A Little Princess

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

  There never were such friends as these two became. Somehow, they seemed to suit each other in a wonderful way. The Indian gentleman had never had a companion he liked quite as much as he liked Sara. In a month's time he was, as Mr Carmichael had prophesied he would be, a new man. He was always amused and interested, and he began to find an actual pleasure in the possession of the wealth he had imagined that he loathed the burden of. There were so many charming things to plan for Sara. There was a little joke between them that he was a magician, and it was one of his pleasures to invent things to surprise her. She found beautiful new flowers growing in her room, whimsical little gifts tucked under pillows, and once, as they sat together in the evening, they heard the scratch of a heavy paw on the door, and when Sara went to find out what it was, there stood a great dog - a splendid boarhound - with a grand silver and gold collar bearing an inscription in raised letters. 'I am Boris', it read, 'I serve the Princess Sara.'

  There was nothing the Indian gentleman loved more than the recollection of the little princess in rags and tatters. The afternoons in which the Large Family, or Ermengarde and Lottie, gathered to rejoice together were very delightful. But the hours when Sara and the Indian gentleman sat alone and read or talked had a special charm of their own. During their passing many interesting things occurred.

  One evening, Mr Carrisford, looking up from his book, noticed that his companion had not stirred for some time, but sat gazing into the fire.

  'What are you "supposing", Sara?' he asked.

  Sara looked up, with a bright colour on her cheek.

  'I was supposing,' she said, 'I was remembering that hungry day, and a child I saw.'

  'But there were a great many hungry days,' said the Indian gentleman, with rather a sad tone in his voice. 'Which hungry day was it?'

  'I forgot you didn't know,' said Sara. 'It was the day the dream came true.'

  Then she told him the story of the bun-shop, and the fourpence she picked up out of the sloppy mud, and the child who was hungrier than herself. She told it quite simply, and in as few words as possible; but somehow the Indian gentleman found it necessary to shade his eyes with his hand and look down at the carpet.

  'And I was supposing a kind of plan,' she said, when she had finished. 'I was thinking I should like to do something.'

  'What was it?' said Mr Carrisford, in a low tone. 'You may do anything you like to do, princess.'

  'I was wondering,' rather hesitated Sara - 'you know, you say I have so much money - I was wondering if I could go to see the bun-woman, and tell her that if, when hungry children - particularly on those dreadful days - come and sit on the steps, or look in at the window, she would just call them in and give them something to eat, and she might send the bills to me. Could I do that?'

  'You shall do it tomorrow morning,' said the Indian gentleman.

  'Thank you,' said Sara. 'You see, I know what it is to be hungry, and it is very hard when one cannot even pretend it away.'

  'Yes, yes, my dear,' said the Indian gentleman. 'Yes, yes, it must be. Try to forget it. Come and sit on this footstool near my knee, and only remember you are a princess.'

  'Yes,' said Sara, smiling, 'and I can give buns and bread to the populace.' And she went and sat on the stool, and the Indian gentleman (he used to like her to call him that, too, sometimes) drew her small dark head down upon his knee and stroked her hair.

  The next morning, Miss Minchin, in looking out of her window, saw the thing she perhaps least enjoyed seeing. The Indian gentleman's carriage, with its tall horses, drew up before the door of the next house, and its owner and a little figure, warm with soft, rich furs, descended the steps to get into it. The little figure was a familiar one, and reminded Miss Minchin of days in the past. It was followed by another as familiar - the sight of which she found very irritating. It was Becky, who, in the character of delighted attendant, always accompanied her young mistress to her carriage, carrying wraps and belongings. Already Becky had a pink, round face.

  A little later the carriage drew up before the door of the baker's shop, and its occupants got out, oddly enough, just as the bun-woman was putting a tray of smoking hot buns into the window.

  When Sara entered the shop the woman turned and looked at her, and, leaving the buns, came and stood behind the counter. For a moment she looked at Sara very hard indeed, and then her good-natured face lighted up.

  'I'm sure that I remember you, miss,' she said. 'And yet -'

  'Yes,' said Sara, 'once you gave me six buns for fourpence, and -'

  'And you gave five of 'em to a beggar child,' the woman broke in on her. 'I've always remembered it. I couldn't make it out at first.' She turned round to the Indian gentleman and spoke her next words to him. 'I beg your pardon, sir, but there's not many young people that notices a hungry face in that way; and I've thought of it many a time. Excuse the liberty, miss' - to Sara - 'but you look rosier and - well, better than you did that - that -'

  'I am better, thank you,' said Sara. 'And - I am much happier - and I have come to ask you to do something for me.'

  'Me, miss!' exclaimed the bun-woman, smiling cheerfully. 'Why, bless you! yes, miss. What can I do?'

  And then Sara, leaning on the counter, made her little proposal concerning the dreadful days and the hungry waifs and the hot buns.

  The woman watched her, and listened with an astonished face.

  'Why, bless me!' she said again when she had heard it all, 'it'll be a pleasure to me to do it. I am a working-woman myself and cannot afford to do much on my own account, and there's sights of trouble on every side; but if you'll excuse me, I'm bound to say I've given away many a bit of bread since that wet afternoon, just along o' thinking of you - an' how wet an' cold you was, an' how hungry you looked; an' yet you gave away your hot buns as if you was a princess.'

  The Indian gentleman smiled involuntarily at this, and Sara smiled a little, too, remembering what she had said to herself when she put the buns down on the ravenous child's ragged lap.

  'She looked so hungry,' she said. 'She was even hungrier than I was.'

  'She was starving,' said the woman. 'Many's the time she's told me of it since - how she sat there in the wet, and felt as if a wolf was a-tearing at her poor young insides.'

  'Oh, have you seen her since then?' exclaimed Sara. 'Do you know where she is?'

  'Yes, I do,' answered the woman, smiling more good-naturedly than ever. 'Why, she's in that there back-room, miss, an' has been for a month; an' a decent, well-meanin' girl she's goin' to turn out, an' such a help to me in the shop an' in the kitchen as you'd scarce believe, knowin' how she's lived.'

  She stepped to the door of the little back-parlour and spoke; and the next minute a girl came out and followed her behind the counter. And actually it was the beggar-child, clean and neatly clothed, and looking as if she had not been hungry for a long time. She looked shy, but she had a nice face, now that she was no longer a savage, and the wild look had gone from her eyes. She knew Sara in an instant, and stood and looked at her as if she could never look enough.

  'You see,' said the woman, 'I told her to come when she was hungry, and when she'd come I'd give her odd jobs to do; an' I found she was willing, and somehow I got to like her; and the end of it was, I've given her a place an' a home, and she helps me, an' behaves well, an' is as thankful as a girl can be. Her name's Anne. She has no other.'

  The children stood and looked at each other for a few minutes; and then Sara took her hand out of her muff and held it out across the counter, and Anne took it, and they looked straight into each other's eyes.

  'I am so glad,' Sara said. 'And I have just thought of something. Perhaps Mrs Brown will let you be the one to give the buns and bread to the children. Perhaps you would like to do it because you know what it is to be hungry, too.'

  'Yes, miss,' said the girl.

  And, somehow, Sara felt as if she understood her, though she said so little, and only stood still and looked and looked after her as she went
out of the shop with the Indian gentleman, and they got into the carriage and drove away.

  The Secret Garden

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  Contents

  AUTHOR FILE

  WHO'S WHO IN A LITTLE PRINCESS

  SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT ...

  SOME THINGS TO DO ...

  GLOSSARY

  Author File

  NAME: Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett

  BORNv: 24 November 1849 in Manchester, England DIED: 29 October 1924 in Plandome, New York NATIONALITY: originally English, but took American citizenship in 1905

  LIVED: mainly in England and the USA

  MARRIED: twice - once to Dr Swan Burnett (married 1873, divorced 1898), and once to Stephen Townsend (married 1900, divorced 1902) CHILDREN: two sons, Lionel and Vivian, from her first marriage What was she like?

  Frances was determined, talented and unconventional. She rose from poverty to become a rich and famous writer, but being a celebrity was not always easy for her. In those days women rarely worked, let alone supported their families as Frances did. Because of this, many newspapers and magazines wrote about her private life.

  Where did she grow up?

  She was born in a wealthy neighbourhood of Manchester, but this comfortable life didn't last. In 1854, only a few years after Frances's birth, her father died. Without him the family business began to fail, and Frances and her family had to move to a poorer neighbourhood.

  When Frances was a teenager, she, her mother, and her four brothers and sisters emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee. Frances's uncle was already living there, and the family hoped that he would help them start a new life. But when he refused, their situation became desperate. Frances decided to try to earn money by selling her stories to magazines - the family were so poor that she had to earn the money to buy the paper and stamps she needed to submit her first story by picking and selling wild grapes. Soon she was selling five or six stories a month, and was launched on her career.

  What did she do apart from writing books?

  Frances loved meeting and talking with other writers. She was creative and enjoyed making gardens and growing things. She was also a religious woman, although (as with many other things in her life) her beliefs were not of the conventional sort.

  Where did she get the idea for A Little Princess?

  Although the book is not autobiographical, Frances Hodgson Burnett's own father died when she was young and the family became poor. When she was little she escaped her family's problems by reading and inventing stories, and when she was older she used her powers of invention to write and sell stories to make a living for herself and her family.

  When did the story first appear?

  Sara Crewe, or, What Happened At Miss Minchin's, the work on which A Little Princess is based, was first serialized in 1888 in the S. Nicholas Magazine, a popular American monthly publication designed for children.

  What other books did she write?

  Over the course of her life, Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote several popular novels for adults, as well as plays and a memoir of her childhood, The One I Knew Best of All (1893). But she is best remembered for her children's novels: Little Lord Fauntleroy which became a runaway bestseller in America and England when it was first published in 1886, A Little Princess (1905) and The Secret Garden (1911). A Little Princess has had several movie adaptations, the most well-known being the 1939 version starring America's most famous child actress, Shirley Temple, and more recently in 1986 starring Amelia Shankley and in 1995 starring Liesel Matthews.

  Who's Who in A Little Princess

  MAIN CHARACTERS

  Sara Crewe - Sara is the 'princess' of the title. She is the only daughter of Ralph Crewe, a well-to-do captain in the British army. Sara, born in India, is a clever girl and speaks Hindi in addition to English and French. She has many sides to her character. Although she can be haughty and imagines herself a real princess, she is also kind and generous with her wealth. She is a gifted storyteller with a lively imagination. Although very well-mannered, Sara is no angel and suppresses her temper with difficulty.

  Ralph Crewe - Sara's widowed father. He is loving and devoted, and they share a close bond.

  Becky - the scullery maid. She is very badly treated by Miss Minchin, and often made a scapegoat by the other servants. Becky and Sara become firm friends.

  Miss Minchin - the cold-hearted, cross headmistress of the Seminary.

  Miss Amelia - Miss Minchin's sister. She is kinder than her sister, but too weak-natured to stand up to her.

  Emily - Sara's doll. Sara likes to imagine she is alive. When Sara loses her fortune, she refuses to surrender the doll to Miss Minchin.

  Melchisedec - a rat that lives in the walls in Sara's attic room. She tames him and feeds him when she can.

  STUDENTS AT THE SEMINARY

  Ermengarde St John - Sara's best school-friend. Ermengarde is not very clever and Miss Minchin is continually cross with her. Sara helps her friend to learn by turning her lessons into captivating stories. Ermengarde is good-hearted and remains loyal to Sara, no matter if she is rich or poor.

  Lavinia Herbert - Lavinia was the richest pupil at the seminary until Sara arrived, and used to having her own way. She is very jealous of Sara, and even after Sara loses all her wealth she continues to make fun of her.

  Jessie - Lavinia's best friend. She is kinder than Lavinia, though, and expresses her disapproval at the way Sara is treated by Miss Minchin.

  Lottie Legh - the youngest pupil in the school. Lottie adores Sara, who soon becomes her 'adopted mother' because her real mother has died. Lottie has been rather spoilt at home and is a bit of a cry-baby, but she can also be very bold for her age.

  CHARACTERS NEXT DOOR

  Mr Carrisford - lives next door to the Seminary. Sara, not knowing his true identity, calls him 'the Indian gentleman' because she watches several pieces of Indian furniture being carried into his house. Mr Carrisford is also her father's 'dear friend'.

  Ram Dass - Mr Carrisford's Indian servant, who makes friends with Sara when he sees her across their rooftop windows.

  The Large Family - Sara's nickname for the happy-looking Carmichael family who visit Mr Carrisford. Mr Carmichael is Mr Carrisford's solicitor.

  Some Things to Think About ...

  What do you think of the character of Sara Crewe? What qualities does she have that make her such a powerful force for good in the novel - and is she too good to be true?

  Sara has a good imagination and the ability to pretend things. How do you think these qualities help her to endure all her hardships?

  Which grown-ups in the book do you like most, and which least? Why?

  Britain's Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901. During the early part of her reign, school was not compulsory. Children from wealthy backgrounds would have a governess to teach them at home: boys would be sent to public schools such as Eton or Harrow, and girls went to seminaries (such as the one Sara Crewe was sent to) or stayed at home to learn piano and sewing. Children from poor families were much less fortunate. They were sent out to work from a very young age without any education at all. However, in 1889 a law was passed that meant all children under the age of twelve had to attend school. What do you imagine school would have been like then? How different was it from today, do you think?

  Some Things to Do ...

  There are many film and TV adaptations of A Little Princess. Watch one of them and compare it to the original book. Which do you prefer, and why?

  Pick your favourite scene from the novel and adapt it into a playscript. Then choose your cast, dress up in costumes and act it out!

  Find India on a map of the world and trace Sara's journey all the way to England.

  Find out what a typical Victorian sch
ool-day was like. What were the main lessons and how were they taught? What equipment did they use? What were the teachers like? Were the pupils given homework to do and did they sit exams?

  Research the history of diamonds in India! When were they discovered? What is the name of the most famous diamond in the world? Where else in the world do diamonds come from?

  Glossary

  ayah - an Indian nursemaid or governess

  Bastille - bastille is a French word meaning 'castle' or 'stronghold'. The Bastille was a prison in Paris, and the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution brain-fever - this is a term in late Victorian fiction to describe what we would now call a 'nervous breakdown'

  brass farthing - a farthing was a coin worth a quarter of an old penny. Today 'brass farthing' means 'a trivial amount'

  brougham - a closed, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage driven by an outside coachman droshky - a roofless, four-wheeled Russian carriage ermine - the white fur of a stoat

  Lascar - the North Indian word 'lash-kar' was used by the British as a term for Indian sailors muzhiks - Russian peasants

  perambulator - the old-fashioned word for a pram (a shortened version of the word) portmanteau - a suitcase or clothes bag that opens into two compartments rajah - an Indian prince or chief

  sable - the valuable dark brown fur of the sable, a mammal related to weasels that lives in the forests of Asia sahib - a term of address used in India during colonial times as a mark of respect to a European man salaaming - a 'salaam' is a low bow made with the right hand placed on the forehead seminary - a private school, especially for girls

  Tsar - the emperor of Russia

  Valenciennes lace - a fine handmade lace with a distinctive pattern of flowers, named after a town in northern France

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