Original subtitles

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Do you have the feeling that we are moving ahead too swiftly?

That in our quest for fame, for material wealth, we are neglecting some of the

old traditions, the old customs from whence we once drew our strength?

This, for example.

This may look like a seesaw built for one.

but it is a ducking stool.

In Puritan times, if a woman were a scold or a gossip, she was placed here,

the seat belt was fastened securely, and a number of brave men and true

proceeded to dunk her in a pond as though she were a donut. It was most

invigorating, I'm sure.

Unhappily, in modern days, we have no such convenience.

Today, if a woman is a gossip, She isn't ducked. She's syndicated.

Tonight's story has a connection, however remote, to the proceeding.

While our sponsor has a connection, however, obviously to the following.

Thanks again.

Maybe we'll have better luck next time.

I'm inclined to agree with Miss Grimalkin. I didn't like... Neither did

But she had one irrefutable point.

To find a house a hundred years old with a modern kitchen for you, study for me,

and a tree for Kate Swing...

Three bedrooms and central heating, all for $9 ,000 down, would take Miss

Grimalkin's entire staff of witches, plus the Wizard of Oz.

Now, we've got to look for something smaller.

We're going to find just the house we want. I'll guarantee it. How do you

I've got a feeling.

Had it all day.

Turn right at the next intersection.

What? Turn right at the next intersection.

What for?

I don't know why. Let's just try it.

Go on, dear. Don't be an obstructionist.

There you are. What did I tell you?

Carl, I don't like that discriminating fire.

What does that mean?

Expensive. Positive thinking, now. Don't be a pest.

Look, Mom, there's a creek down there.

Oh, you be careful, Kay.

Just what I dreamed about.

You suppose it's really a hundred years old?

Looks like it. A hundred and seven.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.

I'm Amelia Gastel. Oh, how do you do? We're the Kendals. We saw your sign

We're inquiring within.

Your house, I think. Indeed we are.

Mom!

Mom!

Mom, it's the most wonderful creek with frogs and everything.

Kate, darling, you interrupted Miss Gastel.

Not at all.

So this is Kate.

Yes, ma 'am. Kate's nine.

Nine? Oh, that's a wonderful age to be, isn't it, Kate?

Haven't tried many others.

Well, wait till you've tried 74 like I have.

That's why I'm selling, you see. Going to move into the village.

Getting too old to be running back and forth all the time.

Oh, well, for a minute I thought you'd changed your mind.

About selling?

Nonsense.

Why do you suppose I put up the sign?

Well, you'll want to look over the house. Come along.

Just a minute.

Maybe before that, we'd better talk about... About terms?

Yes. Well, if you like it, we can always find a way to manage.

There's always a way, you know. Come along.

Now, I'm not just saying that, you know. If there's anything I can do to help

you get settled, you call on me.

Well, you report tomorrow morning at eight. We'll put you to work painting

kitchen. I paint pretty good kitchen.

You be careful, Reverend. He has a contract in his back pocket.

It was wonderful of you to call.

Thank Miss Gastel.

She's a wonderful old woman.

Yes, isn't she? You know, she's quite an institution around here. Her family

goes straight back to the Puritans.

A lot of them are buried in our own churchyard.

Really? If you have any time, you come down and I'll give you a personally

conducted tour.

Oh, dear. I must get along.

Well, I shall hope to see you on Sunday.

We'll try to be there.

Bring Kate. We'll try and find her a playmate. Okay, bye, Reverend. Goodbye.

You know, that's the only fly in an otherwise beautiful ointment.

Kate? Mm -hmm.

He says there isn't another family with children the whole length of this road.

It'll be a little lonesome for it if Google starts.

That's only a couple of weeks away.

Well, shall we tackle that kitchen?

you up to, young lady?

Well,

usually a creepo. Where'd you find him?

I didn't.

Letty did.

Who? Letty, the little girl I was calling.

Well, now, there you are.

And Letty's the little girl about nine and a half, just like you. How'd you

know? You see?

Well, where does she live, honey?

I don't know.

I didn't ask her. Why didn't you invite her in?

She had to go to meetings.

Said her mom had the gig ready and they didn't dare be late.

The gig?

Yeah. What is a gig?

Some kind of car?

What is a car? Well, it's kind of a buggy people used to ride around in

ago, Katie.

Letty rides in hers all the time.

They always go to meetings.

I better take him outside.

Tomorrow you bring Letty out to meet us, huh? Sure.

A gig yet?

Sounds like some kind of a religious sect or something. Like those people who

won't wear buttons.

Well, buttons are no buttons. She's nine and a half and likes frogs.

I give you Lettie.

Hear, hear.

Where's Lettie?

She had to go home.

Why?

I don't know.

Ask Lettie.

Come on, honey.

Let's go up and change those clothes.

You said I could eat here.

Well, I know, but Lettie's gone, and I don't like for you to play here alone.

Come on.

What do you and Lettie talk about, mostly?

I don't know, Daddy. A lot of things.

Well, give me a sample.

Oh, lots of things.

School.

Lettie go to school?

Yeah. Funny kind of school, if you ask me, though.

They don't use real books.

Just horn books.

What's a horn book?

I don't know.

Ask Lettie.

Honeybun, you keep telling us to ask Lettie, but we can't seem to get in the

same ballpark with her. She just likes me, I guess.

Well, now, can't you do a spelling job? Tell her what tremendous people your

parents are. We'd kind of like to meet her.

I'll ask her, Daddy.

Okay.

Where did this come from?

A child's history of New England.

You remember.

Mr. Still left it here.

Oh, yes. Have you been reading it? I just look at the pictures.

Honeybun, you mind if your old man tells you a secret about little girls?

What?

Well, you see, sometimes they get lonesome.

And they start wishing they had someone to play with, and they wish it so hard

they begin to think it's true.

You think I'm making Lettie up? Oh, no, not exactly, no. Well, I'm not.

I only said you might have thought about her so much. She was here the day we

came, down by the creek. She was lonesome, and she saw we'd bought the

and she was down there waiting for me.

I didn't do all this.

She did.

When? Yesterday.

Well, who is it?

Lettie's Aunt Bridget.

What's her last name?

Same as Lettie's.

Bishop.

Lettie's real daddy.

I didn't make her up.

What's the matter?

I think you've got a little fever.

Come on now, it's after eight. It's time you hit the sack.

Still think I made her up? Yeah, we'll talk about that tomorrow. Go on, hop

bed.

What did the doctor say?

She's running a fever, all right, but it's just a cold. We'll have to keep her

in for a day or two.

She's telling him all about Lettie.

Well, it's all here.

Church meeting, cotton mather, gigs, and hornbooks. This is where she got it.

Then why didn't she say so?

I don't know. You're a girl. You tell me. Look, it's nothing to make jokes

about. Well, now, look, it's nothing to get upset about either.

Alice in Wonderland grew up to be a fine, normal woman and soul kid.

Alice in Wonderland?

Oh, Mrs.

Kendall's a little upset about Katie's friend, Lettie.

What do you think, Doc?

Well, I'm afraid Lettie's a bit out of my field.

I could refer you to a good child psychologist in Salem.

You think she's imagining it? I would say so, yes.

Have you run into this before, Doc?

I have two daughters myself.

I wish I was confident.

Now, fill it.

I'm sorry. I just can't help it.

Well, this is Lettie's Aunt Bridget. I'm sure Kate didn't draw that. Now, Phil,

you're not making sense. Well, you aren't either.

Kate's nine and a half.

She doesn't care a hang about the history of Puritans or even books.

We couldn't even get her to read the Sunday Funnies.

What makes you think she'd suddenly sit down with a dry old tome like that and

bone up on the Pilgrims?

Puritans. All right, the Puritans.

Well, maybe she's tutoring with Lenny's aunt, Bridget Bishop. I don't know. Who?

Oh, that's Lenny's Puritan aunt.

Name is Bridget Bishop.

Katie probably invented her, too.

No, I don't think so.

Why not?

Well, I'm not up too much on my local history, but that name rings a bell.

Bishop. Bridget.

Page 73.

Now, here she is. There's a picture of her. She... She what?

The trial of Bridget Bishop of Salem Village by the elders of the church.

Convicted of witchcraft and hung.

June 16, 92.

Hey, don't try and kid your old man, Possum.

I couldn't sleep.

Well, neither could I with the light in my eyes. Did you know it's after

midnight? I was just thinking, that's all.

Well, the fever's gone down, but it could come back.

Now, look, you keep that light out and log a little fact time, okay?

What kind of beads are these?

They're buzzard bones.

Letty gave them to me.

Buzzard bones?

To keep off the pox.

What? That's what Letty said.

Now, look, Katie, you may not realize it, but you've upset your mother pretty

badly with all this talk about Letty.

Now, it's time you stopped making things up and started telling the truth.

But, Daddy... Now, let me finish.

Now, when we were cleaning up around here the day we moved in, there was a

of knickknacks and junk Miss Gastel left behind.

We swept it into a corner in the keeping room, and I remember you playing there.

Now, that's where you found these, isn't it?

I'm sleeping.

Katie, answer me.

Can I keep them?

If you tell me where you found them.

Yes, Daddy, it was in that pile.

Well...

Now, look, no more making things up, understand?

Uh -huh.

Good night. Good night.

Loretta Bishop.

That would be Letty for short, wouldn't it? Yes, I should think so. Why?

Died at the park.

Oh, there must have been a terrible epidemic of smallpox at that time.

It took off a lot of the children.

I didn't realize that.

Yes. Medicine was about on a par with the methods of an African witch doctor.

You know, charms, fetishes, broths of lizard tails and fingernails.

Buzzard bone necklaces.

Yes, against the pox.

Also, they practiced exorcism of demons.

Exorcism? It was an ancient rite of the church, driving out an evil spirit.

How did they do it?

Well, as I recall, it was a pretty involved sort of ritual.

Is it still done?

Oh, very rarely nowadays.

Could you do it?

Aye, but my dear child, why would I?

Well, I... I mean, if there were a real need for it.

Well, I'd have to investigate pretty thoroughly before... But it is possible.

I mean, you could do it or have it done.

Yes, I suppose so. But why?

I can't tell you. Not yet anyway, but I may have to ask for some help.

Thanks for the tour.

Goodbye.

Curious, isn't it?

No idea where it came from.

It turned up from somewhere at moving time, and I just tossed it on the scrap

heap.

Do you suppose it's really Puritan?

Well, I don't know.

I don't really care.

I think you know what our problem is, Miss Castell.

Kate's alone all day. She should have a playmate.

Yeah, we realized that when we first moved in. I guess we didn't appreciate

important it was.

She didn't have one, so she made one up.

Dear me.

A little girl named Lettie.

Lettie? Oh, that's an old -fashioned name.

Oh, she's an old -fashioned girl.

Strict cabinet.

Goes to church meetings every day and a gig.

Listen to Cotton Mather preach.

Knows all about the stocks and the ducking stool.

And wears these buzzard bones to keep away the pox.

Katie got it all out of that old history book you left here.

You know, I don't think I could get her to study that book for a hundred

dollars. But if this keeps up much longer, she's...

She's going to be the world's youngest Ph .D. in Puritan history.

Did you find out about it?

It's just as I said.

What, the Jaws?

Well, of course. I should have gotten rid of that trash.

Well, she's asleep now.

Make sure she keeps covered, will you?

Don't worry.

We'll get along just fine.

But we'll have to find her a little playmate. It isn't right for a child to

alone so much.

Well, if you hear of an agency that rents out little girls, you let us know,

won't you?

I'll put on my thinking cap. Okay.

Come on now. Come on.

Have a good time.

Oh, thanks a lot for being our sitter.

We won't be too late.

Don't count on that either.

Good night.

Good night.

Yes, dear.

What's exorcism?

What's what?

Exorcism.

Why do you ask that?

I don't know.

Katie.

Now, Katie, tell me, where did you hear about that?

On TV last night.

What is it?

Well, it's...

Kind of hard to explain.

If you exercise somebody, does it hurt?

Oh, no, of course not. It's just a ceremony.

A very serious one that has to do with driving away something harmful.

And they never come back?

The person you make go away?

Well, we'd hope not.

Did, uh... Letty tell you?

Letty? Your little friend, Katie.

Oh, Daddy.

You know she wasn't real.

I just made her up.

Can I have a slice of banana on my cereal?

Wow, good morning. Good morning, good morning.

This is Judy Davidson.

Judy, this is Mrs. Kendall. How do you do, Judy?

How do you do?

Please come in.

Oh, thank you. Kate, come here.

Judy's father is my new milkman. She'll be taking the same school bus as Kate.

Kate, this is Judy Davidson.

Hi, Judy.

Hello.

Judy may stay all day, if you like, and then I'll take her home tonight.

Katie, why don't you take Judy upstairs and show her your playroom? Sure. Come

on, Judy.

Miss Castell, if my wife weren't a jealous woman, I think I'd give you a

big hug right here and now.

Well, I told you, Mr. Candle. I told you I'd put on my thinking cap.

Well, thank you.

Bye -bye. Bye -bye.

It was a fine notion, Mrs. Kate.

Would we have thought of it sooner? I wish we had thought of it sooner.

I wish we had thought of it sooner.

Listen, Lettie, if I can remember to call you Judy.

You should remember not to talk in that old -fashioned way.

Do you want to get yourself exercised?

Then who am I going to play with?

I hope you enjoyed our story, Summer Shade.

because that will give you strength to face this next item, after which I'll

return. That is all of tonight's entertainment.

We shall return next week with more of the same. Now I must hurry off. I'm

shooting a picture.

Good night.