Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Visitors

If you can imagine, imagine the rest of that evening.How they squatted by the fire, where the flames flickered and flickered in the little hearth, and did their best work, and how they lifted the lids to find a hot, rich soup, which alone was enough for a meal, There are also enough sandwiches, toast and muffins for two.The big mouthwash cup on the washstand was for Becky's teacup, and the tea was delicious, and there was no need to pretend it wasn't tea but anything else.They were happy to be warm and well fed, and it was in Sara's nature, having discovered that her wonderful good fortune was real, to enjoy it wholeheartedly.She had been living in a fantasy, so that she was perfectly receptive to any amazingly good thing that had happened, and after a while the panic almost ceased to exist.

"I don't know anyone in the world who can do such a thing," she said, "but there has been one. And we're sitting by his fire now—and—and—this It's all true! Whoever he is—wherever he is—I've got a friend, Becky—someone's my friend." It is undeniable that when they sat in front of the blazing fire and ate refreshing and nutritious food, they felt a kind of fear after ecstasy in their hearts, so they looked into each other's eyes with doubts in a trance. "Do you think," whispered Becky, stammering--"do you think it's going to go away, miss? We'd better eat fast?" And she stuffed the sandwich hastily into her mouth.If this is just a dream, then the original set of kitchen etiquette need not be particular about.

"No, it's not going away," Sarah said. "I'm eating this muffin, and I can taste it. In a dream, you don't actually eat. You just think you're going to eat them. And I pinch myself from time to time, just now I I also intentionally touched a piece of hot coal." The lounging comfort is an unearthly strength that almost overwhelms them in the end.It was the well-fed, well-fed drowsiness of happy children as they sat and lost themselves in the reflection of the fire, until Sarah came to her senses and found herself looking back at her transformed bed. There were even enough blankets to share with Becky.The narrow couch in the adjoining attic became much more comfortable that night than its owner could ever have dreamed of it.

Becky turned on the threshold as she came out of the room, and cast a hungrily glance about her. "If they're all gone tomorrow morning, miss," she said, "they'll be here tonight anyway, and I'll never forget them." She looked at everything as if to print them all. in memory. "There's the fire," she said, pointing, "and the table is in front of it, and the lamp is there, and the light looks rosy, and you have a satin coverlet on your bed, and a warm rug on the floor, and everything Everything looked beautiful, and"—she paused, putting her hand lightly on her belly—"there's bouillon and sandwiches and muffins—here's plenty of them." Realistic of this thought, she is gone.

By the morning it was known by the secrecy of the school and among the servants that Sarah Crewe had been greatly humiliated, that Ermengarde had been punished, and that Becky had to be removed from the house before breakfast. Sent away, but she couldn't save her as a kitchen maid for a while.The servants knew that she was allowed to stay because Miss Minchin could not easily find another helpless person who would work for her as submissively as a slave for so few shillings a week.The older girls in the room knew that it was in Miss Minchin's own practical interest that Sarah was not sent away.

"She's growing up fast and learning a lot anyway," Jessie said to Lavinia, "so she'll be giving lectures soon, and Ms. Minchin knows she'll have to work without pay. You're too Nasty, Ravi, go and tell her on having fun in the attic. How did you find out?" "I heard it from Lottie. She's such a baby that she doesn't know she's telling on me. It's not bad at all to tell Miss Minchin. I think it's my duty," said Lavinia a little pretentiously. "It's her who is lying. Dressed in rags, but she looks so dignified, and is so valued, it's so ridiculous!"

"What were they doing when Miss Minchin caught them?" "Pretending to be doing something stupid. Ermengarde brought up her food-basket to share with Sarah and Becky. She never asked us to share anything. Not that I care, but sharing food with the maid in the attic, It's quite disrespectful. I wonder Miss Minchin didn't drive Sarah away—even if she really wanted Sarah as a teacher." "Where can she go if she gets kicked out?" Jessie asked a little anxiously. "How do I know?" Lavinia snapped. "I think she'll look weird when she comes into class this morning—after what happened. She didn't eat yesterday, and she won't be allowed to eat today."

Although Jesse is stupid, his heart is not so bad.She picked up one of her books abruptly. "Gee, I thought it was horrible," she said. "They have no right to starve her to death." When Sara entered the kitchen that morning, the cook squinted at her, as did the maids, but she hurried past them.She actually slept a little longer, and Becky overslept too, so that they both hurried downstairs without having time to visit each other. Sarah went into the scullery.Becky was cleaning the kettle vigorously, and even hummed a little tune in her throat.She looked up, with a look of ecstasy on her face.

"It was there when I woke up, miss—I mean the blanket," she whispered excitedly. "It's as true as last night." "Mine is there," Sarah said. "It's all there now—the stuff is all there. I ate some of the cold stuff we had left while I was getting dressed." "My God! My God!" Becky exclaimed with a moan of ecstasy, dropping her head just in time to wipe her kettle when the cook came in from the kitchen. Ms. Minchin had wanted to see what Sarah would look like when she showed up in the classroom today, which was exactly what Lavinia wanted to see.Sarah had always been a vexing problem to Miss Minchin, because harshness had never been able to make her cry or look frightened.When she was scolded, she always listened silently and solemnly; when she was punished, she did extra work and walked away without eating, without complaining or showing signs of rebellion.The very fact that she never responded abruptly seemed to Miss Minchin an insolence in itself.But after going through the whole day of not being allowed to eat yesterday and the brutal scene last night, thinking about having to go hungry today, she must have been overwhelmed.It would be strange if she had not come down the stairs today with pale cheeks, red eyes, sullen and submissive face.

The first time Miss Minchin saw Sarah today was when she came into the classroom to listen to the small class read the French text and supervise their exercises.But when she entered the door, she walked with elastic steps, her cheeks were rosy, and there was a smile on the corner of her mouth.This was the most amazing thing that ever happened to Miss Minchin.This shocked her quite a bit.What is this child made of?What does such a strange thing mean?She immediately called Sarah to the desk. "You don't look like you've realized that you've done something disgraceful," she said. "Are you totally insensitive?"

The reality is that when you're a child - or even a grown man - well fed, well slept, plus the bed is soft and warm, when you fall asleep to a fairy tale, wake up Then it turns out to be real, and there's no way you'll be unhappy or act that way, that happy gleam in your eyes that you can't hide no matter how hard you try.When Sarah raised her eyes and answered with complete respect, Miss Minchin was almost struck dumb by the look in her eyes. "Please forgive me, Ms. Minchin," said Sarah. "I know I'm ashamed." "Be sensible, please, and don't forget about it, and don't look as if you've inherited a fortune. That's not a big deal. And remember you're not allowed to eat today." "Yes, Ms. Minchin," answered Sara, but as she turned away she was terrified at the memory of yesterday's events. "If the magic hadn't saved me in time," she thought, "how dreadful it would be!" "She can't be very hungry," whispered Lavinia. "Look at her. Maybe she's pretending she's had a good breakfast."—she gave a malicious laugh. "She's different from everyone else," Jessie said, watching Sara teach her small class. "Sometimes, I'm a little scared of her." "How ridiculous!" cried Lavinia suddenly. All that day Sarah's face was glowing, her cheeks flushed.The servants looked at her in bewilderment and whispered to each other, and Miss Amelia's little blue eyes had a look of perplexity.She could not comprehend what Miss Minchin's air of self-abnegation meant under her august rage.However, this is in line with Sarah's unique stubborn personality.She probably decided to bite the bullet and get to the end. Sarah thought the matter over and over again, and made up her mind to do one thing.The miracle that has taken place must be kept a secret, if possible.If Miss Minchin wanted to come up to the attic again, she would of course find out.But it seems unlikely that she will, at least for a while, unless she is driven by suspicion.Ermengarde and Lottie would be under strict surveillance, and they would not dare to sneak out of bed again.You can tell Ermengarde about it, and trust her to keep it a secret.If Lottie found something, she could keep it a secret.Perhaps magic itself can help hide the wonders it has wrought. "But whatever happens," Sara said to herself all day long—"whatever happens, somewhere in the world there is a kind and wonderful man who is my friend—my friend .Even if I never know who he is—even if I never even get to thank him—I shall never feel so alone. Ah, that magic has been so good to me!" If the weather could have been worse than the previous day, it was this day - wetter, colder and muddier.With more business trips, the cook became more irritable, and she became even more unreasonable when she knew Sara had been humiliated.But it doesn't matter when your magic is your friend.That dinner the previous night had given Sara the strength to know that she would sleep well and warmly, and even though she was habitually hungry again before evening, she thought she would be able to bear it until breakfast the next day. , I will definitely give her something to eat by then.It was late at night before she was finally allowed to go upstairs.In advance, she was told to enter the classroom and study until ten o'clock. Since she was interested in homework, she read for a while longer. Her heart did beat fast as she climbed the top stairs and stood in front of the garret door. "Of course, those things may have all been taken," she whispered with an effort of courage. "Those things might have been lent to me just for that horrible night, but they were lent to me—I had them. That's all true." She pushed the door open and went in, panting lightly as soon as she entered, closed the door, leaned her back against the door, and looked at the other side from one side. The magic was there again.It actually reappeared, even doing more than the last time.The fire was burning brightly, and the lovely flames danced more merrily than ever.Many new things have been brought into the attic, and the old look of the attic has been changed. If she hadn't no longer doubted it, she would have wiped her eyes to see what happened.Another supper was set on the low table--both Becky and Sarah this time, and a thick piece of embroidered cloth, both new and bright, covered the battered mantelpiece, with some decorations.All that was bare and unsightly, and that which could be draped over, was veiled in such a way that it looked very pretty.Some of the brightly colored novelty materials have been fastened to the walls with small, sharp thumbtacks -- tiny thumbtacks so sharp that they can be pressed into wood or walls without hammering them.Some splendid scalloping had been nailed on, and there were several large cushions, large and thick enough for cushions.There was also a wooden box, covered with a rug and some cushions, which gave it the appearance of a sofa. Sarah moved slowly away from the door, sat down straight, and looked around. "It's really like a myth turned into reality," she said. "It makes no difference at all. I feel as if I can count on anything--diamonds or bags of gold--and they will come! That would be no more strange than it is now. Is this the garret where I live? I Is it the old ragged, cold and wet Sara? Think I used to pretend this and that and hope for fairies! The only thing I keep thinking about is seeing fairy tales come to life. I Living in a fairytale right now. I feel as if I could be a fairy who can turn anything into something else." She got up and knocked on the wall, asking the prisoner in the next cell to come, and the prisoner came. She entered the door and was so surprised that she almost collapsed on the floor and became a ball.For a few seconds, she couldn't breathe. "My God!" gasped Becky, "My God, miss!" Just like that time in the scullery. "Look," Sarah said. This night Becky sat on a cushion on the rug in front of the fire, and had her own set of cups and saucers available. When Sarah went to bed, she found a new thick mattress and large duck-down pillows on it.Her original mattress and pillows had been moved to Becky's bed frame, and it turned out that Becky was more comfortable than ever with these extras. "Where did they all come from?" Becky said suddenly once. "My God! Who did this, miss?" "Let's not even ask," Sarah said. "If I didn't want to say 'oh thank you,' I'd rather not know anything. It just makes things better." Since then, life has become more and more wonderful every day.The fairy tale continues.Almost every day something new happens.Every time Sarah opened the door at night, she found some new comfort or ornament, until after a short interval the attic became a beautiful little room filled with all kinds of new and luxurious things.Gradually the ugly walls were covered with pictures and drapes, delicate folding furniture appeared, bookshelves hung on the walls were filled with books, new comforts and conveniences appeared one by one, until it seemed that nothing had been done. It's all there, nothing else is needed.Sarah had left the leftovers of her supper on the table when she went downstairs in the morning, and by the time she returned to the attic in the evening the magician had removed them, leaving another small good meal.Miss Minchin was as harsh and bullying as ever, Miss Amelia was as irascible, and the servants as rude and intrusive.Sarah was sent out on errands in good weather and bad, and was scolded and called about; she was hardly allowed to speak to Ermengarde and Lottie; and Lavinia laughed at her increasing rags.The other girls stared at her curiously when she appeared in the classroom.What did it matter as long as she lived in this strange and mysterious story?It was more pleasant, more romantic than any idea she had concocted before to comfort her hungry little being and save herself from despair.Sometimes when she was scolded, she could hardly help laughing. "If only you knew!" she said to herself, "if only you knew!" The comfort and happiness she enjoyed gradually strengthened her, and all these gave her always something to look forward to.If she comes home from errands wet, tired, and hungry, she knows she'll be warmed up and fed in no time after climbing upstairs.On the hardest of days, she could engage in delighted imagination of what she would see when she opened the attic door, and guess what new delights were in store for her.It wasn't long before she started looking less thin.A flush had come to the cheeks, and the eyes were not too large for her face. "Sarah Crewe looks amazingly fine," said Miss Minchin to her sister, dissatisfied. "Yes," answered poor stupid Miss Amelia. "She must be getting fatter. She looked like a starving crow before." "Hungry!" cried Miss Minchin angrily. "She has no reason to look like she's starving. She's always had plenty to eat!" "When—of course," agreed Amelia humbly, alarmed to find that she had said the wrong thing as usual. "It's a nuisance to see that air in a child of her age," said Miss Minchin, speaking haughtily and vaguely. "What—what look?" asked Amelia, courageously. "That might almost be called provocation," replied Miss Minchin, annoyed, for she knew that the air she resented was not at all provocative, but she did not know of a less pleasant word to use. . "Any other child who'd been through the events she'd had to endure would've been -- utterly humbling and devastated. But honestly, she didn't seem to give in at all, as if -- as if she Like a princess." "Do you remember," interposed the unwise Miss Amelia, "what she said to you that day in class? She asked what you would do if you found out she was a—" "Don't remember, I don't remember," said Ms. Minchin. "Don't talk nonsense." But in fact she remembered it very well. Quite naturally, even Becky began to look fatter and less frightened.It was involuntary to her.She also had a part in that secret fairy tale.She had two mattresses, two pillows, plenty of quilts, a hot dinner every night, and a place for her on the cushions by the fire.The Bastille is gone, and so are the prisoners.The two children sat comfortably in happiness.Sometimes Sarah read passages aloud, sometimes she studied her lessons, sometimes she sat looking at the fire, trying to guess who her friend might be, and hoping to speak to him. Then another astonishing thing happened.A man came to the door and left several packages behind.It was all written in big letters, "To the little girl in the attic on the right". Sarah herself was sent to answer the door and bring in the package.She had put the two largest packages on the hall table and was looking at the address on them when Ms. Minchin came downstairs and saw her. "Send it to any lady," she snapped. "Don't stand there staring at them." "They're for me," Sarah replied calmly. "For you?" cried Miss Minchin. "what do you mean?" "I don't know where they came from," Sarah said, "but they were sent to me. I sleep in the attic to the right. Becky sleeps in the other." Ms. Minchin walked up to her, looking nervously at the packages. "What's in there?" she pressed. "I don't know," Sarah replied. "Take them apart," she ordered. Sarah complied.After the package was opened, Ms. Minchin showed a strange expression on her face.What she saw were some nice and comfortable clothes--all kinds: shoes, stockings, and gloves, and a nice, warm coat.There's even a nice hat and an umbrella.They were good, expensive items, and pinned to the coat pocket was a note with these words: "Everyday wear—will be replaced by new ones when needed." Ms. Minchin was very excited.It was an accident, which produced some strange ideas in her vile mind.Could it be that I made a mistake after all, that behind this despised child there is a powerful and strange friend as a backer—maybe a relative who was unknown before suddenly tracked down her whereabouts, and deliberately used this mysterious and grotesque way to support her?Relatives are sometimes eccentric—especially rich old bachelors who, being uncles, don't want to have children around them.Such a person may prefer to attend to the welfare of his junior relatives at a distance.However, such a person must be eccentric, violent, and easily offended.It would not be a pleasant thing if there were such a man, in case he knew that the child was poorly clothed, poorly fed, and hard at work.Feeling uncomfortable and overwhelmed, she glanced at Sarah. "Well," she said, in a tone she had not used since the little girl lost her father, "you have been kindly treated. These things have been brought, and there will be new ones when they are worn out, and you You can go and put them on and look decent. Then you can go downstairs to your classroom and study your lessons. You don't have to go out to do errands today." About half an hour later, the classroom door opened, and Sarah walked in. The entire training center was shocked and speechless. "I didn't expect that!" Jessie burst out, pushing Lavinia's elbow lightly, "Look at that little princess Sarah!" Everyone was watching, and Lavinia turned red when she saw it. That is indeed Princess Sarah.Sara hadn't looked like a princess at least since the days when she was a princess.She seemed not the Sarah they had seen coming down the back stairs hours before.She was wearing the kind of dress that Lavinia used to be jealous of her.It is a darker warm color and well made.She had the same slender feet that Jessie had admired, and her hair was tied back with ribbons in thick curls that hung loose around her queer little face, making her look like a Shetland. Island ponies. "Maybe someone left her a fortune," Jessie whispered. "I always thought something was going to happen to her. She's so strange." "Maybe those diamond mines popped up again," said Lavinia tartly. "Don't stare at her so hard and please her, you stupid thing." "Sarah," put in Miss Minchin's deep voice, "come here and sit here." The whole room was staring at Sarah, elbowing and shoving with undisguised excitement and curiosity, as Sarah took her old seat of honor and bowed her head to read her book. When she had gone to her room that night, having dined with Becky, she sat looking long and gravely at the fire. "Are you making up something in your head again, miss?" Becky asked softly and respectfully.When Sarah sat silently gazing dreamily at the coals, it usually meant she was making up another story.Not this time, she shook her head. "No," she replied, "I was wondering what I should do." Becky stared at her--still reverently.There was something bordering on reverence for Sarah in everything she said and did. "I can't help but think about my friend," Sara explained. "If he's trying to keep his secret, it would be rude to try to find out who he is. But I really want him to know how grateful I am to him—how happy he has made me. When someone makes you happy, being Well-meaning people would like to know who. They think it's more important than thanks. I hope—I really hope—" She stopped suddenly, for now her eyes fell on something lying on a table in the corner.It was the small pencil case she found when she entered the attic only two days ago, containing paper, envelopes, pens and ink. "Oh," she exclaimed, "why didn't I think of that before?" She got up and went to the corner, and took the pencil case back to the fire. "I could write him a letter," she said cheerfully, "and leave it on the table. Then perhaps the person who came and took it away would take the letter too. I'll ask him nothing. I'm sure he won't." Mind if I thank him." So she wrote a note.Here's what she wrote: I hope you don't think this is rude: when you deliberately keep your name anonymous In secret, I actually write this note to you.Please believe I didn't mean to be rude, or Is finally trying to find something, I just want to thank you for being so kind to me - supernaturally kind —to make everything look like a fairy tale.How much I appreciate you, how much I am So happy--and so was Becky.She appreciates you as much as I do - it's all for her and me yes "It looked like an ugly baby," Sara said with a laugh. "I beg your pardon, monkey, but I wish you weren't a baby. Your mother wouldn't be proud of you, and no one would dare say you looked like any of your relatives. Oh, how I like you!" She leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. "Perhaps he is sorry that he is so ugly," she said, "and he always has it in his heart. I don't know if he has a soul. Monkey, my dear, do you have a soul?" But the monkey just raised a small paw and scratched its head. "What are you going to do with it?" asked Becky. "I want it to sleep with me tonight and send it back to the Indian gentleman tomorrow. Monkey, I hate to send you back, but you must. You should love your own home, and I'm not you A real relative." When she went to bed, she made a nest for him at her feet, and he slept curled up there; like a baby, content with the corner where he slept.