A Children's Story for Adults: Bejeangoes, the New, Doll Clothing Fashion Trend

"And what do you think that is," Jessie asked her brother, as she nailed up the sign she had just made on her side of the newly built tree house. "There!" she said proudly.

"You can not put up any stupid signs in my tree house!" Jason said, reaching above her to try to grab the sign. "Give me that!"

"No, leave it alone! I can put up anything I want!" she said. "This is my tree house, too." Jessie held both of her hands over the sign. "Mom and dad built it for both of us, not just for you!"

"Yes, but what will my friends say? I have never been so embarrassed in my life," said Jason. "Maybe I will just move out."

"Do that," replied Jessie. "Then, it will be my tree house. Boys are so dumb!"

"I am taking my stuff to my room," said Jason, grabbing his backpack. "All of it." He started to fill his backpack with his treasures. "I am not staying in a tree house with a girl who puts up dumb signs. My friends will laugh their heads off.

"Jason, I don't want you to do that," said Jessie. "Please," she pleaded with him. "Mom and dad will know that we are fighting again. "Let's keep the peace, just this once. If we fight over it, then they will take the tree house down! Remember what they said?"

"What are bejeangoes, anyhow?" Jason said, after a moment or two of silence.

"I will tell you, but only if you promise not to laugh, or to tell anyone else. You could help me with this. You are older than I am, and a lot smarter." Jessie smiled at him, sweetly. "I read something on the Internet that gave me an idea. This is going to be totally new and different."

"Will it make money?" asked Jason. He was always looking for new ways to make money for his hockey equipment.

"Yes, it will, if we are smart," said Jessie, with a twinkle in her eye.

"All right, you have one week. If it makes some money, you can leave the sign up. If it doesn't, then you have to take the sign down, agreed?” asked Jason, thinking that his sister might actually prove herself this time. I am going to Tim's. See you later."

Jessie did not say one word, as she nodded her head in agreement. A moment later, she heard Brenda, her best friend, holler from the base of the tree. "Hey there, Jessie, can I come up?"

"Sure, come on up," said Jessie. "I want to show you something anyhow."

"Hey, what are bejeangoes?" Brenda asked, as she read the sign. "I never heard that word before! What are you making anyhow?" She looked at the pair of old, blue jeans that Jessie was just cutting up. "Doll clothes?"

"You got it," said Jessie. "Want to help? I have to make a whole bunch of doll clothes and make some money in one week, or my brother is making me take the sign down."

"Bejeangoes? That is kind of a weird word, but it fits. That is not a bad idea at all," said Brenda. "I kind of like it."

"I thought you would. I read an Internet article that suggested a person could start a new, clothing fashion trend, just by creating some new words. That is what the writer did. Bejeangoes is one of her words. I could take this a step further than that and start a new, doll clothing, fashion trend. I might even make a few dollars for my baseball uniform."

"Maybe I could do that too?" replied Brenda excitedly. "My mom is not too happy with having to come up with all that money. Even if I paid for some of it, that would help. I wonder if she would let me do this with you?"

"I really like that name bejeangoes," said Jessie. "Let's see, put a hyphen in that word and it becomes Be-jean-goes! That really rocks!"

"What are you cutting out?" asked Brenda, looking at the two circles and the rectangle that Jessie had just cut out of the denim fabric. "They are not the same size, you know."

Jessie took the tape measure and checked the measurement on her doll's head. "I know. That works," she said. "Watch this!" She started to sew the pieces together into a wide brimmed, blue jean doll hat. "I love it!"

"Hey, can I have that one?" asked Brenda. "I want it for my doll."

"Well, you could make one for your doll, if you want. I will tell you what. You can have some denim for ten cents. No, five cents, and I will help you make one for your doll."

"I could cut the legs off my own jeans and make a doll hat," replied Brenda. "No, I'd better not do that. My mom might get angry with me, as these jeans are new. Here, I have four pennies. Can I owe you one?"

"You can have this for one penny," said Jessie. "You are my friend. Besides which Jason did not say how much money I had to make, only that I had to make money. One penny is money, right?"

"I am giving you four cents and I owe you one penny," replied Brenda. "You are so smart. I have to get my doll."

"It is the same size as mine," said Jessie. “Just measure my doll's head and cut out a rectangle that is the same length. Decide how tall you want the hat to be. Now you need two circles, one for the brim and one for the top. It will be a wide brimmed hat. Just sew them together and you have a bejeangoe hat for your doll. You can have some ribbon for it too!"

"That is worth five cents to me," said Brenda. "Actually, I should pay you ten cents for showing me how to make some money."

Just then, Jason climbed back up the ladder into the tree house.

"Did I hear the word money?" he asked Jessie, looking at what Jessie and Brenda were sewing. "Blue jean doll hats! I should have known."

"I made five cents," said Jessie. "Now can I keep my sign up?"

"I only see four pennies," said Jason, with a frown. "You got short changed."

"Did not," said Brenda, shocked at what Jason had just said to his sister. "Jessie can trust me to give her the other penny."

"Here's a penny," said Jason. "Now you owe me one penny, with interest and my sister has been paid in full."

"Interest?" asked Brenda.

"Our dad says that if you lend out money you have to charge interest," argued Jason. "I don't lend money for free. Hey, have you got lemonade in that jug, Jessie?"

"It's not free either," said Jessie. "It’s six cents a glass."

"That is highway robbery," said Jason. "I will give you five cents."

"Only if we are all square," replied Jessie. "And I get to keep my sign up. We are going to make some money for our baseball uniforms. We could make bejeangoes doll backpacks, too," she said to Brenda. "then, we could sell them at the school picnic. I know that they would sell."

"Maybe you are smarter than I thought, Jessie," said Jason. "All right, you win. Keep the sign up and make some money."

"I can keep my sign up!" said Jessie. "Thanks!"

"Imagine that, my sister is making a doll hat out of old blue jeans. Why didn't I think of doing something like that? She’s quite the entrepreneur!" Jason said to himself, silently. "I should have gone into business with her. I would have made a mint."

"Here is your lemonade," Jessie said, as she handed him a glass. "Brenda is going to be my partner."

"Want some of my old jeans?" Jason asked, realizing that Jessie had won this round. He put a nickel on the table for her.

"Sure and thanks," replied Jessie. "I just might need them. Re-cycling blue jeans is a good idea. Hey Jason, go on the Internet and get some ideas for yourself. There are a lot of them," suggested Jessie, smiling at her brother. "If you make some money, I might let you put up a sign too, but you have to make more money than I do."

A little while later, Jessie and Brenda sat in the tree house and looked at the Jessie's doll, fully clothed in a new blue jean outfit and wearing a backpack. "I am starting a fashion trend for dolls, Be-jean-goes!"

"And I am going to help you," replied Brenda happily. "This is a wonderful idea. All the girls in our class will want some."