Lil Kelvey and her sister Else find themselves decidedly on the outside of the "popular" girls' circle at school. They have no extra money to spare; their mother washes clothes by going from house to house during the day. No one knows where their father is, so the town (and the girls) claim that he must be in jail.

At this point in the story, every other girl has visited the breathtakingly beautiful dollhouse at the Burnell house except for the Kelvey sisters. The group of girls who have been included all sit around during their lunch break to talk about how incredible it is, always excluding Lil and Else. On this day, Lena decides to go beyond simply excluding Lil and to be more intentionally cruel.

She taunts her, saying that Lil will be a servant when she grows up. Lil reacts in the best way she possibly can: wrapping up the remains of her lunch and smiling at the cruel girl. Since this reaction isn't what Lena wants, she goes further:

Lena couldn't stand that. She put her hands on her hips; she shot forward.
"Yah, yer father's in prison!" she hissed, spitefully.

This at least earns her the wanted reaction from her flock of supporters, and the group of girls leave in giggles about the cruel remarks. Lena is a stock "mean girl" character who seeks to feel more significant by attempting to make others feel like less.