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- [00:02]
A
Hello and welcome to the Storytime for Grown Ups Christmas Spectacular. I'm Faith Moore and for the months of November and December, we'll be reading A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Each episode I'll read one chapter from the book, pausing from time to time to give brief explanations so it's easier to follow along. It's like an audiobook with built in notes. So gather your family together, brew a pot of tea or a mug of hot chocolate, find a cozy chair and settle in. It's story time.
- [00:49]
B
Hello everyone. Welcome back. I cannot tell you how nice it is to be here with you in this new Christmasy way. It's new for me. I will admit to be talking about Christmas and listening to that Christmas music in the intro at this point in the year. As I have said before, I am a stickler about the Christmas music and the Christmas decorations and everything. We usually don't pull any of that out until Thanksgiving. But I have a free pass. You have a free pass to do it. While we are here. While we are all together here in our lovely Victorian mansion. That is story time for Grown ups. And I have to tell you, I'm kind of loving it. Especially after spring spooky season and Frankenstein. I mean, you know, I love Frankenstein. But we, we need a change of pace and I'm feeling that change and it's really, really fun. And I'm so excited to start this book with you today.
- [01:40]
A
This is it.
- [01:41]
B
We're going to start the book. We're going to be reading chapter one of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett today. And we will get to that very, very soon. But before we do that, just a couple of little housekeeping things. And then I do have some letters that I want to read to you before we begin.
- [01:57]
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So.
- [01:57]
B
So the first thing to remind you about is that last time in our intro episode and if you missed it, it's still there. You can go back and hear a little bit more about this book before we jump into it. But in that episode I let you know that there is a prize drawing going on right now. For those of you who buy a copy of my novel Christmas Carol, there's a link in the show notes. You can find it there. It has to be the paperback version with the beautiful cover by Cynthia Angulo. Check it out. Even if you're not going to buy it, it's gor gorgeous. So there's a link in the show notes to buy the book and if.
- [02:33]
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You do, and if you send me.
- [02:35]
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A screenshot of your receipt to Prove that you bought it, then you will be entered into our prize drawings. There will be one every two weeks. This is part of our Victorian Christmas. Right? These are the gifts that I want.
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To give to you.
- [02:48]
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And in a minute, I'm going to talk about another Victorian Christmas activity that we're going to be doing here on Storytime for Grown Ups. But right now we do have a drawing open this time. The prize is a membership in our online community, the Drawing Room, at the level of Houseguest. And that would be a membership that you would get for free for life to join us in the drawing room community. And all you have to do, as I say, is send me a screenshot that you bought the book. There is information in the show notes on the Storytime for Grown Ups page. So if you scroll into the show notes, it'll be very clear what you should click on. So click on that link and all of the details about how to enter the drawings on is there. So I'm not going to go on and on about that now. So if you're interested in buying the book and entering the drawing, click on that link. The winner of the Houseguest membership will be announced on November 13th. That's a Thursday, so that'll be announced. And then the following Monday I will tell you what the next drawing is. You are entered into all the drawings by only buying one book. So you only have to buy one and you will be entered into all of them, although I do encourage you to buy many. It makes a wonderful Christmas gift and it becomes an even bigger, better gift if you get a signed book plate to put in it, which you can also do. And that's for anyone who buys the book. You don't have to win that, you just get it. Buy the book, get the book plate. And information about how to do that is also on the Storytime for Grown Ups page of my website. A link to that is in the show notes. So that's that. The next thing I want to tell you about is. So last time, also in the intro episode, I told you that every two weeks on a Thursday, I would reveal a new Victorian Christmas themed activity. So it is in fact Thursday and I am ready to do that. So this activity has to do with the Victorian tradition of Christmas cards. We are going to send each other Christmas cards. I'm really excited about this. It's going to be so fun. So here's the deal. Christmas cards were actually invented in the Victorian era. They were invented by a man named Henry Cole. So Henry Cole is Best remembered as the founder of the VA Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which is a wonderful museum, and if you ever end up in London, you should definitely visit it. It's still there. But he also invented the Christmas card, and the deal was he had so many friends and they were sending him so many letters that the letters were all starting to pile up. And it was incredibly rude at that time, as is now, I think, to not respond to all of your letters. He was also a big supporter of the new postal system. Remember I was saying how the postal system kind of expanded and got much better during the Victorian era. So he was a huge supporter of that. And so what he did is he had this image made, he commissioned this image, and he had it printed a.
- [05:47]
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Whole bunch of times.
- [05:49]
B
And then he just sent that to all of the people that were sending him greetings of the season around Christmas time. And that was his way of catching up on all of his correspondence and all of his Christmas greetings without having to write an individual letter to each person. And so that tradition has carried on through the ages, and now people still do it. I certainly send out Christmas cards to my family and friends around Christmas time, and maybe you do, too. And even if you don't celebrate Christmas or even if you don't normally send Christmas cards, you can absolutely participate in what we are going to do. So here is how it's going to work. Now, I said in the intro that some of these events are going to happen over in the drawing room, which is our online community. This is one of them. And the reason that it's one of them is that I need to send a link with information and details that I don't want to just put out there into the world because it has, for example, an address for me on it. So this needs to happen over in our community. And so if you're not a member of that community, you can either wait and hope to win the Houseguest drawing prize on Thursday, November 13, or you can sign up. There is a link in the show Notes to the community. It tells you a little bit more about it, and then you can sign up if you want. Anyone in the community can participate in this. So house guests and landed gentry. So if you want to sign up houseguests, it's just $5 a month. You can also cancel whenever you want. So you can sign up for a time and see how you like it and get the link to the directions for how to do this, or you can just sit this one out and that's completely fine. But if you'd like to participate, go to the drawing room. You can follow the link in the show notes, or if you're a member already, you can get there the way you normally do. And in the announcement channel, you will find a link to a Google form. In the form, you will tell me your name and your mailing address. Only I will see your specific mailing address. So you are not sharing your mailing address with the entire Storytime for Grown Ups community. This is part of why I'm doing this, the way I'm doing it. So entering your name and your mailing address will allow you to receive Christmas cards from Storytime for Grown UPS listeners. If you also want to send Christmas cards, and I hope you do, this is really what I hope you'll do. I hope you will send Christmas cards. You can send as many as you want. You can get your kids involved. They can send cards and they can also receive cards. Then in that form that you will find in the drawing room, there is an address to send those cards to. It is my address. I will receive all the cards. Then I will use the address that you put in the Google form to redistribute them out to storytime listeners. So you might get more than one card.
- [08:37]
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You might get one.
- [08:38]
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It depends on how many people send in cards. But everyone that signs up to receive a card will receive a Christmas card from a friend from the Storytime for Grown Ups community. Because we are all a community. That's part of what we're doing here. We're trying to come together both with the people out there in our real lives, but also with each other. And this is a really fun way that I thought that we could do it. So go to the drawing room community and find the Google form that is in the announcements channel and it will give you all the directions that you need. And I hope that you will start sending out some cards. Send me some cards and I'll send them out to all of you and you will get some Christmas cards as part of our Victorian Christmas, because Christmas cards are in fact a Victorian tradition. So I hope you'll participate in that. And you can find the link to the drawing room in the show notes, or you can just click head on over there and find the link to the form that will help you get ready to send some cards. So I'm really excited about that. I hope you'll participate. Last announcement. There is now Frankenstein merchandise in the merch store. I know we've moved on from Frankenstein. We're putting all of that behind us. However, if you loved the book and you really want to just take something home to remind you of the experience, or if you'd like to buy something and save it for next Halloween, time to wear around. There is now a wonderful Frankenstein design in the merch store. There's a link to the merch store in the show notes. I hope you'll click on it and take a look. Even if you don't buy anything, it's really great. It is again by our wonderful designer, Cynthia Angulo. So take a look. It's really cool. I like this one a lot. So take a look at the Frankenstein merch that's now available in the store. Other than that, just all the usual reminders. Please tap the five stars. Please leave a review if you're enjoying the show. And of course, most importantly, tell a friend. Tell everyone about the show always, but especially now as we're trying to come together for this Victorian Christmas. Okay, so this is the part of the show where normally I would read your questions and comments and we would talk a little bit about what we read last time. But of course we didn't read anything last time because we haven't started the book yet. We're starting it right now in just a moment. So what I'm going to do instead is what I always like to do at the start of a book, which is to read some of your reactions to discovering that we are going to be reading A Little Princess. So the trailer came out in the middle of October and I started getting letters from all of you about your thoughts on this new book selection and I've been saving them for this moment. So I have a few of them and I'm going to read them now and then we will get started. As I say, we're just reading chapter one today of A Little Princess. So I'm going to read you some reactions and then we will get into the chapters and and away we'll go. Okay, so this first one comes from Julie. Julie writes, I'm glad I had the house to myself as I listened to the trailer so that I didn't have to explain my squee of joy to my husband and boys. A Little Princess was one of my.
- [11:35]
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First book loves and I've been wanting.
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To pick it up again. I'm super excited to have your company on the reread now to tell my sisters and mom friends. Well, I hope that Julie's sisters and mom friends are listening now. Hi Julie's sisters and mom friends. This Next one comes from Kathy Rose. She writes, I gasped when I heard what the Christmas Spectacular is going to be.
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When I was little, I would read.
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That book each year when my family visited my grandparents. I decided way back when that my.
- [12:04]
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First daughter would be named Sara.
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And she is.
- [12:08]
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I will think of family and coziness, although I will recall the heat of.
- [12:12]
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A Los Angeles summer. I can't wait. This next one comes from Alicia Parker. She writes, when you announced the next.
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Book was A Little Princess, I was thrilled. This was my first favorite book in 1985. My parents gave me a hardcover edition.
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For my eighth birthday. That was my first hardcover book and.
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The beginning of my library. I read it many times and treasured it so much that it's still in quite good condition.
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This next one is from Gretchen Baker. She writes, I am so excited for the Christmas special. I grew up with the book and.
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A movie adaptation, so this will be.
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So fun to revisit. Next is Ashley Moulton. She writes, excited for A Little Princess. That is a childhood favorite movie. I've seen several adaptations of it and enjoy all of them, but I've never read the book. It's been on my list. I'm trying to convince my two daughters to listen along with me. I hope that Ashley's daughters are here. I hope it worked. Hi Ashley's daughters. Next is from Sarah C. She writes, omg. A Little Princess. I had a visceral reaction when I heard it and found myself literally jumping with joy when I heard. I immediately pictured my copy from my childhood with a pale pink dust cover and lovely illustrations which I may have to pull out so I can enjoy the illustrations along with the reading each week. A side note, I actually have that same copy. It's my childhood copy as well. It is so tattered and falling apart and the illustrations really are gorgeous. They're by an illustrator called Tasha Tudor and I really hope that you will check those out because they really, really go so well with the book. Anyway, back to Sarah's letter. I was 10 when the film released. It's still one of my favorites. Of course I had to read the book too. I have not read it since I was a child and look forward to revisiting it now. This is an unexpected but highly welcome surprise.
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Can't wait.
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And I love that we are starting it earlier this year too. So fun. Next is Cat. Cat Writes A Little Princess was not on my short list of Christmas spectacular guesses, but I could not be more excited. It is one of my favorite books.
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And movies from childhood.
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While it's not an overtly Christmas pick, I agree that many of its themes align with the spirit of Christmas, and I'm excited to share such a wonderful story with those new to the book. This next one is from Ellen. She writes, I'm so excited to read A Little Princess. I watched the 1995 movie a lot as a kid and absolutely loved it. I don't think I knew it was.
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Based off of a book.
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It's been a while since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember many details.
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I want to share this podcast with.
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My niece who has read and enjoyed the Secret Garden. It'd be fun to read this together and perhaps watch the movie at the end. I'm excited for all the Victorian Christmas fun as we read this season. I hope that your niece agreed and is now listening along Hello Ellen's niece. If you ended up listening too, I hope you're out there. And I'm just going to read one more letter. It's from Monica Souza. Monica writes, oh my goodness. I listened to the trailer for the next book on the 18th of October and said that you probably had so many reactions and didn't need to hear mine. But I could not go without telling you. The first thing I did was tell my mom. This book has such a special place in my heart because when I was.
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Nine years old my mom and I.
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Would say snuggle under some blankets and she would read the book aloud to me. Now I have read the book multiple times and probably watched every movie adaptation available. I am so excited to read this book with the Storytime for Grown Ups community. Anyway, just wanted to tell you I am so excited to read this with you. Well I am so excited to read this with all of you as well and so I think that we should get started. Don't forget to write to me after this chapter. It's faithkmore.com and then you click on Contact or you can just scroll into the Show Notes, which means the description of this episode and you can click the link that's there that goes to the Contact page as well. I hope that you'll write in with any questions that you have or anything that comes up for you while you're listening, anything that strikes your fancy, anything you'd like to know more about. And kids that are listening, please know that you can write in too. Just get your parents to help you. Let me know that you're a kid, let me know how old you are and I will try to feature some kid comments and some grown up comments in the next episode, so we'll so please do write in and please check all the links because I would love you to be able to participate both in the drawing for the Houseguest membership and in our Christmas Card exchange. So please check out the links in the show notes as well. All right, let's get started with Chapter one of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's story time.
- [16:58]
A
Chapter One Sara Once on a dark winter's day when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares. She sat with her feet tucked under her and leaned against her father who held her in his arm as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes. She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of 12, and Sara Crew was only 7. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time. At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father, Captain Crew. Okay, so Bombay is a city in India and it has now been renamed Mumbai. She was thinking of the big ship of the Lascars passing silently to and fro on it. Lascars are Indian sailors or servants who served the British, of the children playing about on the hot deck and of some young officers wives who used to try to make her talk to them and laugh at the things she said. Principally she was thinking of what a queer thing it was that at one time one was in India in the blazing sun and then in the middle of the ocean, and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets where the day was as dark as the night. She found this so puzzling that she moved closer to her father. Papa, she said in a low, mysterious little voice which was almost a whisper.
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Papa, what is it, darling? Captain Crewe answered, holding her closer and.
- [19:04]
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Looking down into her face. What is Sarah thinking of? Is this the place? Sarah whispered, cuddled still closer to him. Is it, Papa?
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Yes, little Sarah, it is.
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We have reached it at last. And though she was only seven years old, she knew that he felt Sad, when he said seemed to her many years since he had begun to prepare her mind for the place, as she always called it. Her mother had died when she was born, so she had never known or missed her. Her young, handsome, rich, petting father seemed to be the only relation she had in the world. They had always played together and been fond of each other. She only knew he was rich because she had heard people say so when they thought she was not listening. And she had also heard them say that when she grew up she would be rich too. She did not know all that being rich meant. She had always lived in a beautiful bungalow and had been used to seeing many servants who made salaams to her. Meaning they bowed to her and called her Missy Sahib. Sahib is a term of respect which Indian servants use to address their British masters. And gave her her own way in everything. She had had toys and pets and an ayah. An ayah is an Indian nanny who worshiped her. And she had gradually learned that people who were rich had these things. That, however, was all she knew about it. During her short life, only one thing had troubled her, and that thing was the place she was to be taken to someday. The climate of India was very bad for children, and as soon as possible they were sent away from it, generally to England and to school. She had seen other children go away and had heard their fathers and mothers talk about the letters they received from them. She had known that she would be obliged to go also. And though sometimes her father's stories of the voyage and the new country had attracted her, she had been troubled by the thought that he could not stay with her. Couldn't you go to that place with me, Papa? She had asked when she was 5 years old. Couldn't you go to school, too? I would help you with your lessons, but you will not have to stay.
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For a very long time.
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Little Sara, he had always said, you.
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Will go to a nice house where.
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There will be a lot of little girls and you will play together, and I will send you plenty of books. And you will grow so fast that.
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It will seem scarcely a year before.
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You are big enough and clever enough to come back and take care of Papa. She had liked to think of that. To keep the house for her father, to ride with him and sit at the head of his table when he had dinner parties, to talk to him and read his books. That would be what she would like most in the world. And if one must go away to the place in England to attain it, she must make up her mind to Go. She did not care very much for other little girls, but if she had plenty of books, she could console herself. She liked books more than anything else.
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And was in fact always inventing stories.
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Of beautiful things and telling them to herself. Sometimes she had told them to her father, and he had liked them as much as she did. Well, Papa, she said softly, if we are here, I suppose we must be resigned. He laughed at her old fashioned speech and kissed her. He was really not at all resigned himself, though he knew he must keep that a secret. His quaint little Sara had been a great companion to him, and he felt he should be a lonely fellow when on his return to India, he went into his bungalow, knowing he need not expect to see the small figure in its white frock come forward to meet him. So he held her very closely in his arms as the cab rolled into the big dull square in which stood the house which was their destination. It was a big, dull brick house, exactly like all the others in its row, but that on the front door there shone a brass plate on which was engraved in black letters, Ms. Minchin Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Okay, so this is a school for upper class girls run by someone named Miss Minchin.
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Here we are, Sara, said Captain Crewe, making his voice sound as cheerful as possible.
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Then he lifted her out of the cab and they mounted the steps and rang the bell. Sara often thought afterwards that the house.
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Was somehow exactly like Miss Minchin.
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It was respectable and well furnished, but everything in it was ugly, and the very armchairs seemed to have hard bones in them. In the hall everything was hard and polished, even the red cheeks of the moon face on the tall clock in the corner had a severe varnished look. The drawing room into which they were ushered was covered by a carpet with a square pattern upon it. The chairs were square, and a heavy marble timepiece stood upon the heavy marble mantel. As she sat down in one of the stiff mahogany chairs, Sarah cast one of her quick looks around her. I don't like it, Papa, she said. But then I dare say soldiers, even brave ones, don't really like going into battle. Captain Crewe laughed outright at this. He was young and full of fun, and he never tired of hearing Sara's queer speeches.
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Oh, little Sara, he said, what shall I do when I have no one to say solemn things to me? No one else is as solemn as you are. But why do solemn things make you laugh so? Inquired Sara. Because you are such fun when you say them, he answered, laughing still more.
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And then suddenly he swept her into his arms and kissed her very hard, stopping laughing all at once and looking almost as if tears had come into his eyes. It was just then that Ms. Minchin entered the room. She was very like her house. Sara felt tall and dull and respectable and ugly. She had large, cold, fishy eyes and a large, cold, fishy smile.
- [25:15]
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It spread itself into a very large.
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Smile when she saw Sara and Captain Crewe. She had heard a great many desirable things of the young soldier from the lady who had recommended her school to him. Among other things, she had heard that he was a rich father who was willing to spend a great deal of money on his little daughter. It will be a great privilege to have charge of such a beautiful and.
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Promising child, Captain Crewe, she said, taking.
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Sara's hand and stroking it. Lady Meredith has told me of her unusual cleverness. A clever child is a great treasure.
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To an establishment like mine.
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So Lady Meredith is the woman who.
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Recommended this school to Sarah's father?
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Sara stood quietly with her eyes fixed upon Miss Minchin's face. She was thinking something odd, as usual. Why does she say that I am a beautiful child? She was thinking. I am not beautiful at all. Colonel Grange's little girl, Isabel, is beautiful. She has dimples and rose colored cheeks and long hair the color of gold. I have short black hair and green eyes, besides which I am a thin.
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Child and not fair in the least.
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I am one of the ugliest children I ever saw. She is beginning by telling a story. She was mistaken, however, in thinking she was an ugly child. She was not in the least like Isabel Grange, who had been the beauty of the regiment, but she had an odd charm of her own. She was a slim, supple creature, rather tall for her age, and had an intense, attractive little face. Her hair was heavy and quite black and only curled at the tips. Her eyes were greenish grey, it is true, but they were big, wonderful eyes with long black lashes, and though she herself did not like the color of them, many other people did. Still, she was very firm in her belief that she was an ugly little girl. And she was not at all elated by Miss Minchin's flattery. I should be telling a story if I said she was beautiful, she thought, and I should know I was telling a story. I believe I am as ugly as she is in my way. What did she say that for? After she had known Miss Minchin longer, she learned why she had said it. She discovered that she said the same thing to each papa and mama who brought a child to her school. Sara stood near her father and listened while he and Ms. Minchin talked. She had been brought to the seminary because Lady Meredith's two little girls had been educated there, and Captain Crewe had a great respect for Lady Meredith's experience. Sara was to be what was known as a parlor boarder, and she was to enjoy even greater privileges than parlor boarders usually did. She was to have a pretty bedroom and sitting room of her own. She was to have a pony and a carriage and a maid to take the place of the Ayah who had been her nurse in India.
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I am not in the least anxious.
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About her education, captain Crewe said with.
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His gay laugh as he held Sarah's.
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Hand and patted it. The difficulty will be to keep her.
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From learning too fast and too much.
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She is always sitting with her little nose burrowing into books.
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She doesn't read them, Ms. Minchin, she gobbles them up as if she were.
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A little wolf instead of a little girl. She is always starving for new books to gobble, and she wants grown up.
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Books, great big fat ones, French and German as well as English history and biography and poets and all sorts of.
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Things drag her away from her books when she reads too much, make her ride her pony in the row or go out and buy a new doll. She ought to play more with dolls. Papa said, zara, you see, if I went out and bought a new doll every few days, I should have more than I could be fond of. Dolls ought to be intimate friends. Emily is going to be my intimate friend.
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Captain Crewe looked at Miss Minchin and.
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Miss Minchin looked at Captain Crewe. Who is Emily? She inquired.
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Tell her Sara, captain Crewe said, smiling.
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Sara's green gray eyes looked very solemn and quite soft as she answered. She is a doll I haven't got yet, she said. She is a doll Papa is going to buy for me. We are going out together to find her. I have called her Emily. She is going to be my friend when Papa is gone. I want her to talk to about him. Miss Minchin's large fishy smile became very flattering indeed.
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What an original child, she said.
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What a darling little creature. Yes, said Captain Crewe, drawing Sara close. She is a darling little creature. Take great care of her for me, Miss Minchin. Sara stayed with her father at his hotel for several days. In fact, she remained with him until he sailed away again to India. They went out and visited many big shops together and bought a great many things. They bought indeed a great many more.
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Things than Sara needed.
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But Captain Crewe was a rash, innocent young man and wanted his little girl to have everything she admired and everything he admired himself. So between them they collected a wardrobe much too grand for a child of seven. There were velvet dresses trimmed with costly furs and lace dresses and embroidered ones, and hats with great soft ostrich feathers and ermine coats and muffs and boxes of tiny gloves and handkerchiefs and silk stockings and such abundant supplies that the polite young women behind the counters whispered to each other that the odd little girl with the big solemn eyes must at least be some foreign princess, perhaps the little daughter of an Indian raja. And at last they found Emily. But they went to a number of toy shops and looked at a great many dolls before they discovered her. I want her to look as if she wasn't a doll, really, Sara said. I want her to look as if she listens when I talk to her. The trouble with dolls, Papa. And she put her head on one side and reflected as she said it. The trouble with dolls is that they never seem to hear. So they looked at big ones and little ones, at dolls with black eyes and dolls with blue, at dolls with brown curls and dolls with golden braids. Dolls dressed and dolls undressed.
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You see, sara said when they were.
- [31:46]
A
Examining one who had no clothes, if, when I find her she has no frocks, we can take her to a dressmaker and have her things made to fit. They will fit better if they are tried on. After a number of disappointments they decided to walk and look in at the shop windows and let the cab follow them. They had passed two or three places without even going in when, as they were approaching a shop which was really not a very large one, Sarah suddenly started and clutched her father's arm. Oh, Papa, she cried.
- [32:17]
B
There is Emily.
- [32:19]
A
A flush had risen in her face, and there was an expression in her green gray eyes as if she had just recognized someone she was intimate with and fond of. She is actually waiting there for us, she said. Let us go in to her.
- [32:33]
B
Dear me, said Captain Crew, I feel as if we ought to have someone to introduce us.
- [32:39]
A
You must introduce me, and I will introduce you, said Sara. But I knew her the minute I saw her, so perhaps she knew me too. Perhaps she had known her. She had certainly a very intelligent expression in her eyes when Sara took her in her arms. She was a large doll, but not too large to carry about easily. She had naturally curling golden brown hair which hung like a mantle about her, and her eyes were a deep clear gray blue with soft thick eyelashes which were real eyelashes and not mere painted lines. Of course, said Sara, looking into her face as she Held her on her knee. Of course, Papa, this is Emily. So Emily was bought and actually taken to a children's outfitter's shop and measured for a wardrobe as grand as Sara's own. She had lace frocks too, and velvet and muslin ones, and hats and coats and beautiful lace trimmed underclothes and gloves and handkerchiefs and furs. I should like her always to look.
- [33:42]
B
As if she was a child with.
- [33:43]
A
A good mother, said Sara. I'm her mother, though I am going to make a companion of her. Captain Crewe would really have enjoyed the shopping tremendously. But that a sad thought kept tugging at his heart. This all meant that he was going to be separated from his beloved quaint little comrade. He got out of his bed in the middle of that night and went and stood looking down at Sarah, who lay asleep with Emily in her arms. Her black hair was spread out on the pillow and Emily's golden brown hair mingled with it. Both of them had lace ruffled nightgowns and both had long eyelashes which lay and curled up on their cheeks. Emily looked so like a real child that Captain Crew felt glad she was there. He drew a big sigh and pulled his mustache with a boyish expression.
- [34:34]
B
Hey ho, little Sara, he said to himself. I don't believe you know how much.
- [34:39]
A
Your daddy will miss you. The next day he took her to Ms. Minchin's and left her there. He was to sail away the next morning. He explained to Ms. Minchin that his solicitors, Messrs. Barrow and Skipworth, had charge of his affairs in England and would give her any advice she wanted and that they would pay the bills she sent in for Sara's expenses. He would write to Sara twice a week and she was to be given every pleasure she asked for. She is a sensible little thing and.
- [35:08]
B
She never wants anything it isn't safe to give her, he said.
- [35:11]
A
Then he went with Sara into her little sitting room and they bade each other goodbye. Sara sat on his knee and held the lapels of his coat in her small hands and looked long and hard at his face. Are you learning me by heart, little Sarah? He said, stroking her hair. No, she answered. I know you by heart. You are inside my heart. And they put their arms round each other and kissed as if they would never let each other go. When the cab drove away from the door, Sara was sitting on the floor of her sitting room with her hands under her chin and her eyes following it until it had turned the corner of the square. Emily was sitting by her and she looked after it too When Miss Minchin sent her sister, Miss Amelia, to see what the child was doing, she found she could not open the door. I have locked it, said a queer.
- [36:04]
B
Polite little voice from inside.
- [36:06]
A
I want to be quite by myself, if you please. Miss Amelia was fat and dumpy and stood very much in awe of her sister. She was really the better natured person of the two. But she never disobeyed Miss Minchin.
- [36:21]
B
She went downstairs again, looking almost alarmed. I never saw such a funny old fashioned child, sister, she said.
- [36:28]
A
She has locked herself in and she.
- [36:31]
B
Is not making the least particle of noise.
- [36:33]
A
It is much better than if she kicked and screamed, as some of them.
- [36:37]
B
Do, miss Minchin answered.
- [36:39]
A
I expected that a child as much spoiled as she is would set the.
- [36:43]
B
Whole house in an uproar if ever.
- [36:45]
A
A child was given her own way in everything she is.
- [36:49]
B
I have been opening her trunks and putting her things away, said Miss Amelia. I never saw anything like them.
- [36:56]
A
Sable and ermine on her coats and.
- [36:59]
B
Real Valencian lace on her underclothing.
- [37:02]
A
You have seen some of her clothes.
- [37:04]
B
What do you think of them?
- [37:07]
A
I think they are perfectly ridiculous, replied Ms. Minchin sharply. But they will look very well at the head of the line when we take the school children to church on Sunday. She has been provided for as if she were a little princess. And upstairs in the locked room, Sara and Emily sat on the floor and stared at the corner round which the cab had disappeared, while Captain Crewe looked backward, waving and kissing his hand as if he could not bear to stop. Thank you so much for listening.
- [37:48]
B
Don't forget to check out my novel Christmas Carol. That's Carol with a K. Using the.
- [37:53]
A
Link in the Show Notes.
- [37:55]
B
I would be so grateful if you.
- [37:56]
A
Would consider buying a copy or a.
- [37:58]
B
Few copies for yourself or as a gift. Go to my website faithkmoore.com and click on Storytime for Grown Ups for information about all kinds of giveaways and freebies associated with your purchase. And of course, don't forget to get in touch with comments or questions about this episode. Please go to my website faith k moore.com and click on Contact and send.
- [38:22]
A
Me your questions and thoughts.
- [38:23]
B
Or you can click on the link in the Show Notes to contact me. I'll feature one or two of your.
- [38:28]
A
Entries at the start of the next episode.
- [38:31]
B
All right everyone, story time is over.
- [38:34]
A
To be continued. Sam.