Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-04-23
copyright, 1896, by Bachelor. johnson an
Bacheller.l
PART l.

mother had lived and died. Her own
parents died when she was very young.
And she had come to live there with her
Great-aunt Peggy. Great-aunt Peg
gy was her grandfather's sister, and
was a very old woman. However, she
was very active and bright, and good
company for Lctitia. That was for
tunnte, because there were no little
girls of Letitias age nearer than mile
The one maid-servant whom Aunt Peg
gy kept was older than she, and had
chronic rheumatism in the right foot
and the left shoulder-blade, which af-
fected her temper.
I.ctitia's Great-aunt Peggy used to
play grace hoops with her, and dom>
inoes and checkers, and even dolls.
Sometimes it was hard for Lctitia to
realize that she was not another little
girl. Her Aunt Peggy was very kind
to her and fond of her, and took care
of her as well rs her own mother could
have done. Letitia had all the care and
comforts and pleasant society that she
really needed, but SHE was not very
contented little girl. She was natural
ly rather idle, and her Aunt Peggy, who
was a wise old woman and believed
thoroughly in the proverb about Satan
and idle hands, would keep her always
busy at something
If she was not playing, she had to
sew or study or dust, or read stent in
story-book. Letitia had very NICE
story-books, but she was not particular
" fond of reading. She liked best of
anything to sit quite idle. and plan what
she would 90 some other time, and
think what she would like to have il
she could have her wish-and that her
Aunt Peggy would not allow.
Letitia was not satisfied with her
dolls and little treasures. She wanted
new ones. She wanted fine clothe like
one little girl, and plenty of candy like
another. When Letitia went to school
in pleasant weather, she always came
home more dissatisfied. She wanted
her room newly furnished, and thought
the furniture in the whole house very
shabby. She dislilied to rise so early
in the morning She did not like to
take walk every day, and besides
everything else to make her dscon-
tented, there was the little green door,
Wn1cn Sne must ncNcr open anu piiSs
through.
This house where Letitia lived was
of course, very old one. 1t had o
top roof, saggy and messy, gray
shingles in the walls, lilac bushes hall
hiding the great windows, and n we'll
sweep in the yard. 1t was quite a
large house, and there were sheds and o
great barn attached to it, but they were
all on the south side. At the back of
the house the fields stretched away for
acres, and there were no outhuildings.
The little green door was at the very
back of the house, toward the fields, in
room opening out of the kitchen. II
was called the cheese-room, because
Letitia's grandmother, who made
chooses, used to keep them there. She
fancied she could smell cheese, though
none had been kept there for years
and it was used now only for lumber,
room. She always shifted hard for
cheese, and then she eyed the little
green door with wonder and longing.
1t was a small green door, scarcely high,
err than her head. A grown person
could not have passed through without
STOPPING almost double. 1t was very
narrow, too, and no one who was not
slender could have squeezed through IT,
In this door there was little black key.
hole, with no key in it, but it was al.
ways locked. Letitia knew that he,
Aunt Peggy kept the key in some very
safe place, but she would never show
1t to her, nor unlock the door.
st is not best for you, my dear" she
always replied, when Letitia leased
her; and when Letitia begged only to
know why she could not go out of the
door, she made the same reply: "It ID
not best for you, my dear"
Sometimes, when Aunt Peggy was
not by, Letitia would tease, the ole
maid-servant about the little greer
door, but she always seemed both cross
and stupid, and gave her no satisfac
ton. She even seemed to think there
was no little green door there; but that
was nonsense, because Letitia knew
there was. Her curiosity grew greatel
and greater; she took every chance she
could get to steal into the cheese-roon
and shake the door softly but it wa,
always locked. She even tried to lool
through the keyhole, but she could Sc,
nothing. One thing puzzled her more
than anything, and that was that the
little green door was on the inside O.
the house only, and not on the outside
When Letitia went out into the fielC
behind the house, there was nothing
but the blank wall to be seen. There
was no sign of a door in it. But til,
,cheese-room was certainly the las
room in the house, and the little greer
door was in the rear wall. twas yer,
strange When Letitia asked her reat
aunt Peggy to explain that, she only go
the same answer:
at is not best for you to know, m,
dear"
Letitia studied the little green doc
more than she studied her lesson-boolIs
but she never got any nearer the solu
ton of the mystery, until one Sunda,
morning in January. 1t was very col,
day, and she had begged hard to sta
home from church. Her Aunt Pegg
md her maid-servant, old as they were
were going. but Letitia shivered and
coughed little and pleaded, and final
1y had her own way.
"But you must sit down quietly
charged Aunt Peggy, land you mus
aearn your texts, to repeat to me wher
get home"
AFtar rnt Da.r,, ,D1 tbo olJ ,o,