“Now this golden platter I must wash extry clean,” the Princess said. “The Queen is ve-ry particular about her golden platters. Last time, when I left one o’ the corners—it’s such a nextremely heavy platter to hold—she gave me a scold—oh, I mean—I mean she tapped me a little love pat on my cheek with her golden spoon.”
It was a great, brown-veined, stoneware platter, and the arms of the Princess ached with holding it. Then, in an unwary instant, it slipped out of her soapsudsy little fingers and crashed to the floor. Oh! oh! the Queen! the Queen! She was coming! The Princess heard her shrill3, angry voice, and felt the jar of her heavy steps. There was the space of an instant—an instant is so short!—before the storm broke.
“You little limb o’ Satan! That’s my best platter, is it? Broke all to bits, eh? I’ll break—” But there was a flurry of dingy4 apron and dingier5 petticoats, and the little Princess had fled. She did not stop till she was in her Secret Place among the willows6. Her small lean face was pale but undaunted.
“Th-the Queen isn’t feeling very well to-day,” she panted. “It’s wash-day up at the Castle. She never enjoys herself on wash-days. And then that golden platter—I’m sorry I smashed it all to flinders! When the Prince comes I shall ask him to buy another.”
The Prince had never come, but the Princess waited for him patiently. She sat with her face to the west and looked for him to come through the willows with the red sunset light filtering across his hair. That was the way the Prince was coming, though the time was not set. It might be a good while before he came, and then again—you never could tell!
“But when he does, and we’ve had a little while to get acquainted, then I shall say to him, ‘Hear, O Prince, and give ear to my—my petition! For verily, verily, I have broken many golden platters and jasper cups and saucers, and the Queen, long live her! is sore—sore—’”
The Princess pondered for the forgotten word. She put up a little lean brown hand and rubbed a tingling8 spot on her temple—ah, not the Queen! It was the Princess—long live her!—who was “sore.”
“‘I beseech9 thee, O Prince,’ I shall say, ‘buy new golden platters and jasper cups and saucers for the Queen, and then shall I verily, verily be—be—’”
Oh, the long words—how they slipped out of reach! The little Princess sighed rather wearily. She would have to rehearse that speech so many times before the Prince came. Suppose he came to-night! Suppose she looked up now, this minute, towards the golden west and he was there, swinging along through the willow7 canes10 towards her!
But there was no one swinging along through the willows. The yellow light flickered11 through—that was all. Somewhere, a long way off, sounded the monotonous12 hum of men’s voices. Through the lace-work of willow twigs13 there showed the faintest possible blur14 of color. Down beyond, in the clearing, the Castle Guards in blue jean blouses were pulling stumps15. The Princess could not see their dull, passionless faces, and she was glad of it. The Castle Guards depressed16 her. But they were not as bad as the Castle Guardesses. They were mostly old women with bleared, dim eyes, and they wore such faded—silks.
“My silk dress is rather faded,” murmured the little Princess wistfully. She smoothed down the scant17 calico skirt with her brown little fingers. The patch in it she would not see.
“I shall have to have the Royal Dress-maker make me another one soon. Let me see,—what color shall I choose? I’d like my gold-colored velvet18 made up. I’m tired of wearing royal purple dresses all the time, though of course I know they’re appropriater. I wonder what color the Prince would like best? I should rather choose that color.”
The Princess’s little brown hands were clasped about one knee, and she was rocking herself slowly back and forth19, her eyes, wistful and wide, on the path the Prince would come. She was tired to-day and it was harder to wait.
“But when he comes I shall say, ‘Hear, O Prince. Verily, verily, I did not know which color you would like to find me dressed—I mean arrayed—in, and so I beseech thee excuse—pardon, I mean—mine infirmity.’”
The Princess was not sure of “infirmity,” but it sounded well. She could not think of a better word.
“And then—I think then—he will take me in his arms, and his face will be all sweet and splendid like the Mother o’ God’s in the picture, and he will whisper,—I don’t think he will say it out loud,—oh, I’d rather not!—‘Verily, Princess,’ he will whisper, ‘Oh, verily, verily, thou hast found favor in my sight!’ And that will mean that he doesn’t care what color I am, for he—loves—me.”
Lower and lower sank the solemn voice of the Princess. Slower and slower rocked the little, lean body. The birds themselves stopped singing at the end. In the Secret Place it was very still.
“Oh no, no, no,—not verily!” breathed the Princess, in soft awe20. For the wonder of it took her breath away. She had never in her life been loved, and now, at this moment, it seemed so near! She thought she heard the footsteps of the Prince.
They came nearer. The crisp twigs snapped under his feet. He was whistling.
“Oh, I can’t look!—I can’t!” gasped21 the little Princess, but she turned her face to the west,—she had always known it would be from the west, and lifted closed eyes to his coming. When he got to the Twisted Willow she might dare to look,—to the Little Willow Twins, anyway.
“And I shall know when he does,” she thought. “I shall know the minute!”
Her face was rapt and tender. The miracle she had made for herself,—the gold she had coined out of her piteous alloy,—was it not come true at last?—Verily, verily?
Hush22! Was the Prince not coming through the willows? And the sunshine was trickling23 down on his hair! The Princess knew, though she did not look.
“He is at the Twisted Willow,” she thought. “Now he is at the Little Willow Twins.” But she did not open her eyes. She did not dare. This was a little different, she had never counted on being afraid.
The twigs snapped louder and nearer—now very near. The merry whistle grew clearer, and then it stopped.
“Hullo!”
Did princes say “hullo!” The Princess had little time to wonder, for he was there before her. She could feel his presence in every fibre of her trembling little being, though she would not open her eyes for very fear that it might be somebody else. No, no, it was the Prince! It was his voice, clear and ringing, as she had known it would be. She put up her hands suddenly and covered her eyes with them to make surer. It was not fear now, but a device to put off a little longer the delight of seeing him.
“I say, hullo! Haven’t you got any tongue?”
“Oh, verily, verily,—I mean hear, O Prince, I beseech,” she panted. The boy’s merry eyes regarded the shabby small person in puzzled astonishment24. He felt an impulse to laugh and run away, but his royal blood forbade either. So he waited.
“You are the Prince,” the little Princess cried. “I’ve been waiting the longest time,—but I knew you’d come,” she added, simply. “Have you got your velvet an’ gold buckles25 on? I’m goin’ to look in a minute, but I’m waiting to make it spend.”
The Prince whistled softly. “No,” he said then, “I didn’t wear them clo’es to-day. You see, my mother—”
“The Queen,” she interrupted, “you mean the Queen?”
“You bet I do! She’s a reg’lar-builter! Well, she don’t like to have me wearin’ out my best clo’es every day,” he said, gravely.
“No,” eagerly, “nor mine don’t. Queen, I mean,—but she isn’t a mother, mercy, no! I only wear silk dresses every day, not my velvet ones. This silk one is getting a little faded.” She released one hand to smooth the dress wistfully. Then she remembered her painfully practised little speech and launched into it hurriedly.
“Hear, O Prince. Verily, verily, I did not know which color you’d like to find me dressed in—I mean arrayed. I beseech thee to excuse—oh, pardon, I mean—”
But she got no further. She could endure the delay no longer, and her eyes flew open.
She had known his step; she had known his voice. She knew his face. It was terribly freckled26, and she had not expected freckles27 on the face of the Prince. But the merry, honest eyes were the Prince’s eyes. Her gaze wandered downward to the home-made clothes and bare, brown legs, but without uneasiness. The Prince had explained about his clothes. Suddenly, with a shy, glad little cry, the Princess held out her hands to him.
The royal blood flooded the face of the Prince and filled in all the spaces between its little, gold-brown freckles. But the Prince held out his hand to her. His lips formed for words and she thought he was going to say, “Verily, Princess, thou hast found favor—”
“Le’ ’s go fishin’,” the Prince said.
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1
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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dingier
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| adj.暗淡的，乏味的( dingy的比较级 )；肮脏的 | |
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6
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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7
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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8
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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9
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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11
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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13
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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14
blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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15
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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16
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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18
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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19
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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21
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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22
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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23
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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24
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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26
freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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