the little door

Hi again--this is the first draft of a picture book.  Without pictures.  Use your imagination!

       Doors come in all shapes and sizes.  Castle doors, cottage doors, revolving doors, and front doors with doorbells that sing.

       Best of all, though, are little doors.

       Mabel has a little door in her room, with a little knocker and a little knob.

       It is a purple door that leads to her sister’s room, and is just the right size for Mabel. 

       Mabel has an older sister named Nicole, and they love each other very much.  Mabel always wants to play with her sister, but sometimes her sister doesn’t want to play with her.  Which makes Mabel want to scream and punch and cry and kick.

       Tonight, Nicole didn’t want to play.  “I have to read,” she said, “stop being such a pest.” And she went through the little door alone, ducking a little bit as she slammed it behind her.

       Mabel wanted to scream and punch and cry and kick.  “I’m not a pest!” She said, and kicked the little door.  The knocker yelped.

       “What’s wrong Sweet Pea?”  asked her mother who had come running.

       “Nicole called me a pest, but I’m not a pest.  I want to play with her.”  Mabel sat down on the floor.  “Make her let me play.” 

       “I’m afraid I can’t do that, honey.  Why don’t you try asking nicely?” Her mother patted her on the back and kissed her forehead.

       Mabel didn’t want to ask nicely.  She wanted to scream and punch and cry and kick.  So that is what she did.

       She screamed,

       She punched,

       She cried,

       She kicked,

       She even stomped her feet,

       Until the door had grown so big (or she had shrunk so small) that she couldn’t reach the doorknob.

Now what was she to do?  She was even too small for the little door. No one could hear her screams, see her punches, listen to her cries, or feel her kicks. 

       She would have to figure out another thing to do.

       Only now she was just two inches tall and the door looked like it belonged on a castle, not her bedroom wall. And look!  There was the red marble that had fallen behind the dresser yesterday! 

       And behind the marble was…

       The cutest little Ladybug Mabel had ever seen!  Although it wasn’t so little now, it was almost as big as her left foot!

       “What were you doing just then?”  The Ladybug asked.  Mabel jumped.

       “Ladybugs don’t talk!”  She said to the Ladybug.

       “What a thing to say,” sniffed the Ladybug, “after almost squishing me too.”  And she began to cry.

       “Don’t cry!” Said Mabel, “I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to almost squish you.  It’s just that I never heard a Ladybug say anything before.”

       “Well,” the Ladybug sniffled, “you can’t have met any proper Ladybugs then.”  Mabel said she hadn’t.  “What were you stomping for, anyways?” The Ladybug asked, flicking her wings about.

       “My sister called me a pest.  And she won’t let me play with her!” Then she had a thought. “Do you think, Ladybug, that you could fly me to the other room and drop me on Nicole’s head, so I can pull on her hair when she can’t see me?”

        “I most certainly will not.” Said the Ladybug. ”I am a Ladybug, not a Ladypest.  I will not help you pester your sister, and you most definitely too big to fly anywhere.”

       “Well then, what am I going to do?” She was still too small to even call for her mother.  She almost started to scream and punch and cry and kick again, but stopped when she saw the beautiful Ladybug.  The only thing stomping had accomplished was almost squishing her new friend.  

So perhaps she would have to think of another way out.

       She tried climbing the wall, but the knob was too far away.

       She tried piling blocks and bears and empty little boxes on top of one another, but the mountain fell on top of her when she tried to climb it.

      She tried screaming her sister’s name and banging on the door, but her voice was too little.

      She even tried squirming underneath the door, but she was just a little too big for that.

      She sat down next to the Ladybug.  Now she was really afraid. What if she was stuck as a tiny person forever? 

     Then she remembered that her Nana always told her that when she was upset or scared or angry, she should take three deep breaths, and then she would be able to find a solution.  So she closed her eyes and took

     One deep breath,

     Two deep breaths

     Three deep breaths,

     And then a fourth, just because she could smell the happy thoughts and smiles and answers she was breathing in.

    When she opened her eyes, the little door was in front of her again, and it was just her size.

She smiled and clapped her hands and knocked on the little knocker three times.  Her sister opened the door.

   “Will you please play with me?” Mabel asked very nicely.

    “Okay.”  Nicole answered.  “I’m sorry I called you a pest.”  They played happily for the rest of the afternoon.   And from then on, Mabel was always very careful not to scream and punch and cry and kick, so that she wouldn’t almost squish any other ladybugs.