Beware of red doors
There was once a group of triplets called Jasper, James and Josie. They
were supposed to be visiting their great Aunt Ethel for a few days, but the
arrival of a nasty virus (one I am sure you know) meant they were stuck
there for much longer. Aunt Ethel was a rather plain woman. She could not
entertain her guests with stories or games. Only the reading of tiresome
books and the occasional conversation about the weather and other
mundane topics. The only saving grace of being stuck with such
uninteresting company was the house. Although she had no children, Aunt
Ethel’s house was big enough for ten of them and it was certainly worth
exploring. But she had sternly forbade them to investigate the rooms on
their own so “she could make sure of their safety” – an excuse that Josie
found odd. Now if Aunt Ethel had more experience in these matters, she
would have known that children with little to do will do silly things. And on
one evening, this is exactly what happened:
“I can’t believe we’re stuck here! We’re so unlucky”, said Jasper.
“Yeah, I wish this stupid virus would go away”, said James.
“Dad always tells us to look at the bright side”, said Josie, “We could be in
hospital with the virus. At least here we’re safe...and well we have food
and-”
“There is no “bright side”! Who cares about all that if we have nothing to
do?” interrupted Jasper.
“Yeah, it’s so boring here!” said James (who always took Jasper’s line of
thinking).
“I have an idea!”, exclaimed Jasper, “Let’s explore the house! Aunt Ethel
doesn’t want us to have fun. We could find so much here! Like an old
treasure chest or a suit of armour.”
“Or a dinosaur skeleton!” cried James
“There won’t be a dinosaur skeleton here, James. And this is a terrible
idea. I hate Aunt Ethel as much as you do but there must be a reason why
we can’t -,”
“How would you know there are no skeletons?”, said Jasper uninterested
in Josie’s reasoning, “Silly Aunt Ethel doesn’t care about us so why should
we care about her rules?”.
The brothers rushed out of the room and James almost forgot his glasses
in the excitement. Josie considered leaving her brothers alone, but she
was still suspicious of her aunt’s warning. She was almost certain this
exploration would lead to misfortune. So, she took her torch and began to
There was once a group of triplets called Jasper, James and Josie. They
were supposed to be visiting their great Aunt Ethel for a few days, but the
arrival of a nasty virus (one I am sure you know) meant they were stuck
there for much longer. Aunt Ethel was a rather plain woman. She could not
entertain her guests with stories or games. Only the reading of tiresome
books and the occasional conversation about the weather and other
mundane topics. The only saving grace of being stuck with such
uninteresting company was the house. Although she had no children, Aunt
Ethel’s house was big enough for ten of them and it was certainly worth
exploring. But she had sternly forbade them to investigate the rooms on
their own so “she could make sure of their safety” – an excuse that Josie
found odd. Now if Aunt Ethel had more experience in these matters, she
would have known that children with little to do will do silly things. And on
one evening, this is exactly what happened:
“I can’t believe we’re stuck here! We’re so unlucky”, said Jasper.
“Yeah, I wish this stupid virus would go away”, said James.
“Dad always tells us to look at the bright side”, said Josie, “We could be in
hospital with the virus. At least here we’re safe...and well we have food
and-”
“There is no “bright side”! Who cares about all that if we have nothing to
do?” interrupted Jasper.
“Yeah, it’s so boring here!” said James (who always took Jasper’s line of
thinking).
“I have an idea!”, exclaimed Jasper, “Let’s explore the house! Aunt Ethel
doesn’t want us to have fun. We could find so much here! Like an old
treasure chest or a suit of armour.”
“Or a dinosaur skeleton!” cried James
“There won’t be a dinosaur skeleton here, James. And this is a terrible
idea. I hate Aunt Ethel as much as you do but there must be a reason why
we can’t -,”
“How would you know there are no skeletons?”, said Jasper uninterested
in Josie’s reasoning, “Silly Aunt Ethel doesn’t care about us so why should
we care about her rules?”.
The brothers rushed out of the room and James almost forgot his glasses
in the excitement. Josie considered leaving her brothers alone, but she
was still suspicious of her aunt’s warning. She was almost certain this
exploration would lead to misfortune. So, she took her torch and began to
