The Doll's House

One day, a friend of the family sent the Burnell children a present: a doll's house. It was big and green, with two little chimneys and a yellow door. The front of the house opened, and you could see all the rooms at the same time: the living room, the kitchen, and two bedrooms. There were tiny tables, tiny beds with real sheets, and little pictures on the walls.

But the best thing — the thing Kezia, the youngest sister, loved most — was the little lamp. It stood on the dining-room table: a small yellow lamp with a white top. It looked real. The dolls in the house were too big and looked wrong. But the lamp was perfect. It seemed to smile at Kezia and say: "I live here."

The next day at school, the Burnell girls told everyone about the house. All the girls wanted to see it! The rule was: two girls could come each day, stand in the courtyard, and look. Isabel, the oldest sister, chose who could come. Day after day, the girls came, saw the house, and talked about it. Soon everyone at school had seen it. Everyone — except two girls.

The two girls were the Kelvey sisters: Lil and little Else. Their mother washed clothes for other families. People said their father was in prison. The family was very poor. Lil came to school in a dress made from an old tablecloth, and little Else wore a long white dress like a nightdress and boy's boots. Little Else never smiled and almost never spoke. She always held on to Lil's skirt with one hand.

At this school, rich children and poor children studied together, because there was no other school. But there was a rule that everybody knew: nobody talks to the Kelveys. The mothers didn't allow it. The children walked past them with their noses in the air. The Kelveys were always alone.

One day, Kezia asked her mother: "Can I invite the Kelveys to see the doll's house? Just once?" "Certainly not, Kezia," said her mother. "But why not?" "You know why not, Kezia. Run along." And at school, the girls became crueller. "Is it true you'll be a servant when you grow up, Lil Kelvey?" asked one girl in a sweet voice. Then another girl shouted: "Your father's in prison!" And the girls ran away, laughing, excited and happy.

That afternoon, Kezia was sitting on the big white gates of her garden when she saw the Kelvey sisters walking along the road. Kezia made a decision. "Hello," she said. The sisters stopped, surprised. "You can come and see our doll's house if you want," said Kezia. Lil went red. "Your mother told our mother you can't speak to us," she said quietly. "It doesn't matter," said Kezia. "Nobody's looking. Come on."

Lil didn't want to go. But little Else pulled her sister's skirt twice, with big, hoping eyes. So they followed Kezia into the courtyard, like two small street cats. Kezia opened the front of the house. "There's the living room, and there's the kitchen, and that's the—" "KEZIA!" It was Aunt Beryl, and her voice was cold and angry. "How dare you invite the little Kelveys! You know you can't talk to them! Go away, children, and don't come back!" And she pushed them out of the courtyard like chickens. The two sisters ran away, red with shame.

When they were far from the house, the sisters sat down on a big red pipe by the road to rest. Lil's face was still burning. They looked quietly at the fields and the cows. Then little Else moved close to her sister. She smiled her very rare smile. "I seen the little lamp," she said softly. And the two sisters sat in silence, together.