小公主第四章

Captain Crewe为Sara添了许多漂亮的衣服和生活用品，而新买的玩偶Emily将代替他继续陪伴着Sara。可离别终究是伤感的，在父亲走后，Sara把自己一个人锁在了房间里，她抱着Emily坐在地板上，不舍地凝视着出租车消失的角落。

- A Little Princess -

When Sara entered the classroom

the next morning everybody

looked at her with interested eyes.

By that time every pupil had heard

a great deal about her.

There was Lavinia Herbert, who

was nearly thirteen and felt quite

grown up,as well as Lottie Legh,

who was only just four and the

baby of the school.

They knew that she was Miss

Minchin's show pupil.

Lavinia had passed by Sara's room

when the door was open.

She had seen Mariette, Sara’s

French maid, opening a box which

had arrived late from the shop.

“It was full of dresses with

expensive lace on them,"she

whispered to her friend Jessie as

she studied her geography.

“I heard Miss Minchin say to Miss

Amelia that her clothes were so

grand that they were silly for a

child.”

Sara was sitting in her seat,

waiting to be told what to do.

She had been placed near Miss

Minchin's desk.

She looked back quietly at the

children who looked at her.

She looked back quietly at the

children who looked at her.

She wondered what they were

thinking of, and if they liked Miss

Minchin, and if any of them had a

papa at all like her own.

She had had a long talk with Emily

about her papa that morning.

“He is on the sea now, Emily,”she

had said.

“We must be very great friends to

each other.

Emily, look at me.

You have the nicest eyes I ever saw

—but I wish you could speak.”

She was a child full of imagination,

and one of her favorite things was

pretending(假装) that Emily was

alive and really heard and

understood.

After Mariette had dressed her in

her dark blue classroom dress, she

went to Emily, who sat in a chair of

her own.

Sara gave her a book.

“You can read that while I am

downstairs(在楼下)，”she said.

Seeing Mariette looking at her

curiously, she spoke to her with a

serious little face.

“What I believe about dolls,” she said, “is that they can do things

they will not let us know about.

Perhaps, really, Emily can read and talk and walk, but she will only do it when people are out of the

room. That is her secret.”

Mariette liked this unusual little

girl who had such an intelligent

small face and such perfect

manners.

She had taken care of children who

were not so polite before.

Sara was a very fine person.

She had a gentle way of saying,“If

you please, Mariette,” "Thank you,

Mariette," which was very

pleasant.

Indeed, Mariette was very much

pleased with her new little

employer and liked her place

greatly.

After Sara had sat in her seat in the

classroom for a few minutes, Miss

Minchin knocked in a serious

manner upon her desk.

“Young ladies,” she said, “I wish to

introduce you to your new

companion, Miss Crewe.

She has just come to us from a

great distance—from India.

She has just come to us from a

great distance—from India.

As soon as lessons are over you

must introduce yourselves.”

“Sara,” said Miss Minchin in her

classroom manner, “come here to

me.”

She had taken a book from the

desk and was turning over its

leaves.

Sara went to her politely.

“Your papa has chosen a French

maid for you,"she began.

“Therefore, I conclude(推断) that he

wishes you to make a special study

of the French language.”

Sara felt a little awkward(监尬的).

“I think he chose her,” she said,

“because he—he thought I would

like her, Miss Minchin.”

“I am afraid," said Miss Minchin,

with a slightly sour smile, “that you

have been a very spoiled little girl,

and always imagine that things are

done because you like them.

My impression is that your papa

wished you to learn French.”

If Sara had been older or less

careful about being quite polite to

people, she could have explained

herself in a very few words.

But, as it was, she felt color rising

in her cheeks.

Miss Minchin was a very serious

and frightening person.

She seemed so sure that Sara knew

nothing of French that Sara felt as

She seemed so sure that Sara knew

nothing of French that Sara felt as

if it would be almost rude to

correct her.

The truth was that Sara could not

remember the time when she had

not seemed to know French.

Her father had often spoken it to

her when she had been a baby.

Her mother had been a French

woman.and Captain Crewe had

Her mother had been a French

woman, and Captain Crewe had

loved her language.

So Sara had always heard and

understood it.

“I—I have never really learned

French, but—but—” she began,

trying shyly to make herself clear.

One of Miss Minchin's chief secret

annoyances(烦恼) was that she did

not speak French herself.

annoyances(烦恼) was that she did

not speak French herself.

“That is enough,” she said with

polite bitterness.

“If you have not learned, you must

begin at once.

The French master; Monsieur

Dufarge, will be here in a few

minutes.

Take this book and look at it until

rAr”

Take this book and look at it until

he arrives.”

Sara's cheeks felt warm.

She went back to her seat and

opened the book.

She looked at the first page with a

stony face.

Miss Minchin looked toward her.

“You look rather cross(生气的)，

Sara,” she said.

“I am sorry you do not like the idea of learning French.”

“I am very fond of it,”answeredSara, thinking she would try again,“but—”

“You must not say ‘but' when you are told to do things," said Miss Minchin.

“Look at your book again.”

And Sara did so.

“When Monsieur Dufarge comes," she thought, “I can make him understand.”