The Princess and the Goblin | Page 9

do think you are unkind!' said the nurse, and put her
handkerchief to her eyes again.
'Nursie, dear, everybody can't be as beautiful as every other body, you
know. You are very nice-looking, but if you had been as beautiful as
my grandmother -'
'Bother your grandmother!' said the nurse.
'Nurse, that's very rude. You are not fit to be spoken to till you can
behave better.' The princess turned away once more, and again the
nurse was ashamed of herself.
'I'm sure I beg your pardon, princess,' she said, though still in an
offended tone. But the princess let the tone pass, and heeded only the
words.
'You won't say it again, I am sure,' she answered, once more turning
towards her nurse. 'I 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?'
'You are an angel!' repeated the nurse, again embracing her. 'Now,'
insisted Irene, 'you will come and see my grandmother - won't you?'
'I will go with you anywhere you like, my cherub,' she answered; and in
two minutes the weary little princess was fast asleep.
CHAPTER 5
The Princess Lets Well Alone

When 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 would not be pleased if she took
anyone to see her without first asking leave; especially as it was pretty
evident, seeing she lived on pigeons' eggs, and cooked them herself,
that she did not want the household to know she was there. So the
princess resolved to take the first opportunity of running up alone and
asking whether she might bring her nurse. She believed the fact that she
could not otherwise convince her she was telling the truth would have
much weight with her grandmother.
The princess and her nurse were the best of friends all dressing-time,
and the princess in consequence ate an enormous little breakfast.
'I wonder, Lootie' - that was her pet name for her nurse - 'what pigeons'
eggs taste like?' she said, as she was eating her egg - not quite a
common one, for they always picked out the pinky ones for her.
'We'll get you a pigeon's egg, and you shall judge for yourself,' said the
nurse. 'Oh, no, no!' returned Irene, suddenly reflecting they might
disturb the old lady in getting it, and that even if they did not, she
would have one less in consequence.
'What a strange creature you are,' said the nurse - 'first to want a thing
and then to refuse it!'
But she did not say it crossly, and the princess never minded any
remarks that were not unfriendly.
'Well, you see, Lootie, there are reasons,' she returned, and said no
more, for she did not want to bring up the subject of their former strife,
lest her nurse should offer to go before she had had her grandmother's
permission to bring her. Of course she could refuse to take her, but then

she would believe her less than ever.
Now the nurse, as she said herself afterwards, could not be every
moment in the room; and as never before yesterday had the princess
given her the smallest reason for anxiety, it had not yet come into her
head to watch her more closely. So she soon gave her a chance, and, the
very first that offered, Irene was off and up the stairs again.
This day's adventure, however, did not turn out like yesterday's,
although it began like it; and indeed to- day is very seldom like
yesterday, if people would note the differences - even when it rains.
The princess ran through passage after passage, and could not find the
stair of the tower. My own suspicion is that she had not gone up high
enough, and was searching on the second instead of the third floor.
When she turned to go back, she failed equally in her search after the
stair. She was lost once more.
Something made it even worse to bear this time, and it was no wonder
that she cried again. Suddenly it occurred to her that it was after having
cried before that she had found