They were a happy family too among themselves, and
the reason seemed to be because they lived in the radiance of the
magic door.
"At length, to the sorrow of his friends, this good man died. In his
parting instructions to his children he warned them that the door
might sometime lose its power, and if its hinges should ever become
rusty, or its lock hard to turn, he directed them to a certain iron
box where they would find a key which, if used according to the
directions attached, would soon restore it. This made little or no
impression upon them at the time, for, since the oldest of them could
remember, the door had been always the same, and it seemed improbable
that it would ever change. They missed their father sadly, but for a
time continued to live as they had when he was with them. However, as
the months passed, all unconsciously at first they began to neglect
their duties; to forget the acts of neighborly kindness they had once
been so glad to perform; and saddest of all, they fell to quarrelling
among themselves. Then one day they could not open the door, try as
they would. Rust was discovered thick upon its hinges, and while they
were wondering how this could have happened, some one brought word
that complaint was general in the neighborhood that the door had lost
its magic power.
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