A Little Princess / Маленькая принцесса. А1

The girl was looking out of the window at the people with a strange thoughtfulness in her big eyes. Such look was unusual for such a small child. In fact, Sara Crewe was only seven. And she could not remember any time she was not thinking about grown-ups and the world around her. She felt much older than she actually was.

“Papa,” she said in a low, mysterious little voice, “papa.”

“What is it, darling?” Captain Crewe answered and looked down into her face. “What is Sara thinking of?”

“Is this the place?” Sara whispered and moved closer to him.

“Is it, papa?”

“Yes, little Sara, it is. Here we are at last.” She was only seven years old, but she knew that he felt sad when he said it.

She was born in India, and “the place,” as she always called it, was a boarding school in England. She saw other children being sent there. She saw their parents get letters from them. And she knew that one day she will go there, too.

She never knew her mother, because she died when Sara was born.

Her only family in the world was her father. A young, good-looking, rich man. He loved his daughter very much and did everything for her. And Sara was very sad that her father could not stay with her in the school.

“Couldn't you go to that place with me, papa?” she asked when she was five years old. “Couldn't you go to school, too? I would help you with your lessons.”

“But you will not have to stay for a very long time, little Sara,” he used to answer her.

“You will go to a nice house where there will be a lot of little girls, and you will play together. I will send you many books, and you will grow so fast that it will seem less than a year before you are big enough and can take care of papa.”

They got out of the cabin and saw a row of big, boring, brick houses. One of the houses had a plate that said:

MISS MINCHIN,

Select Seminary for Young Ladies.

They came to the door and rang the bell. The door opened and they entered a well-furnished but quiet ugly room.

Just right then Miss Minchin entered the room. She was very like her house, Sara felt:tall and boring, and respectable and ugly. She smiled, but her smile was cold.

“It will be a great privilege to have charge of such a beautiful and promising child, Captain Crewe,” she said, as she said to each papa and mamma who brought a child to her school.

“Just make sure she doesn't spend too much time with books.