"_Then what do you mean?_"
"_What_ do you _mean by a princess?_"
"_The daughter of a king._"
"_Very well, then every little girl is a princess, and there would be no
need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of
forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I
have seen little princesses behave like the children of thieves and
lying beggars, and that is why they need, to be told they are
princesses. And that is why, when I tell a story of this kind, I like to
tell it about a princess. Then I can say better what I mean, because I
can then give her every beautiful thing I want her to have._"
"_Please go on._"
There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great
country full of mountains and valleys. His palace was built upon one of
the mountains, and was very grand and beautiful. The princess, whose
name was Irene, was born there, but she was sent soon after her birth,
because her mother was not very strong, to be brought up by country
Madhuri Noah
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