was a little scary but he loved her oodles, anyway.
The Corona Suit comes to life!
Pete laid out the sprawling, pink floral fabric on his living room floor. He proceeded to cut out all the pieces of the Corona suit, carefully following his sketches. Then he organized all his sewing gear – scissors, zippers, Velcro, tape measure, pins and of course his prized sewing machine. Before the end of the day, Pete had finished stitching the first Corona Suit. He was so proud of himself! Until he tuned in to the news…
Pete worried about the rising number of humans that were catching the Corona Virus. And now, he heard that some animals were catching the disease! The news broke his heart and he immediately began to cry and melt. Animals can neither speak nor express pain. His intense compassion and love for animals drained his emotions. Teary-eyed and weary, Pete slowly climbed into his freezer and hugged his teddy bear for comfort as he froze into safety. Of course, Teddy helped tremendously in making him feel better.
Ode to Pink America
Tucked into his cozy ice bed, Pete drifted into a dreamland of chilly possibilities. Oddly, Paolo and Carmine experienced the same dream. It was a mystical vision as millions of Americans in all shapes and sizes wore the Corona Suit. They stood protected and happy as a virus-free nation, thanks to the genius of one single popsicle and his smarty-pant sidekicks. Together, Pink America chanted a verse, over and over:
The Corona Crew has saved us!
"We bid farewell to Corona Virus! With pretty, pink flowers and frozen genius. Corona Crew has saved us! Our dear Corona Crew has saved us! Forever in our hearts they shall remain.”
Holy hoppin' apple pops!
The rhythm bathed each of the slumbering sweet treats in blessings of gratitude. They were now sealed with a forever bond.
The next morning, the three frozen confections awoke with sparkling energy, as if something had touched their souls. Not surprisingly, each ran to their computers and connected on a video call. They were a little surprised by their togetherness, each eager to share their dreams. As they spoke all at once, the conversation tapered off as they looked at each other in disbelief. Was it possible that they all had the same dream? That’s a little spooky. But maybe it wasn’t spooky at all…
The Corona Crew would go down in science history
The success of the Corona Suit was of epic proportion.
The three courageous confections acted faster than a melting popsicle in a summer heat wave. They were motivated by their compassion and dedication to save as many lives as they could.
The Corona Crew agreed to sell each Suit for $15, with the Gelato brothers keeping a portion of the profits. They sold their first 500 suits in one week! The Crew’s next purchase would be fabric to make more suits in different colors and patterns.
Carmine’s colleagues at DuPlunk Corporation were so intrigued by the Corona Suit that they helped them license the suit for free – they called it a patent. A patent made it illegal for people to copy or steal the Corona Suit. The DuPlunk folks also introduced Carmine to several reporters who interviewed the Crew and broadcast their story on popular television stations like CMN and Flip News.
Paolo promoted the suit using social media avenues like Twister, ButtBook and Instagrim. Soon, the whole world knew about the Corona Suit!
Pete and the Gelato Brothers were thrilled that the Corona Suit was saving lives. They were also very happy because in the process, their piggy banks grew fat with profit, allowing them to make more and more Corona Suits.
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