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When dear old Mrs. Hay went back totown after staying with the Burnells shesent the children a doll's house. It wasso big that the carter and Pat carried itinto the courtyard, and there it stayed,

propped up on two wooden boxesbeside the feedroo! door. "o har!could co!e of it# it was su!!er. $ndperhaps the s!ell of paint would ha%egone o& by the ti!e it had to be takenin. or, really, the s!ell of paint co!ingfro! that doll's house ()*weet of oldMrs. Hay, of course# !ost sweet andgenerous+) but the s!ell of paint was-uite enough to !ake any one seriouslyill, in $unt Beryl's opinion. %en before

the sacking was taken o&. $nd when itwas . . .

/here stood the doll's house, a dark,oily, spinach green, picked out withbright yellow. Its two solid littlechi!neys, glued on to the roof, werepainted red and white, and the door,glea!ing with yellow %arnish, was like alittle slab of to&ee. our windows, realwindows, were di%ided into panes by a

broad streak of green. /here wasactually a tiny porch, too, paintedyellow, with big lu!ps of congealedpaint hanging along the edge.

But perfect, perfect little house+ Whocould possibly !ind the s!ell0 It waspart of the 1oy, part of the newness.

)2pen it -uickly, so!e one+)

/he hook at the side was stuck fast. Pat

pried it open with his penknife, and thewhole housefront swung back, andthere you were, ga3ing at one and thesa!e !o!ent into the drawingroo!and diningroo!, the kitchen and twobedroo!s. /hat is the way for a houseto open+ Why don't all houses open likethat0 How !uch !ore exciting thanpeering through the slit of a door into a!ean little hall with a hatstand andtwo u!brellas+ /hat isisn't it0 what

you long to know about a house whenyou put your hand on the knocker.Perhaps it is the way 4od opens houses

at dead of night when He is taking a-uiet turn with an angel. . . .

)2hoh+) /he Burnell children soundedas though they were in despair. It wastoo !ar%ellous# it was too !uch forthe!. /hey had ne%er seen anythinglike it in their li%es. $ll the roo!s werepapered. /here were pictures on thewalls,

5uando la cara %ecchia signorina Haytorn6 in citt7 dopo a%er soggiornato coni Burnells, !and6 ai ba!bini una casadelle ba!bole. ra cos8 grande che ilcarrettiere e Pat la portarono in cortile,e l8 ri!ase, sostenuta da due casse di

legno accanto alla porta della!angiatoia. "on pote%a %enirne fuorialcun danno# era estate. forse l9odoredi %ernice sarebbe s%anito pri!a chefosse stata portata all9interno. Perch:,da%%ero, l9odore di %ernice chepro%eni%a dalla casa delle ba!bole(;dolce dell9an3iana signora Hay,o%%ia!ente# la pi< dolce e generosa+=!a l9odore di %ernice era abbastan3a dafar star seria!ente !ale tutti, secondol9opinione di 3ia Beryl. Persino pri!ache l9in%olucro %enisse ri!osso. -uando fu tolto>

?8 sta%a la casa delle ba!bole, di unoscuro, unto, %erde spinacio, eli!inatocon un giallo acceso. I suoi due piccoli,solidi ca!ini, incollati sul tetto, eranodipinti di rosso e bianco, e la porta,luccicante di %ernice gialla, era co!e unpiccolo pe33o di cara!ella. 5uattro

@nestre, %ere @nestre, erano di%ise in%etri da una larga striscia di %erde.A9era, in realt7, anche un !inuscoloporticato dipinto di giallo, con grandipe33i di %ernice rappresa pen3olantelungo il bordo. Ma che perfetta,perfetta e piccola casa + Ahi a%rebbepotuto fare atten3ione all9odore0 raparte della gioia, parte della no%it7.

;5ualcuno la apra, %eloce+ ;. Il gancio al

lato era ri!asto bloccato. Pat lo for36col suo coltellino s%i33ero, e l9interafacciata della casa oscill6, ed eccoti l8,

The dolls house by

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@ssando conte!poranea!ente il salottoe la sala da pran3o, la cucina e le dueca!ere da letto. 5uello il !odo in cuiuna casa si apre+ perch: tutte le casenon si aprono cos80 5uanto di pi ;2hoh+= i ba!bini deiBurnell parla%ano co!e se fosserodisperati. ra troppo !era%iglioso, era

troppo per loro. "on a%e%ano %istoniente di si!ile in %ita loro. /utte lestan3e erano tappe33ate. A9erano dellefoto sui !uri, dipinte sulla carta, concornici d9oro

painted on the paper, with gold fra!esco!plete. Eed carpet co%ered all theFoors except the kitchen# red plushchairs in the drawingroo!, green in thediningroo!# tables, beds with real

bedclothes, a cradle, a sto%e, a dresserwith tiny plates and one big 1ug. Butwhat Ge3ia liked !ore than anything,what she liked frightfully, was the la!p.It stood in the !iddle of the diningroo! table, an ex-uisite little a!berla!p with a white globe. It was e%en@lled all ready for lighting, though, ofcourse, you couldn't light it. But therewas so!ething inside that looked likeoil, and that !o%ed when you shook it.

/he father and !other dolls, whosprawled %ery sti& as though they hadfainted in the drawingroo!, and theirtwo little children asleep upstairs, werereally too big for the doll's house. /heydidn't look as though they belonged.But the la!p was perfect. It see!ed tos!ile to Ge3ia, to say, )I li%e here.) /hela!p was real.

/he Burnell children could hardly walkto school fast enough the next !orning.

/hey burned to tell e%erybody, to

describe, towellto boast about theirdoll's house before the schoolbell rang.

)I'! to tell,) said Isabel, )because I'!the eldest. $nd you two can 1oin in after.But I'! to tell @rst.)

/here was nothing to answer. Isabelwas bossy, but she was always right,and ?ottie and Ge3ia knew too well thepowers that went with being eldest.

/hey brushed through the thickbuttercups at the road edge and saidnothing.

)$nd I'! to choose who's to co!e andsee it @rst. Mother said I !ight.)

or it had been arranged that while thedoll's house stood in the courtyard they!ight ask the girls at school, two at ati!e, to co!e and look. "ot to stay totea, of course, or to co!e traipsingthrough the house. But 1ust to stand-uietly in the courtyard while Isabelpointed out the beauties, and ?ottie andGe3ia looked pleased. . . .

But hurry as they !ight, by the ti!e

they had reached the tarred palings ofthe boys' playground the bell hadbegun to 1angle. /hey only 1ust had ti!eto whip o& their hats and fall into linebefore the roll was called. "e%er !ind.

incorporate. n tappeto rosso copri%atutti i pa%i!enti, eccetto la cucina#poltrone di %elluto rosso nel salotto,%erdi nella sala da pran3o# ta%oli, letticon %ere len3uola, una culla, una stufa,

una creden3a con piatti !inuscoli eduna grande brocca. Ma -uel che a Ge3iapiace%a di pi< di ogni altra cosa, -uelche le piace%a terribil!ente, era lala!pada. *ta%a nel !e33o del ta%olodella sala da pran3o, una s-uisitapiccola la!pada a!brata con una sferabianca. ra persino gi7 rie!pita, prontaper l9illu!ina3ione, anche se,o%%ia!ente, non pote%i accenderla. Mac9era -ualcosa al suo interno che

asso!iglia%a ad olio, e che si !uo%e%a-uando lo scuote%i. ?e ba!bole padre e!adre, stra%accate !olto rigide co!e

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se fossero s%enute in salotto, e i lorodue ba!bini addor!entati al pianosuperiore, erano da%%ero troppo grandiper la casa delle ba!bole. "onse!bra%ano appartenerle. Ma la

la!pada era perfetta. *e!bra%asorridere a Ge3ia, se!bra%a dirle, ;%i%o-ui=. ?a la!pada era reale.

I ba!bini dei Burnell pote%anoca!!inare a !alapena a scuola infretta il !attino seguente. re!e%anodal dire a tutti, dal descri%ere, per%antarsi della loro casa delle ba!bolepri!a che suonasse la ca!panella. ;*taa !e dirlo=, disse Isabel, ;perch: sono

la pi< grande. %oi due potete seguir!idopo. Ma sta a !e dirlo per pri!a.= "onc9 niente da rispondere. Isabel eraautoritaria, !a a%e%a se!pre ragione, e?ottie e Ge3ia conosce%ano @n troppobene il poteri che acco!pagna%anol9essere la !aggiore. *i diedero unasiste!ata attra%erso gli spessi @orellinial !argine della strada e non disseroniente.

; sta a !e scegliere chi %iene a%ederla per pri!o. Ma!!a ha detto cheposso=. Per -uesto era stato stabilitoche, !entre la casa delle ba!boleresta%a nel cortile, loro a%rebberopotuto chiedere alle raga33e di scuola,due alla %olta, di %enire a %ederla. "ondi restare per il t, o%%ia!ente, o digiron3olare per casa. Ma solo di stare insilen3io in cortile !entre Isabel face%anotare le !era%iglie , e ?ottie e Ge3ia

se!bra%ano contenti... Ma a&rettandosico!e poterono, al !o!ento in cuia%e%ano raggiunto gli steccatiincatra!ati del parco giochi dei raga33i,la ca!panella ini3i6 a suonare. bberosolo il te!po Isabel tried to !ake up forit by looking %ery i!portant and!ysterious and by whispering behindher hand to the girls near her, )4otso!ething to tell you at playti!e.)Playti!e ca!e and Isabel was

surrounded. /he girls of her class nearlyfought to put their ar!s round her, towalk away with her, to bea!

Fatteringly, to be her special friend. *heheld -uite a court under the huge pinetrees at the side of the playground."udging, giggling together, the littlegirls pressed up close. $nd the only two

who stayed outside the ring were thetwo who were always outside, the littleGel%eys. /hey knew better than to co!eanywhere near the Burnells.or the fact was, the school the Burnellchildren went to was not at all the kindof place their parents would ha%echosen if there had been any choice.But there was none. It was the onlyschool for !iles. $nd the conse-uencewas all the children in the

neighborhood, the 1udge's little girls,the doctor's daughters, the storekeeper's children, the !ilk!an's, wereforced to !ix together. "ot to speak ofthere being an e-ual nu!ber of rude,rough little boys as well. But the linehad to be drawn so!ewhere. It wasdrawn at the Gel%eys. Many of thechildren, including the Burnells, werenot allowed e%en to speak to the!.

/hey walked past the Gel%eys with their

heads in the air, and as they set thefashion in all !atters of beha%iour, theGel%eys were shunned by e%erybody.%en the teacher had a special %oice forthe!, and a special s!ile for the otherchildren when ?il Gel%ey ca!e up to herdesk with a bunch of dreadfullyco!!onlooking Fowers.

/hey were the daughters of a spry,hardworking little washerwo!an, whowent about fro! house to house by theday. /his was awful enough. But wherewas Mr. Gel%ey0 "obody knew forcertain. But e%erybody said he was inprison. *o they were the daughters of awasherwo!an and a gaolbird. ery niceco!pany for other people's children+$nd they looked it. Why Mrs. Gel%ey!ade the! so conspicuous was hard tounderstand. /he truth was they weredressed in )bits) gi%en to her by the

people for who! she worked. ?il, forinstance, who was a stout, plain child,with big freckles, ca!e to school in a

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dress !ade fro! a green artsergetablecloth of the

di togliersi il cappello ed allinearsipri!a che %enisse chia!ata la lista."on i!porta. Isabel tent6 di ri!ediarecon fare i!portante e !isterioso ebisbigliando dietro le sue !ani alleraga33e al suo @anco ;ho una cosa dadir%i a ricrea3ione=. ?a ricrea3ionearri%6 e Isabel si tro%6 circondata. ?eraga33e della sua classe -uasilitiga%ano per abbracciarla, perallontanarsi con lei, per sorriderle in!odo lusinghiero, per essere la suaa!ica speciale. Intrattenne una bella

corte sotto gli enor!i alberi di pino allato del parco giochi. *go!itando,ridacchiando insie!e, -ueste raga33inesi pigia%ano facendo se!pre pi< %icino.?e uniche due che sta%ano fuori dalcerchio erano le due che erano se!pree!arginate, le piccole Gel%eys. "onerano cos8 ingenue da andare da-ualche parte %icino alle Burnell. Perch:il fatto era che la scuola che le ba!bineBurnell fre-uenta%ano non era a&atto il

tipo di posto che i loro genitoria%rebbero scelto se ci fosse statascelta. Ma non ce n9era stata. ral9unica scuola nel raggio di !iglia. laconseguen3a era che tutti i ba!bini del%icinato, le ba!bine del giudice, le @gliedel dottore, i ba!bini del nego3iante,-uelli del lattaio, erano costretti a%i%ere insie!e. Per non parlare anchedella presen3a dello stesso nu!ero diraga33ini !aleducati e poco

racco!andabili. Ma da -ualche parte illi!ite do%e%a essere posto. ra statoposto ai Gel%ey. Molti dei ba!bini,incluso le Burnell, non a%e%ano ilper!esso per@no di parlargli.Passa%ano accanto ai Gel%ey con le!ani in alto, e co!e stabili%ano la!oda in tutte le -uestioni dico!porta!ento, le Gel%ey %eni%anoe!arginate da tutti. Persino la !aestraa%e%a una %oce solo per loro, ed unsorriso speciale per gli altri ba!bini-uando ?il Gel%ey arri%6 @no alla suacattedra con un !a33o di @ori

terribil!ente co!uni. rano le @glie diun9 ar3illa, diligente, piccola la%andaia,che ogni giorno anda%a di casa in casa.5uesto abbastan3a brutto. Ma do%9erail signor Gel%ey0 "essuno lo sape%a per

certo. Ma tutti dice%ano che era inprigione. 5uindi erano le @glie di unala%andaia e di un carcerato. Ahe bellaco!pagnia per i @gli dell9altra gente+ lo %ede%ano. Perch: la signora Gel%ey le!ise cos8 in %ista era diJcile da capire.?a %erit7 era che erano %estiti dibrandelli, datele dalle persone per

Burnells', with red plush slee%es fro!the ?ogans' curtains. Her hat, perched

on top of her high forehead, was agrownup wo!an's hat, once theproperty of Miss ?ecky, thepost!istress. It was turned up at theback and tri!!ed with a large scarlet-uill. What a little guy she looked+ Itwas i!possible not to laugh. $nd herlittle sister, our lse, wore a long whitedress, rather like a nightgown, and apair of little boy's boots. But whate%erour lse wore she would ha%e looked

strange. *he was a tiny wishbone of achild, with cropped hair and enor!oussole!n eyesa little white owl. "obodyhad e%er seen her s!ile# she scarcelye%er spoke. *he went through lifeholding on to ?il, with a piece of ?il'sskirt screwed up in her hand. Where ?ilwent our lse followed. In theplayground, on the road going to andfro! school, there was ?il !arching infront and our lse holding on behind.

2nly when she wanted anything, orwhen she was out of breath, our lsega%e ?il a tug, a twitch, and ?il stoppedand turned round. /he Gel%eys ne%erfailed to understand each other."ow they ho%ered at the edge# youcouldn't stop the! listening. When thelittle girls turned round and sneered, ?il,as usual, ga%e her silly, sha!efaceds!ile, but our lse only looked.$nd Isabel's %oice, so %ery proud, wenton telling. /he carpet !ade a greatsensation, but so did the beds with realbedclothes, and the sto%e with an o%en

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door.

cui la%ora%a. ?il, ad ese!pio, che erauna ba!bina robusta e piena, congrandi lentiggini, %eni%a scuola con un%estito rica%ato da una to%aglia %erde inartserge dei Burnell, con !aniche difelpa rossa rica%ate dalle tende dei?ogan. Il suo cappello, appollaiato inci!a alla sua alta fronte, era il cappello

di una donna adulta, un te!po dipropriet7 della signorina ?ecky, ladirettrice dell9uJcio postale. $%e%a unris%olto nella parte posteriore, decoratocon una larga piu!a scarlatta. Aheraga33ino se!bra%a+ ra i!possibilenon ridere. la sua sorellina, la nostralsa, indossa%a un lungo %estito bianco,!olto si!ile ad una ca!icia da notte, e

un paio di sti%ali da raga33ino. Ma-ualsiasi cosa la nostra lsa indossassesarebbe se!brata strana. ra una!inuscola forcella di un ba!bino, concapelli cortissi!i ed enor!i, occhi

solenni una piccola bianca ci%etta."essuno a%e%a !ai %isto il suo sorriso,non parla%a -uasi !ai. $&ronta%a la%ita tenendosi aggrappata a ?il, con unpe33o della gonna di ?il stri33ata nellasua !ano. Do%e ?il anda%a, la nostralse la segui%a. "el parco giochi, sullastrada per andare a e da scuola, c9era?il che !arcia%a in testa e la nostra lseche tene%a duro alle sue spalle. *olo-uando %ole%a -ualcosa, o -uando era

sen3a @ato, la nostra lse le da%a unostrattone, uno scossone, e ?il si fer!a%ae si gira%a. ?e Gel%ey riusci%ano se!prea capirsi a %icenda.

2ra indugia%ano sul ciglio, non pote%ifer!arle dall9ascoltare. 5uando leraga33ine si girarono e sogghignarono,?il, co!e al solito, ri%olse loro un sorrisosciocco e i!bara33ato, !a la nostralse guarda%a e basta. la %oce di

Isabel, cos8 orgogliosa, continu6 araccontare. Il tappeto fece grandescalpore, cos8 co!e i letti con le %erelen3uola, e la stufa con un forno.