"Oh, not so _very_ kind!" said the old lady. "A name is one of those
things one can give away and keep all the same. I have a good many
such
things. Wouldn't you like to know who I am, child?"
"Yes, that I should--very much."
"I'm your great-great-grandmother," said the lady.
"What's that?" asked the princess.
"I'm your father's mother's father's mothe r."
"Oh, dear! I can't understand that," said the princess.
"I daresay not. I didn't expect you would. But that's no reason why I
shouldn't say it."
"Oh no!" answered the princess.
"I will explain it all to you when you are older," the lady went on.
"But you will be able to understand this much now: I came here to take
care of you."
"Is it long since you came? Was it yesterday? Or was it to-day, because
it was so wet that I couldn't get out?"
"I've been here ever since you came yourself."
Madhuri Noah
C:\Users\MNoah\Documents\The Princess and the Goblin1.docx
Page 22 of 634