The Keys
A SKELETON-KEY said to her neighbour:
"I go about everywhere, but you lie still. Where have I not been, but you've always remained at home. What are you thinking about?"
The old key did not want to answer, but she said:
"There is a strong oaken door. I lock it, and when the time comes I unlock it again."
"Well," said the skeleton-key, "but aren't there a great many doors in the world?"
"I don't need to know about any other doors," said the key. "I can't open them."
"Can't you? But I can open every door!"
And the skeleton-key thought to herself:
"This key is really stupid if it can only open one door." But the key said to her:
"You're a thieves' skeleton-key, but I am a true and honest door-key."
This the skeleton-key did not understand. She did not know what truth and honesty were, and she thought that the door-key was so old that she had gone out of her mind.