By Anne Fosnot

A fictional story based on true events:

It's hard to imagine what it's like to be a doll, unless you happen to be a doll yourself, but I can tell you it isn't the same as being a real person. For one thing a doll doesn't have anything to say about where they are placed or what they are forced to stare at day after day, so I would suggest that if you happen to own a doll, please remember to give them some variety. Personally I like looking out the window. Well enough of that I need to get on with my story.

My life began in a country called Germany, The company that made me was called Armand Marseille, they made many dolls from l885 on, I believe I was made about 1910. My life began in a gallon jar-because I was made from a liquid called porcelain slip, It is a type of Clay that was poured into a mold, that formed the beautiful shape of my head. After the clay was processed, it was removed from the mold and left to dry. When my head was completely dry a nice lady cleaned off all the rough places on my head and sanded me as smooth as satin. Then I was placed in a big oven called a kiln, with many more doll parts it was heated to a very high temperature until all the parts were very hard. After I was cool again I was picked up and the nice lady painted my face a beautiful rosy pink color, she painted my lips and eyelashes also my eyebrows. Then I was putin the big oven again, so that my face paint would be baked on.When I was cool again she put in the lovely blue glass eyes, OH! I was beautiful. Soon my head was attached to a body that looked like white leather. My arms were put on, they were also made of the same clay material as my head, which is called bisque, my legs were made of the same leather as my body.

Then came a really fun part for me, I was being dressed in a very pretty white petticoat, also matching pantaloons, they were trimmed in lace and were, oh so dainty.. A beautiful pink organdy dress was pulled over my hairless head. Do you think that they left me hairless? If you do, you couldn't be more wrong, I had the most wonderful blondewig made of a material called Mohair, it was just like spun gold, no one could hope to have more lovely long curls.

I was now being placed in a box and securely bound, so that I could not be tossed about. I heard them say that I was to be shipped to the United States of America, they said I was going to sail on a large ship, all the way acoss the ocean.

I arrived in New York City, and was taken to a large warehouse to wait for shipment later on. Soon I was whisked off again and I heard them say that I was going to a place called Oregon, Then I heard them say the name of the town was La Grande. When I arrived, I was put in a mailbox, there I waited until the mail was picked up, and I was hidden in a closet, because they said I was to be a Christmas present for a little girl named Agnes. She had wanted a doll like me for a very long time.

It was very near Christmas and my box was wrapped and put under the tree to wait for the big day. I thought it would never come, but at last it did, and soon my box was handed to Agnes, and a squeal such as I had never heard before came out of that little girls mouth, at first it nearly made me flip my pretty blonde wig, but she calmed down and hugged, and hugged me. She rumpled my pretty organdy dress a little but I didn't mind I was so delighted to have a home. Agnes named me "Alma" after her best friend.

I really loved it there, as Agnes would play with me all day, she would even take me to the table and her mother would set a small doll plate, cup, and saucer for me, also a tiny fork, spoon, and knife. I truly was treated in a royal way. How could a doll have a better life?

Days passed and each one was better than the one before, life was so good, Agnes certainly was a dream come true for any beautiful bisque doll, she was a good little mother, a real playmate, and very good friend. Her mother made many new clothes for me and I wore them proudly, never missing an opportunity to show how beautiful I was.

Agnes had a little brother whose name was Benny, he was a very active little boy and would sometimes get into Agnes' things, she wasn't very happy about it because she had delicate things and he was a very boisterous boy. One day when Agnes was at school, Benny came into her room, I started to shake when I saw him head straight for me, he grabbed me off of the rocking chair where Agnes had left me, he took off my dress and my petticoat and threw them under the bed, he whirled me around and around, I was so dizzy I couldnt see. He didn't really mean to let go of me, and he cried when I hit the wall and he saw that my beautiful wig had fallen off, my head was broken into three pieces, and my lovely nose was crushed to bits. He ran to the closet, took down a shoebox, he quickly put me into it, then he ran down stairs and out side. He crawled way back under the house and hid the box under a board.

I bave no idea how long I was under that house, dolls really have no way of measuring time, its just not a part of what dolls do, but I do feel it must have been a very long time as the sides of the box were beginning to fall apart. Quite a few spiders had raised their families in the corners. They had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, even great great grandchildren.

Well it had to happen one day, and it finely did, a workman found me as they were renovating the house. When they saw me they told the story they had heard, that Agnes had long since grown up, never knowing what had happened to me. They called a lady in town that collected old dolls and asked her if she would like to have me, of course she said yes, so I went to her house to live. She tried to fix my head, she mended me by filling myhead with plaster, my nose was made of plaster. She did her best to save me, but since I was so badly broken it was hard to fix me properly. She also put some clothes on me and set me on a shelf with other dolls, at least I did have company and it was better than that old box.

One day a lady named Anne, who really loved dolls came to visit, she saw my plight and took pity on me, she asked if I was for sale, the lady agreed to sell me, as she knew I needed help. Now Anne had a doll shop where she repaired dolls every day. She knew that she could make me beautiful again, and she did. She completely restored me even a nice new nose, I now had lovely dark ringlets and a nice dress, of course she had no way of knowing just how I looked when I was new, but I did look very fine.

I sat for awhile in the window of Anne's Doll House proudly showing off my new appearance. One day a nice lady, whose name was Linda, was looking for a gift for her niece, as a surprise for her birthday . She liked me a lot, so she bought me and sent me to Amy, who lived in West Virginia. She was so very happy to have me. She was told the story of my life, so far as it was known at that time. It made her a part of my life, and made my life complete again.

Now I would like to give a word of advice to any one, doll or otherwise, NEVER GIVE UP! If you have faith, and patience good will come. There are many broken, scarred, and battered dolls being restored by loving caring hands all over the country at this very moment. I had my day, and you will have yours. Keep those lovely smiles no matter what happens.

I wonder what the next exciting chapter in my life will bring, because I plan to be around for a long, long time.

THE END

Writen by Anne Fosnot, Baker City, all rights reseerved..

I suppose that you have guessed, that I am the Anne in the story, the latter part of this story really happened, the broken doll was found in a shoe box, way back under an old house. in 1984, at that time I had a doll shop in La Grande, Oregon. I have a feeling that the rest of this story was probably close to the actual happening, but Of course we will probably never know for sure, but I don't think Alma would lie, do you?

I no longer repair dolls:Besides selling on eBay, and collecting dolls, I have written quite a few children's stories, I also design my own, and others Ebay auction Templates, and Webpages.