Illustrated by
Mary R. Bassett
New York
Dodd, Mead & Company
1931
Letitia lived in the same house where her grandmother and hergreat-grandmother had lived and died. Her own parents died when shewas very young, and she had come there to live with her Great-auntPeggy. Her Great-aunt Peggy was her grandfather's sister, and was avery old woman. However, she was very active and bright, and goodcompany for Letitia. That was fortunate, because there were no littlegirls of Letitia's age nearer than a mile. The one maid-servant whomAunt Peggy kept was older than she, and had chronic rheumatism in theright foot and left shoulder-blade, which affected her temper.
Letitia's Great-aunt Peggy used to play grace-hoops with her, anddominoes and checkers, and even dolls. Sometimes it was hard forLetitia to realize that she was not another little girl. Her AuntPeggy was very kind to her and fond of her, and took care of her aswell as her own mother could have done. Letitia had all the care andcomforts and pleasant society that she really needed, but she was nota very contented little girl. She was naturally rather idle, and herAunt Peggy, who was a wise old woman and believed thoroughly in theproverb about Satan and idle hands, would keep her always busy atsomething.
If she were not playing, she had to sew or study or dust, or reada stent in a story-book. Letitia had very nice story-books, but shewas not particularly fond of reading. She liked best of anything tosit quite idle, and plan what she would like to do if she could haveher wish—and that her Aunt Peggy would not allow.
Letitia was not satisfied with her dolls and little treasures. Shewanted new ones. She wanted fine clothes like one little girl, andplenty of candy like another. When Letitia went to school she alwayscame home more dissatisfied. She wanted her room newly furnished, andthought the furniture in the whole house very shabby. She disliked torise so early in the morning. She did not like to take a walk everyday, and besides everything else to make her discontented, there wasthe little green door, which she must never open and passthrough.
The house where Letitia lived was, of course, a very old one. Ithad a roof, saggy and mossy, gray shingles in the walls, lilac busheshalf hiding the great windows, and a well-sweep in the yard. It wasquite a large house, and there were sheds and a great barn attachedto it, but they were all on the side. At the back of the house thefields stretched away for acres, and there were no outbuildings. Thelittle green door was at the very back of the house, toward thefields, in a room opening out of the kitchen. It was called thecheese-room, because Letitia's grandmother, who had made cheeses, hadkept them there. She fancied she could smell cheese, though none hadbeen there for years, and it was used now only for a lumber-room. Shealways sniffed hard for cheese, and then she eyed the little greendoor with wonder and longing. It was a small green door, scarcelyhigher than her head. A grown person could not have passed throughwithout stooping almost double. It was very narrow, too, and no onewho was not slender could have squeezed through it. In this doorthere was a little black keyhole, with no key in it, but it wasalways locked. Letitia knew that her Aunt Peggy kept the key in somevery safe place, but she would never show it to her, nor unlock thedoor.
“It is not best for you, my dear,” she always replied,when Letitia teased her; and when Letitia begged only to know why shecould not go