Even in her dark world, Helen had happy times. She loved to be outdoors. She’d feel her way carefully along the walls of the house. Helen loved to touch all the plants that grew around the house. She smelled the flowers. Soon she could tell plants apart by their feel and smell. This was how she got information.
Helen learned to do simple chores. She folded the clean clothes. She knew which clothes were hers. She also learned that when her mother put on her coat, she was going out. Helen tugged at her coat to go, too.
But for Helen everyday mishaps could turn into dangerous accidents. Once Helen spilled some water on her apron. She wanted it to dry. So she held her apron near the fireplace. She did not know how close she was to the fire. Her apron burst into flames. Quickly, her nurse used a blanket to put out the fire. It burned only Helen’s fingers slightly and singed her hair. Helen had been very lucky.
As she grew older, Helen developed a sense of mischief. She liked to play tricks. One day, Helen found some keys. She knew that keys locked doors. Her mother was in the pantry getting something, and Helen was right outside. Helen took the keys and locked her mother in the pantry. Her mother pounded on the door. She yelled to be let out. Helen sat on the porch where she could feel the vibrations of her mother’s pounding. Helen sat there and smiled. Mrs. Keller was locked in the pantry for three hours.
Helen and a young servant named Martha Washington often played together. Martha was a few years older than Helen. But Helen was the bossier of the two. One day, they were cutting out paper dolls on the porch. Helen soon grew tired of this. So she cut off all the flowers growing on vines near the porch. Still bored, Helen decided to cut Martha’s hair. Martha said no at first, but then gave in. Few people said no to Helen. So Martha’s hair soon lay at her feet. And, then, because she felt that it was only fair, Helen let Martha cut her own long, golden hair. Helen’s mother was not happy with either child.
Helen’s other friend was the family dog, Belle. Helen tried to teach the dog her signs. But the dog would just sleep or run off after a bird. Helen could not understand why Belle was such a poor student.
And so Helen passed her days.
Then, when Helen was five, her sister Mildred was born. Suddenly Helen’s world changed. Someone else needed her mother’s love. Someone else sat in her mother’s lap. Helen became jealous of the baby who seemed to be taking her mother away.
One day, Helen discovered her baby sister sleeping in her doll’s cradle. Helen grew very angry. Before anyone else could stop her, Helen pushed over the cradle. Mildred tumbled out. Luckily, Mrs. Keller caught Mildred before she hit the floor. Now, Mrs. Keller realized that Helen was not only a danger to herself. She was a danger to others. If Helen’s mother could not control Helen who was still a young girl, what would happen when Helen got older? Helen had to change.
The Kellers took Helen to another doctor in Baltimore, Maryland. The doctor was an eye specialist. Again the Kellers heard the same words. There was nothing the doctor could do for Helen. But the doctor did tell Captain Keller about Alexander Graham Bell who lived in nearby Washington, D.C. Bell, who had invented the telephone in 1876, was also a former teacher of the deaf. Perhaps Bell might know someone to help Helen.
For the first time in a very long while, the Kellers felt a little bit of hope. |