A Little Princess: A Retelling for Curious Readers

A look inside

The opening of A Little Princess: A Retelling for Curious Readers, free to read.

1. 

   On a foggy day in London, a cab stopped at a tall brick house: Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, a boarding school. Out stepped Captain Crewe and his daughter, Sara, who was seven and had always lived in sunny India. Miss Minchin gave them a wide, chilly smile. "What a beautiful child!" she said. Sara knew she was not beautiful, so she decided Miss Minchin was not quite truthful.

2. 

   Captain Crewe was rich, and he gave Sara everything: pretty dresses, a pony, and her own sitting room. Last of all, they went looking for a doll. "I want her to look as if she listens," Sara said. They searched shop after shop. At last Sara squeezed his arm. "Oh, Papa! There is Emily!"

3. 

   Then it was time for Papa to sail back to India. He held Sara on his knee for a long time. "Are you learning me by heart, little Sara?" he asked. "No," she said. "I know you by heart. You are inside my heart." When he had gone, Sara sat still with Emily and did not cry.