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CREATIVE WRITING Fixing The Robot Doll
By: Phil Brown
I was talking to a young Mother who had her 5 year old daughter with her. The young Mothers name was Bethany. Bethany told me about something that happened to her when she was a child. She told me a strange story about when she was 8 years old. It seems that Bethany has a very special old doll with long silver hair, named Merlin. I have often heard of a Merlin, who was a very powerful and famous magician. That Merlin lived way, way back in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I not really sure, but I think the Merlin she was talking about may have somehow been the same one. But, let me tell you the story and you can decide for yourself.
When Bethany was 8 years old, she used to set on the steps of her back porch during the evening and look at the stars. She knew that the stars were really other planets or suns, much like our sun, but far, far away. Bethany knew the names of a couple of stars because she had been taught their name and location in the sky at school. After it got darker, she would go to her room and play with her dolls before going to bed. She loved and played with all her dolls, except for her old Merlin doll and a Robot doll she had named Robo.
Her Merlin doll was in a glass case with a tight latch that Bethany had never been able to open. Her Grandmother had given the doll to her Mother when her Mother was only 5 years old. The story was that Merlin had always brought the owner Good luck and had been in Bethany’s family for many, many years. Merlin had always been passed down to the oldest daughter in the family. Her mother had given Merlin to her on her 5th Birthday and told her that she could play with Merlin as soon as she was strong enough to open the latch.
She never played with her Robot Doll named Robo any more because every time she did, she always got scratches from the sharp edges on Robo. Robo was a very pretty doll though, with a bright, shiny metal exterior and a little blue metal hat on his head. Robo was about a foot high, a little larger than her Merlin doll.
One evening Bethany was playing with her dolls. After a while she thought she would try opening the latch on Merlin’s glass case one more time. It had been a long time since she had last tried and her mother told her a few days ago that she was growing more every day. The latch was really tight, but finally it started to move and all at once the latch was open.
To her surprise, there was a puff of smoke and the old doll expanded to a full size adult on the floor in front of the glass case. Then the old doll spoke. It said, "My name is Merlin and I have been in that glass case for a long, long, time. Please don’t be afraid Bethany because I won’t hurt you". Merlin told Bethany that he was very old and, that for now, he was just as real as Bethany. Merlin told Bethany that he could do magical things for people, but they must be Very Good for the magic to work. He looked at Bethany and told her that he had been watching her ever since she was 5 years old. He even told her about last winter when she was so sick with a sore throat and cold.
Merlin asked Bethany if there was anything he might be able to do for her. Bethany told Merlin about Robo, her Robot Doll. She asked Merlin if he could keep Robo from scratching her. Bethany told Merlin that if Robo would not scratch her, she would play with it and love it just like all of the rest of her other dolls. Merlin thought and thought. While Merlin was thinking, his chin was almost resting on his chest.
Finally, Merlin popped his head up and said, "I have an idea. We must take Robo to the Robot Toy Factory. They will know how to deal with a bad Robot Doll who scratches children". Merlin asked Bethany how soon it would be until she could be ready to go. Bethany was smiling and got ready quickly. She put on her new slippers and made sure her hair was combed. She had always wanted to go a Toy Factory. With another puff of smoke, Merlin, Bethany, and Robo found themselves in a Robot Toy Factory. Bethany was surprised at all of the machinery and the many Robot toys moving along a big, long assembly line
All of a sudden, there was a full size Robot by their side with two gold stripes on his arms. He looked like he was in charge of the assembling the Robot toys. "I am Captain Farley and I am in charge of this assembly line", said the Robot. "What can I do for you Merlin? It has been a long time since I have seen you", he continued. Merlin explained to Captain Farley about Robo and how he seemed to always be scratching Bethany every time she played with him. "Oh, something must be wrong", said Captain Farley. Captain Farley told Merlin and Bethany that Robo must have missed an important item during his assembly. He checked Robo’s assembly records and found out that Robo had somehow missed his spoon full of Goodness when he was assembled.
Captain Farley quickly removed Robo’s blue cap and loosened a screw. Within a second, a small drawer came out of Robo’s chest. Captain Farley then put in a spoon full of gleaming material called Goodness. He then pushed in the small drawer, tightened the screw on Robo's head, and replaced his blue cap. He then asked Bethany to rub her hands on Robo. To Bethany’s surprise, there were no scratches on her hand. She would be able to play with Robo now and not get scratched any more.
Merlin and Bethany thanked Captain Farley and they were all very happy that Robo had been fixed. Merlin told Captain Farley that he was sure he would see him again some day in the future. Everyone laughed. With another puff of smoke, Bethany found herself back in her bedroom with Merlin and Robo. Bethany picked up Robo to put him with her other dolls. Robo did not scratch her as he had before. The spoon full of Goodness had done the job. Bethany was so happy.
Merlin explained to Bethany that Goodness must be added to all dolls. He told her that people, unlike Bethany's Robot Doll, are born with Goodness already in them. Some people are born with more Goodness than others, but everyone has some Goodness in them. The nice thing was that people can increase the amount of Goodness they have all by themselves. All people have to do is to continue to be Good to others. Eventually, more of their Not-So-Good will be replaced with Goodness. Sometimes it takes a little while, but Goodness always overcomes Not-So-Good in people. Bethany remembered one time when she was Not-So-Good and the Goodness her Mother showed her allowed her Not-So-Good to turn into Goodness. After all, the rewards are always greater for those who are Good than those who are Not-So-Good.
Merlin told Bethany that he had to return to the glass case and close the latch. If Bethany ever needed him again, she would have to continue to be a Good Person. Then she would only have to open the latch on the glass case and Merlin would be there for her. Bethany never forgot Merlin’s words.
Now, Bethany was a young Mother and had a daughter of her own who was 5 years old today. She told me she had just given her 5 year old daughter a glass case with an old silver haired doll named Merlin in it. You could see that Bethany had grown into a Very Good Person.
So, if you see an old silver haired doll in a glass case and if you have been a Good person… maybe, just maybe, you may have found Merlin.
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