Household Tales · Chapter
The Golden Key explained
A poor boy gathering wood in winter discovers a tiny gold key in the snow, then digs up an iron chest.
What happens
A poor boy gathering wood in winter discovers a tiny gold key in the snow, then digs up an iron chest. After finding a nearly invisible keyhole, he fits the key and turns it once, leaving the contents of the chest a mystery to be revealed later.
Characters to notice
- the boy
A poor boy forced to fetch wood in winter; he discovers the golden key and iron chest.
Key passages
“In the winter time, when deep snow lay on the ground, a poor boy was forced to go out on a sledge to fetch wood.”
During a snowy winter, a poor boy had to go out with a sledge to collect firewood.
Establishes the harsh winter setting and the boy's poverty.
“He scraped away the snow, and as he was thus clearing the ground, he found a tiny, gold key.”
While clearing snow from the ground, he discovered a small golden key.
The key is the first clue leading to the chest.
“Then he turned it once round, and now we must wait until he has quite unlocked it and opened the lid, and then we shall learn what wonderful things were lying in that box.”
After turning the key once, we must wait for him to fully unlock and open the chest to discover its wonderful contents.
Ends the chapter on a cliffhanger, promising future revelation.