A Little Princess

On a dark winter day, in a thick yellow London fog, a cab moved slowly through the streets.Inside sat a little girl of seven called Sara Crewe, holding tightly to her father’s hand.Sara had a small, plain face and big, thoughtful grey-green eyes, and she looked much older than seven.

Sara and Captain Crewe had come all the way from India, where Sara was born and where they had always lived together.Her mother had died long ago, and Sara loved her kind, cheerful father more than anyone in the world.Now she was old enough for school, so he had brought her to England to leave her there — and neither of them wanted to say it aloud.

The cab stopped at a large, dull brick house with a shining brass plate: “Miss Minchin’s School for Young Ladies.”Inside, the front room was cold and stiff, with hard chairs and an unfriendly feeling.Miss Minchin came in — a tall woman with large, cold, fish-like eyes and a large, cold smile.

She was very sweet to Captain Crewe, because he was rich, and a rich pupil was worth a great deal to her.“What a beautiful, clever little girl,” she said, though Sara knew quite well that she was not beautiful.Because her father had money, Sara was to have her own bedroom and sitting-room, a pony, a carriage, and a maid of her own.

Miss Minchin promised to be like a mother to Sara while her father was far away.Captain Crewe could not bear a long goodbye, so he held Sara very tight, told her to be brave, and hurried out to the cab.Sara stood at the window and watched the cab until it turned the corner and was gone.

Then she went up to her fine new room, sat down on the floor, and stayed there very still, staring at nothing.She did not cry, but she felt colder and more alone than she had ever felt in her life.