It isn't much of a secret, but
it's the only one. The trick is ...
Don't Think About It
By WILLIAM W. STUART
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Tommy wasn't really a timid child. Sometimes he didn't understandthings and was puzzled. More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn'tunderstand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was morepuzzled. Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.Then Momma and sometimes Daddy would translate bafflement into sillyadult terms and think that he was afraid.
It was that way about the hole in the closet when Tommy was just a bitover three. Tommy wasn't really afraid. Mr. Bear was afraid and thething did puzzle Tommy. So he asked about it, but he never did get anysensible or satisfactory answers, and that did worry and perhaps evenupset him a little.
But he wasn't afraid, even before Daddy finally told him, "Now, Tommy,boy. Don't think about it and it won't scare you. Really, there isnothing there to hurt you, if you just don't think about it. So don'tyou think about it any more—there's Daddy's big boy."
This certainly was not any sort of explanation. But still Tommy did tryhard not to think about it, as Daddy said. And now he really doesn'tthink about it at all any more. Or about Aunt Martha, either.
The hole was in the closet in Tommy's room. Tommy and Momma and Daddylived in a not very big, not very new frame house on the edge of thecity and Aunt Martha lived with them. Tommy didn't—at least not yet,although there were promises—have any brothers or sisters. But hedid have his own room and a family of his own, too. It was the extrabedroom and it had a closet that was cramped and with no light. Tommyliked his room. It was small, with a small bed, and it belonged tohim, along with his family of Mr. Bear and Old Rabbit and Kokey Koala.It was also in easy crying range of Momma and Daddy's room and AuntMartha's room, so if Mr. Bear, who was the timid one, got frightened inthe night, Tommy could cry—purely in Mr. Bear's behalf—to bring help.Or at least company.
Tommy and his family all liked the closet well enough too, except forthe shelf that was out of reach even from the "don't climb" stool. Thecloset was good to hide in or play bear cave or rabbit hole and finefor finding missing toys after Momma had a spell of playing cleaninghouse.
The day Tommy found the hole in the closet was the week after histhird birthday. Daddy was at work. Momma was out shopping. It was arainy afternoon. Aunt Martha was sitting with Tommy and the afternoontelevision.
He was in his room with his family and they all agreed as soon as theyheard the television coming on strong that it would be a very poorafternoon to waste on a nap. Besides, Mr. Bear's feelings had beenhurt by having been somewhat left out of things recently in favor ofnew birthday presents, now largely broken or tiresome. To make it upto him, Tommy and Old Rabbit and Kokey all agreed to play bear cave inthe closet. It was a nice game and going well enough, except for somegrumbling from Kokey Koala, who always wanted to argue and claimed thatbears lived in trees, not caves.
But then—and it was Mr. Bear's fault for wanting it darker, so hecould hibernate—the closet door shut tight. That didn't seem soserious at first. It would only mean a scolding for being out of bed