第十章小公主

今日单词

预习完成

pardon /nod /diamond /roof /dig /anywhere /cake

两年时光转瞬即逝。一天下午，Sara正在给其他小女孩讲美人鱼的故事，突然发现名叫Becky的小女仆也在“偷听”... 几周后，Sara再次见到了这个可怜的女孩：Becky实在太疲惫了，以致于在打扫房间时睡着了，直到被壁炉里的煤炭爆裂声惊醒...

--A Little Princess -

She sprang up.

Oh, she had got herself iato deep trouble now!

To have fallen asleep on such a young lady's chair!

She would be turned out of doors without her money

“Oh, miss! Oh, missl" she said nervously

"I ask your pardon, miss! Oh, I do,miss!"

Sara jumped down,and came quite close to her.

“Don't be frightened."she said.

“It doesn't matter the least bit.”

“I didn't go to do it, miss," said Becky

It was the warm fire—and I was so tired."

Sara broke into a friendly little laugh, and put her hand on her shoulder

"You were tired,"she said, "you could not help it."

How poor Becky stared at her! In fact, she had never heard such a friendly sound in anyone's voice before.

She was used to being ordered about and punished, and having her ears boxed.

Aren't you angry, miss?" she asked

fearfully.

Aren't you going to tell the ntisstus(太太)？”

“No." cried out Sara.

“Of course I'm not,"

The fright in the coal-stained face made her suddenly so sorry that she could hardly bear it.

 She put her hand against Becky's cheek.

"Why" she said,"we are just the same—l am only a little girl lilke you. It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not mel"

Becky did not understand in the least.

“An accident, miss," she said. "Is ir?"

“Yes,"Sara answered, and she looked at her for a moment like she was in a dream.

But then she spoke in a different She realized that Becky did not know what she meant.

“Have yo done your work?” she asked.

“Can you stay here a few minutes??

“Here, miss? Me?”

Sara ran to the door, opened it. and looked out and listened.

“No one is anywhere about," she explained

“Perhaps you might stay a tiny while.

I thought—perhaps—you might like a piece of cake."

Sara gave her a thick piece of cake. She was happy when it was caten in hungry bites.

She talked and asked quescions. and laughed until Becky's fears actually began to calm themselves.

“Becky," she said, “weren't you listening to that story?"

“Yes, miss," admitted Becky a little  alarmed again.

““I know I shouldn't have, but it was so beautifl, 1—I couldn't help it,"

"I liked you to listen to it," said Sare.

Would you like to hear the rest?"

“Me hear it?" she cried.

“Like as if I was a pupil, miss!" Sara nodded.

“You don't have time to hear it now, I'm afraid," she said.

“But if you will tell me just what time you come to do my rooms, I will try to be here.

I can tell you a bit of it every day until it is finished." Then." said Becky *I wouldn't

mind how heavy the coal boxes were—or what the cook has done to me, if—if I might have that to think of.”

“You may." said Sara."I'll tell it all to you."

When Becky went downstairs, she was not the same tired Becky who had come up.

She had another piece of cake in ber pocket, and she had been fed(被喂饭) and warmed, but not only by cake and fire

Something else had warmed and fed her, and the something else was Sara.

Not very long after this a very exciting thing happened.

Not only Sara, but the entire school, found it exciting, and talked about it for weeks.

In one of his letters, Captain Crewe told a most interesting story.

A friend who had been at school with him had unexpectedly come to see him in India.

He was the owner of a large piece of land upon which diamonds had been found, and he was involved in developing the mines.

If all went as was expected, he would have so much wealth that it made one dizzy(晕眩的) to think of. Because he was fond of Captain Crewe, the school friend had given

him an opportunity to share in this huge fortune by becoming a partner in his plan.

This, at least,was what Sara understood from his letters.

It is true that any other business plan, however grand, would have

had small attraction for her or for the classroom.

“Diamond mines,” however, sounded so like the Arabian Nights(天方夜谭) that everyone was interested.

Sara painted pictures, for Ermengarde and Lottie, of passages deep in the earth,where shining stones lined the walls and roofs,and men dug them out with picks.

Ermengarde delighted in the story,and Lottie insisted on its being retold to her every evening.

Lavinia was very mean about it,and told Jessie that she didn't believe such things as diamond

mines existed.

"I believe you hate her,” said Jessie.

“No, I don’t,” said Lavinia quickly.

“But I don't believe in mines full of diamonds.”

“Well, people have to get them from somewhere.If she does, she'll be as rich as the royal family." said Jessie.

“Oh, Lavinia,” with a new little laugh, “I heard that one of Sara’s‘pretends' is that she is a princess.

She plays it all the time—even in school.

She says it makes her learn her lessons better.She wants Ermengarde to be one,

too,but Ermengarde says she is too

fat.”

“She is too fat,” said Lavinia, “and Sara is too thin.”

Naturally, Jessie laughed again.

“She says it has nothing to do with

what you look like, or what you have.

It has only to do with what you think of, and what you do.”

“I suppose she thinks she could be a princess if she was a beggar,” said Lavinia.

“Let us begin to call her Your Royal Highness（殿下）.”