The Princess and the Goblin George MacDonald (read ebook pdf .txt) đ
- Author: George MacDonald
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âNot a doubt of it,â said the nurse.
âAnd she keeps her crown in her bedroom.â
âOf courseâ âquite the proper place to keep her crown in. She wears it in bed, Iâll be bound.â
âShe didnât say that. And I donât think she does. That wouldnât be comfortableâ âwould it? I donât think my papa wears his crown for a nightcap. Does he, nursie?â
âI never asked him. I dare say he does.â
âAnd sheâs been there ever since I came hereâ âever so many years.â
âAnybody could have told you that,â said the nurse, who did not believe a word Irene was saying.
âWhy didnât you tell me, then?â
âThere was no necessity. You could make it all up for yourself.â
âYou donât believe me, then!â exclaimed the princess, astonished and angry, as she well might be.
âDid you expect me to believe you, princess?â asked the nurse coldly. âI know princesses are in the habit of telling make-believes, but you are the first I ever heard of who expected to have them believed,â she added, seeing that the child was strangely in earnest.
The princess burst into tears.
âWell, I must say,â remarked the nurse, now thoroughly vexed with her for crying, âit is not at all becoming in a princess to tell stories and expect to be believed just because she is a princess.â
âBut itâs quite true, I tell you.â
âYouâve dreamt it, then, child.â
âNo, I didnât dream it. I went upstairs, and I lost myself, and if I hadnât found the beautiful lady, I should never have found myself.â
âOh, I dare say!â
âWell, you just come up with me, and see if Iâm not telling the truth.â
âIndeed I have other work to do. Itâs your dinnertime, and I wonât have any more such nonsense.â
The princess wiped her eyes, and her face grew so hot that they were soon quite dry. She sat down to her dinner, but ate next to nothing. Not to be believed does not at all agree with princesses: for a real princess cannot tell a lie. So all the afternoon she did not speak a word. Only when the nurse spoke to her, she answered her, for a real princess is never rudeâ âeven when she does well to be offended.
Of course the nurse was not comfortable in her mindâ ânot that she suspected the least truth in Ireneâs story, but that she loved her dearly, and was vexed with herself for having been cross to her. She thought her crossness was the cause of the princessâs unhappiness, and had no idea that she was really and deeply hurt at not being believed. But, as it became more and more plain during the evening in her every motion and look, that, although she tried to amuse herself with her toys, her heart was too vexed and troubled to enjoy them, her nurseâs discomfort grew and grew. When bedtime came, she undressed and laid her down, but the child, instead of holding up her little mouth to be kissed, turned away from her and lay still. Then nursieâs heart gave way altogether, and she began to cry. At the sound of her first sob the princess turned again, and held her face to kiss her as usual. But the nurse had her handkerchief to her eyes, and did not see the movement.
âNursie,â said the princess, âwhy wonât you believe me?â
âBecause I canât believe you,â said the nurse, getting angry again.
âAh! then, you canât help it,â said Irene, âand I will not be vexed with you any more. I will give you a kiss and go to sleep.â
âYou little angel!â cried the nurse, and caught her out of bed, and walked about the room with her in her arms, kissing and hugging her.
âYou will let me take you to see my dear old great big grandmother, wonât you?â said the princess, as she laid her down again.
âAnd you wonât say Iâm ugly, any moreâ âwill you, princess?â
âNursie, I never said you were ugly. What can you mean?â
âWell, if you didnât say it, you meant it.â
âIndeed, I never did.â
âYou said I wasnât so pretty as thatâ ââ
âAs my beautiful grandmotherâ âyes, I did say that; and I say it again, for itâs quite true.â
âThen I do think you are unkind!â said the nurse, and put her handkerchief to her eyes again.
âNursie, dear, everybody canât be as beautiful as every other body, you know. You are very nice-looking, but if you had been as beautiful as my grandmotherâ ââ
âBother your grandmother!â said the nurse.
âNurse, thatâs very rude. You are not fit to be spoken to till you can behave better.â
The princess turned away once more, and again the nurse was ashamed of herself.
âIâm sure I beg your pardon, princess,â she said, though still in an offended tone. But the princess let the tone pass, and heeded only the words.
âYou wonât say it again, I am sure,â she answered, once more turning towards her nurse. âI was only going to say that if you had been twice as nice-looking as you are, some king or other would have married you, and then what would have become of me?â
âYou are an angel!â repeated the nurse, again embracing her. âNow,â insisted Irene, âyou will come and see my grandmotherâ âwonât you?â
âI will go with you anywhere you like, my cherub,â she answered; and in two minutes the weary little princess was fast asleep.
V The Princess Lets Well AloneWhen she woke the next morning, the first thing she heard was the rain still falling. Indeed, this day was so like the last that it would have been difficult to tell where was the use of it. The first thing she thought of, however, was not the rain, but the lady in the tower; and the first question that occupied her thoughts was whether she should not ask the nurse to fulfil her promise this very morning, and go with her to find her grandmother as soon as she had had her breakfast. But she came to the conclusion that perhaps the lady
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