It was Grandma's wish that the members of the family should
usually use the carpeted stairs, for she too took great pride in
the glossy, shining surface of the others. Uncle Steve preferred
the carpeted stairs, anyway, as they led to the upper hall which
opened into his own room, and Grandma invariably used them.

As a means of distinction, the wooden stairs were habitually
called the Front Stairs; and, though they were equally front, the
carpeted flight was always spoken of as the Other Stairs.

From the first, Marjorie had been explicitly forbidden to go up
and down the Front Stairs; and from the first Marjorie had found
this rule most difficult to remember.

Rushing from her play into the house, often with muddy or dusty
shoes, she would fly into the hall, clatter up the Front Stairs,
and, perhaps, down again and out, without a thought of her
wrongdoing. This would leave footprints, and often scratches and
heel-marks on the beautiful steps, which meant extra work for
Jane; and even then the scratches were not always effaceable.

Many a serious talk had Grandma and Marjorie had on the subject;
many times had Marjorie faithfully promised to obey this
particular command; and, alas! many times had the child
thoughtlessly broken her promise.

At last, Grandma said: "I know, my dear, you do not MEAN to
forget, but you DO forget. Now this forgetting must stop. If you
run up those Front Stairs again, Marjorie, I'm going to punish