"Lottie,Lottie...,please open the door," her father pleaded, knocking gently on the door. Lottie sighed and reluctantly went over to open the door.

"I'm sorry," he said hugging Lottie tightly. Tears came to his eyes as he thought of Lottie gone. It wasn't as if she would never come back he thought. It would just be like a long holiday with her Aunt and Uncle until he and her Mother got some more money.

"I would help you get money and be very good," Lottie begged staring up into her Father's kind eyes.

"Lottie, you know you can't stay. I'm sure you'll like it in Stratford," her father replied.

Two weeks passed and before she knew it Lottie was on her way to Stratford. Her father had got one of his friends to take her part of the way in a cart while he was delivering something. She sat in the cart as it bumped along over the cobbled street. She looked behind her as the narrow alleys and busy streets changed into wide, open farmland.

"Ere' we are then, I must be goin', bye," the driver said while Lottie, battered and bruised, jumped off the cart. She gathered her stuff and looked around. It seemed very quiet compared to the bustle of London.

Lottie stood nervously on the doorstep. She had never seen her aunt before but had heard about her. She knocked on the door and heard someone coming towards it. The door swung open and standing in front of here was a tall women with a stern, cold face; in her arms was a small baby, screaming and crying.

"Well, come in then," Aunt Anne said jiggling the baby up and down. Lottie walked inside and shivered: it seemed warmer outside than in.

"Elizabeth, come here," Aunt Anne shouted and in came a young girl of about seven holding onto a small boy.

"Charlotte, this is Elizabeth and Henry," she said and, pointing to the baby, continued, "and this little un's Edward."

Lottie couldn't sleep that night: she missed her parents and didn't like it at all at her aunt's house. She was going to have to get up early tomorrow because her aunt had got her a small job as a maid to get some more money. Eventually she got to sleep but only to find herself waking up again because she had had a nightmare.

Lottie yawned as she dusted the furniture. She was at Mrs Shakespeare's house, where she was working as a maid. It wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be: in fact it was quite nice to get away from her aunt for a bit. Mrs Shakespeare had three children: Hamnet, Judith and Susanna. They were all quite young. Lottie came home only to find that Aunt Anne had gone out and she had to look after the children.

Weeks passed and Lottie still didn't hear anything from her parents. She was getting quite used to the daily routine now, up early and off to work then coming home to look after Elizabeth, Henry and Edward. She was going to help the nanny today. Hopefully that would be more fun than her usual job.

" Good-morning, Charlotte," the nanny said. She was an old but kind and gentle lady whom Lottie liked a lot.

" Here are the children," the nanny said. "Will you look after them while I go out for a while?"

Lottie sat down with Hamnet, Judith and Susanna and started to play with them. She wished she could be little again and live back in London with her Mother and Father.

"Hello again, shall we go for a walk by the river?" the nanny asked, walking into the room again.

"Ok then," Lottie replied and, holding onto the children, they set off.

Lottie smiled she was feeling much better: the fresh air had made her start to enjoy it. Lottie sat down next to the nanny while the children paddled in the river. She looked up at the clear, blue sky and drifted off to sleep.

Lottie awoke to hear shouts and screams coming from the river. The current had picked up and was sweeping Judith down the river.

" Oh no," the nanny cried. "She's going to drown."

Lottie ran down along the bank of the river: she could see Judith being pulled under the water. She knew what she had to do. She dived into the water and reached out to Judith. Her father had taught her how to swim in a lake when she was little. The water was icy cold but Lottie kicked her legs and felt for Judith's hand. She found it and heaved Judith out of the river. Everyone came rushing over to see if they were all right. Lottie was fine and Judith was badly chilled.

Lottie was back inside and dry. She was wearing a clean set of clothes and was sitting by the log fire. Mr Shakespeare had come home from London and wanted to see Lottie. She was very nervous and a chill ran up her spine as she walked into his office.

" Lottie, I am very grateful for what you did for Judith and I would like to reward you by taking you to one of my plays." Lottie was speechless, she had never expected this.

"Thank you very much," she replied and walked out of the room smiling. Her Aunt didn't take the news as well though.

"What, I'm slaving away here trying to look after you while you're going to some fancy play," she shouted at Lottie and, slamming the door shut, she stormed out.

It seemed like ages but eventually the day came when Lottie was going to the play. William Shakespeare came and collected her and they set off.

Lottie loved it, they were watching 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and she thought it was fantastic. She was sad when it finished so when she bumped into the lady on the way out she didn't notice anything.

" Lottie, is that you?" the lady exclaimed,

"Mother," Lottie answered. They rushed up together and hugged.

"Lottie, your Father's got a new job, you can come home," her Mother said and she smiled at her lovely daughter.