Nellie and Kirsten are two 18-inch-tall girls from exactly 100 years ago and 1854, respectively.
Nellie used to be much smaller, and we were all eager to find out how Mini Nellie got big!
(Kirsten also wanted to know how the saleslady talked me into buying Nellie's accessories, but that's a story for another day.)
And Nellie launched into the tale, of "How Mini Nellie became Regular Nellie"...
"It was a dark and stormy night..." she began...
...and Miss Mini Kit and I were keeping watch, just like we promised Miss Cheap Lady we would.
"If anyone breaks in, we'll guard all of Miss Kirsten's valuable clothes!" I said. "And all Miss Cheap Lady's valuable clutter, like those valuable safety pins and envelopes under our chair!"
But Miss Mini Kit said we could each keep one eye out, and that would be as good as having one full guard. So...
...we decided to relax a bit.
I read a book all about unicorns, since the pages of Miss Cheap Lady's Popular Mechanics magazines were too big for me to turn. And Miss Mini Kit started playing a video game. She told me it has pegasuses in it, which are even more implausible creatures than unicorns.
But then, I heard a terrible booming noise!
"What was that?" I asked Miss Mini Kit.
"'Ssh," Miss Mini Kit replied. "I'm in the middle of a long battle! You can bother me in another half-hour."
So I went out on my own, ready to tackle whatever might come through the door! (It wasn't until my brain got bigger that I realized it must have been thunder.)
But then...
...everything went all black! Well, except Miss Mini Kit's video game.
I made my way over to the only light in the room. "Miss Mini Kit, what happened?" I asked.
"I just added Joshua to my party!" Miss Mini Kit said cheerfully.
"Miss Mini Kit!" I said in dismay. "Miss Cheap Lady wouldn't want us having parties with boys in the dark!"
Miss Mini Kit tried to explain to me--something about a role-playing-game--but I didn't understand. And I explained that I needed to use her video game as a flashlight, but she didn't understand me either.
Then I saw another light in the room, so faint it wouldn't even show up in a photograph!
Still, it gave me just enough light to see by, so I picked it up, to use it as a torch. But just when I had it in my hands...
...the room lit up again!
"What's that?" Miss Mini Kit asked. "It looks like a magic wand."
"No, I think it's a star-shaped torch," I replied. "There's no such thing as magic wands."
"Then how'd it turn the lights on?" Miss Mini Kit said.
"That was probably the power company," I replied. "This is just a piece of cheap plastic."
It's hard for mini dolls to keep their balance, so I suddenly toppled!
And then the wand fell...
"Hey!" Miss Mini Kit yelled. "Ow! Mini Nellie, you got heavy!"
By the time Miss Mini Kit helped me up, the lightning and thunder were over. "What happened?" I asked. Everything looked kind of far away, like I was floating.
Miss Mini Kit said, "I think that wand is magic, Mini Nellie...er...Nellie."
And then Miss Mini Kit jumped at me! I didn't understand, but the wand seemed smaller, and Miss Mini Kit couldn't even reach up to my knees. Then I realized, I was big!
"Give me that wand!" Miss Mini Kit cried.
"Miss Mini Kit," I said, "I don't think Miss Cheap Lady can afford for another doll to get big!"
Miss Mini Kit tried to reach for the wand, but I held it out of her reach.
"I still have my secret weapon," Miss Mini Kit said, removing her shoe.
She had very good aim...
...and she knocked the wand right out of my hands, and onto herself.
But nothing happened.
"Hmph," Miss Mini Kit grumbled. "What a useless wand. Doesn't even work all the time."
I still don't think there's any such thing as magic wands. But if this was some sort of amazing instrument, maybe it got its energy from thunderstorms.
Miss Mini Kit said, "You're magic, Nellie! Use the wand to make me big!"
But I picked her up...
"Let me go!" Miss Mini Kit yelled.
...and I set Miss Mini Kit in front of the video game machine. "Didn't you have a battle to finish?"
"Oh, yeah," Miss Mini Kit said. She leaned over the screen and called, "I'm coming, Vanessa!"
And I went over to the door...
...and managed to get it open!
Miss Mini Kit didn't pay any attention as I bid her goodbye!
And so I hitchhiked all the way to California!
Nellie finished her story.
"Wait, wait, wait," I said. "How far in the game did Mini Kit get?"
Nellie blinked. "I think she's probably done by now."
I kicked the wall. "She got farther than me???"
Kirsten grinned at Nellie. "So you wanted to come to American Girl Place Los Angeles to get some pretty clothes, right?"
Nellie shook her head solemnly. "I thought I could meet Miss Cheap Lady at American Girl Place and let her know that she didn't need to buy a big Nellie doll. I knew she wanted to buy one, and I didn't think she wanted to have two. But when the salespeople saw me, they thought I was just a doll that was naughty and escaped her box."
"You've never been naughty," I said, laughing.
Nellie smiled. "I'm so glad the two of you found me! But I'm sorry I made you spend so much money to get me back, Miss Cheap Lady."
"Oh, don't worry about it," I said. "You're so kind and helpful, you were worth every penny!"
Kirsten's eyes gleamed with jealousy, and so I decided to end the adventure before we could have any trouble.
Next time, Nellie and Kirsten outside! (Editor's note: Time AFTER next, sorry!)
On to 8.21.06