第9章小公主

coal /net /heel /rabbit /boot/ stair /

prince / shook / fourteen / hungry /...

Sara并没有马上劝期奖周的Lotbie，只是恭静地站在

一旁——这反而吸引了Lottio的注意，他逐渐停止了

策泣。Sara经机安需Lotfle说，地们的码妈虽然去世

了，但依旧会阳伴在孩子身动，沉浸在Sara奇妙的故

事里，Lottie更加喜爱和依装Sara。

-A Little Princess -

She had been at Miss Minchin's school about two years.

On one foggy winter's afternoon, Sara was sitting in the middle of a group in the classroom telling one of her stories.

A little servant girl quietly entered the room, carrying a coal box much too heavy for her.

She knelt(蹲下) down upon the carpet to fix the fire and sweep up the ashes.

She was afraid to look at the children or seem to be listening.

But Sara saw in two minutes that she was deeply interested in what was going on.

The girl was doing her work slowly in the hope of catching a word here and there.

Realizing this, Sara raised her voice and spoke more clearly.

“The Mermaids(美人鱼） swam softly about in the clear green water, and dragged after them a fishing net made of deep-sea pearls(珍珠),”she said.

“The Princess sat on the white rock and watched them.”

It was a wonderful story about a

princess who was loved by a Prince Merman(人鱼王子), and lived with him in shining caves under the sea.

The small servant swept the fireplace once and then swept it again.

Having done it twice, she did it three times.

As she was doing it the third time, the sound of the story so moved her to listen that she fell under the spell.

She sat down upon her heels as she knelt on the carpet, and the brush hung unused in her fingers.

The voice of the storyteller(讲故事的人）drew her into the story.

The brush fell from the girl's rough

hand, and Lavinia Herbert looked

round.

“That girl has been listening," she said.The servant quickly picked up her brush, and jumped to her feet.

She caught at the coal box and simply ran out of the room like a frightened rabbit.

Sara felt rather angry at Lavinia.

“I knew she was listening," she said.

“Why shouldn't she?”

Lavinia shook her head with great

elegance(高雅).

“Well," she answered, "I do not know whether your mamma would like you to tell stories to servant girls.

I know my mamma wouldn't like me to do it."

"My mamma!" said Sara, looking

confused(困感的)，

"I don't believe she would mind in the least. She knows that stories belong to everybody."

“I thought," answered Lavinia unkindly,

“that your mamma was dead. How can she know things?"

"Do you think she doesn't know things?"

said Sara, in her serious little voice.

Without waiting for a response, Sara marched out of the room.

She hoped that she might see the

servant again,but she did not see her when she got into the hall.

"Who is that little girl who makes the fires?" she asked Mariette that night.Mariette answered that she was a sad little thing who had just taken the place of scullery(洗现的)maid, but she wa everything else besides.

She cleaned boots and fireplaces, and carried heavy coal boxes up and down stairs.

She cleaned floors and windows, and was ordered about by everybody.

She was fourteen years old, but was so small in size that she looked about twelve.

“What is her name?" asked Sara.

Her name was Becky.

Mariette heard everyone below stairs calling,“Becky, do this,"and “Becky, do that," every five minutes in the day

Sara sat and looked into the fire,

thinking on Becky for some time after Mariette left her.

She thought the servant girl looked as if she had never had quite enough to eat.

Her very eyes were hungry.

She hoped she should see her again.

Sadly, Becky always seemed in such a hurry and so afraid of being seen that it was impossible to speak to her.

A few weeks later, on another foggy afternoon, when Sara entered her sitting room she found herself looking at a

rather sad picture.

Becky was sitring in Sara's own special easy chair before the bright fire.

There was a coal mark on her nose and several on her clothing,with her little cap hanging half off her head, and an

empty coal box on the floor near her.

She was fast asleep, tired out beyond the strength of her hard-working young

body.

She had been sent up to put the

bedrooms in order for the evening.

She had really been only about ten

minutes in the room when Sara entered,

but she was in a very deep sleep.

“Oh!" cried Sara, softly, when she saw her.

“That poor thing!”

She wondered what it would be best to do.

Miss Amelia might come in at any

moment,and if she did, Becky would be sure to be punished.

“But she is so tired," she thought.

A piece of coal from the fire broke off from a large piece and fell on to the bottom of the fireplace.

Becky started, and opened her eyes with a frightened breath.

She did not know she had fallen asleep.

She had only sat down for one moment and felt the beautiful warmth.

Now here she found herself looking in fear at the pupil, who sat quite near her with interested eyes.