At the age of 11, Keller was accused of plagiarism

At the age of 11, Keller published a short story in The Mentor, the Perkins alumni publication, and The Goodson Gazette, a Virginia-based publication on deaf-blind education. The story, titled "The Frost King," sparked a plagiarism debate. It appeared to be only a copy of "Frost Fairies" from Margaret Canby's book "Birdie and His Fairy Friends."

At Perkins, there was an internal trial where eight teachers questioned a young Keller for a few hours before coming to a draw on the matter. She experienced a nervous breakdown as a result of the entire situation and stopped writing fiction for the rest of her life. Mark Twain expressed his disapproval of the occurrence by calling the controversy "owlishly dumb and disgusting" and the attackers of Keller "a collection of rotting human turnips."