CHAPTER III THE PRINCESS AND—WE SHALL SEE WHO

 WHEN she came to the top, she found herself in a little square place, with three doors, two opposite each other, and one opposite the top of the stair. She stood for a moment, without an idea in her little head what to do next. But as she stood, she began to hear a curious humming sound. Could it be the rain? No. It was much more gentle, and even monotonous² than the sound of the rain, which now she scarcely heard. The low sweet humming sound went on, sometimes stopping for a little while and then beginning again. It was more like the hum of a very happy bee that had found a rich well of honey in some globular flower, than anything else I can think of at this moment. Where could it come from? She laid her ear first to one of the doors to hearken if it was there—then to another. When she laid her ear against the third door, there could be no doubt where it came from: it must be from something in that room. What could it be? She was rather afraid, but her curiosity was stronger than her fear, and she opened the door very gently and peeped in. What do you think she saw? A very old lady who sat spinning.

"Oh, Mr. Editor! I know the story you are going to tell: it's The Sleeping Beauty; only you're spinning too, and making it longer."

 

"No, indeed, it is not that story. Why should I tell one that every properly educated child knows already? More old ladies than one have sat spinning in a garret. Besides, the old lady in that story was only spinning with a spindle, and this one was spinning with a spinning wheel, else how could the princess have heard the sweet noise through the door? Do you know the difference? Did you ever see a spindle or a spinning wheel? I daresay you never did. Well, ask your mamma to explain to you the difference. Between ourselves, however, I shouldn't wonder if she didn't know much better than you. Another thing is, that this is not a fairy story; but a goblin story. And one thing more, this old lady spinning was not an old nurse—but—you shall see who. I think I have now made it quite plain that this is not that lovely story of The Sleeping Beauty. It is quite a new one, I assure you, and I will try to tell it as prettily³ as I can."

 

Perhaps you will wonder how the princess could tell that the old lady was an old lady, when I inform you that not only was she beautiful, but her skin was smooth and white. I will tell you more. Her hair was combed back from her forehead and face, and hung loose far down and all over her back. That is not much like an old lady—is it? Ah! but it was white almost as snow. And although her face was so smooth, her eyes looked so wise that you could not have helped seeing she must be old. The princess, though she could not have told you why, did think her very old indeed—quite fifty—she said to herself. But she was rather older than that, as you shall hear.

 

While the princess stared bewildered⁴, with her head just inside the door, the old lady lifted hers, and said in a sweet, but old and rather shaky voice, which mingled⁵ very pleasantly with the continued hum of her wheel:

 

"Come in, my dear; come in. I am glad to see you."

 

That the princess was a real princess, you might see now quite plainly; for she didn't hang on to the handle of the door, and stare without moving, as I have known some do who ought to have been princesses, but were only rather vulgar⁶ little girls. She did as she was told, stepped inside the door at once, and shut it gently behind her.

 

"Come to me, my dear," said the old lady.

 

And again the princess did as she was told. She approached the old lady—rather slowly, I confess, but did not stop until she stood by her side, and looked up in her face with her blue eyes and the two melted stars in them.

 

"Why, what have you been doing with your eyes, child?" asked the old lady.

 

"Crying," answered the princess.

 

"Why, child?"

 

"Because I couldn't find my way down again."

 

"But you could find your way up."

 

"Not at first—not for a long time."

 

"But your face is streaked⁷ like the back of a zebra. Hadn't you a handkerchief to wipe your eyes with?"

 

"No."

 

"Then why didn't you come to me to wipe them for you?"

 

"Please I didn't know you were here. I will next time."

 

"There's a good child!" said the old lady.

 

Then she stopped her wheel, and rose, and, going out of the room, returned with a little silver basin and a soft white towel, with which she washed and wiped the bright little face. And the princess thought her hands were so smooth and nice!

 

When she carried away the basin and towel, the little princess wondered to see how straight and tall she was, for, although she was so old, she didn't stoop a bit. She was dressed in black velvet⁸ with thick white heavy-looking lace¹ about it; and on the black dress her hair shone like silver. There was hardly any more furniture in the room than there might have been in that of the poorest old woman who made her bread by her spinning. There was no carpet on the floor—no table anywhere—nothing but the spinning-wheel and the chair beside it. When she came back, she sat down again, and without a word began her spinning once more, while Irene, who had never seen a spinning-wheel, stood by her side and looked on. When the old lady had succeeded in getting her thread fairly in operation again, she said to the princess, but without looking at her:

 

"Do you know my name, child?"

 

"No, I don't know it," answered the princess.

 

"My name is Irene."

 

"That's my name!" cried the princess.

 

"I know that. I let you have mine. I haven't got your name. You've got mine."

 

"How can that be?" asked the princess, bewildered. "I've always had my name."

 

"Your papa, the king, asked me if I had any objection to your having it; and of course I hadn't. I let you have it with pleasure."

 

"It was very kind of you to give me your name—and such a pretty one," said the princess.

 

"Oh, not so very kind!" said the old lady. "A name is one of those things one can give away and keep all the same. I have a good many such things. Wouldn't you like to know who I am, child?"

 

"Yes, that I should—very much."

 

"I'm your great-great-grandmother," said the lady.

 

"What's that?" asked the princess.

 

"I'm your father's mother's father's mother."

 

"Oh, dear! I can't understand that," said the princess.

 

"I daresay not. I didn't expect you would. But that's no reason why I shouldn't say it."

 

"Oh no!" answered the princess.

 

"I will explain it all to you when you are older," the lady went on. "But you will be able to understand this much now: I came here to take care of you."

 

"Is it long since you came? Was it yesterday? Or was it to-day, because it was so wet that I couldn't get out?"

 

"I've been here ever since you came yourself."

 

"What a long time!" said the princess. "I don't remember it at all."

 

"No. I suppose not."

 

"But I never saw you before."

 

"No. But you shall see me again."

 

"Do you live in this room always?"

 

"I don't sleep in it. I sleep on the opposite side of the landing. I sit here most of the day."

 

"I shouldn't like it. My nursery is much prettier. You[21] must be a queen too, if you are my great big grandmother."

 

"Yes, I am a queen."

 

"Where is your crown then?"

 

"In my bedroom."

 

"I should like to see it."

 

"You shall some day—not to-day."

 

"I wonder why nursie never told me."

 

"Nursie doesn't know. She never saw me."

 

"But somebody knows that you are in the house?"

 

"No; nobody."

 

"How do you get your dinner then?"

 

"I keep poultry⁹—of a sort."

 

"Where do you keep them?"

 

"I will show you."

 

"And who makes the chicken broth¹⁰ for you?"

 

"I never kill any of my chickens."

 

"Then I can't understand."

 

"What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

 

"Oh! I had bread and milk, and an egg.—I daresay you eat their eggs."

 

"Yes, that's it. I eat their eggs."

 

"Is that what makes your hair so white?"

 

"No, my dear. It's old age. I am very old."

 

"I thought so. Are you fifty?"

 

"Yes—more than that."

 

"Are you a hundred?"

 

"Yes—more than that. I am too old for you to guess. Come and see my chickens."

 

She clapped her hands with delight, and up rose such a flapping¹¹ of wings. She clapped her hands with delight, and up rose such a flapping of wings.

Again she stopped her spinning. She rose, took the princess by the hand, led her out of the room, and opened the door opposite the stair. The princess expected to see a lot of hens and chickens, but instead of that, she saw the blue sky first, and then the roofs of the house, with a multitude¹² of the loveliest pigeons, mostly white, but of all colors, walking about, making bows to each other, and talking a language she could not understand. She clapped her hands with delight, and up rose such a flapping of wings, that she in her turn was startled¹³.

 

"You've frightened my poultry," said the old lady, smiling.

 

"And they've frightened me," said the princess, smiling too. "But what very nice poultry! Are the eggs nice?"

 

"Yes, very nice."

 

"What a small egg-spoon you must have! Wouldn't it be better to keep hens, and get bigger eggs?"

 

"How should I feed them, though?"

 

"I see," said the princess. "The pigeons feed themselves. They've got wings."

 

"Just so. If they couldn't fly, I couldn't eat their eggs."

 

"But how do you get at the eggs? Where are their nests?"

 

The lady took hold of a little loop of string in the wall at the side of the door, and lifting a shutter¹⁴ showed a great many pigeon-holes with nests, some with young ones and some with eggs in them. The birds came in at the other side, and she took out the eggs on this side. She closed it again quickly, lest the young ones should be frightened.

 

"Oh what a nice way!" cried the princess. "Will you give me an egg to eat? I'm rather hungry."

 

"I will some day, but now you must go back, or nursie will be miserable¹⁵ about you. I daresay she's looking for you everywhere."

 

"Except here," answered the princess. "Oh how surprised she will be when I tell her about my great big grand-grandmother!"

 

"Yes, that she will!" said the old lady with a curious smile. "Mind you tell her all about it exactly."

 

"That I will. Please will you take me back to her?"

 

"I can't go all the way, but I will take you to the top of the stair, and then you must run down quite fast into your own room."

 

The little princess put her hand in the old lady's, who, looking this way and that, brought her to the top of the first stair, and thence to the bottom of the second, and did not leave her till she saw her half way down the third. When she heard the cry of her nurse's pleasure at finding her, she turned and walked up the stairs again, very fast indeed for such a very great grandmother, and sat down to her spinning with another strange smile on her sweet old face.

 

About this spinning of hers I will tell you more next time.

 

Guess what she was spinning.

1 lace   

n.饰带，花边，缎带；v.结带子，饰以花边

参考例句：

• She let a piece of lace into her dress.她在衣服上镶了一块花边。
• The bride is wearing a wedding dress made of lace.新娘穿一件蕾丝婚纱。

2 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

3 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

4 bewildered   

a.困惑的

参考例句：

• She was totally bewildered by his sudden change of mood. 他的情绪突变搞得她全然不知所措。
• The big city bewildered the old woman from the countryside. 大城市把乡下来的老奶奶弄糊涂了。

5 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

6 vulgar   

adj.粗野的，下流的，庸俗的，粗俗的

参考例句：

• His language is a bit vulgar at times.他说话有时有点粗俗。
• His vulgar manners shocked everyone.他粗俗的举止使大家大为吃惊。

7 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

8 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

9 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

10 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

11 flapping   

（使）上下左右移动( flap的现在分词 )； 轻拍； 焦急，焦虑； 振（翅）

参考例句：

• The flag was flapping around in the light wind. 那面旗子在微风中飘动。
• Do stop flapping around, we'll get the job done in time. 大可不必担心，我们会按时完成这项工作的。

12 multitude   

n.众多，大量，大群，大众

参考例句：

• He has a multitude of friend.他有许多朋友。
• A growing economy covers a multitude of sins for the government.蓬勃的经济为政府掩盖种种见不得人的东西。

13 startled   

adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳，使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛，那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

15 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。