Moon Princess in the Castle - (Illustrated Edition of World Children's Literature)

Author: (English) Elizabeth Goudge
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The carriage shook violently again, and Maria, Miss Heliotrope, and Wiggins fell into a heap once more. They sighed, puffed, and sat up straight, focusing their attention on the things that interested them. During this unbearable time, it was these things that brought courage and strength to each of them. Maria stared intently at her boots. Miss Heliotrope adjusted her glasses to the right position, picked up the battered, brown-bound French prose collection from the floor, threw another mint candy into her mouth, and then struggled to read the yellowed pages under the dim light, watching the constantly moving black letters. As for Wiggins, he was now using his tongue to savor the deliciousness of the dinner, though it had long been digested, but some residue remained on his whiskers, leaving him with a lingering aftertaste.
Humans can be roughly divided into three types—those who seek comfort in literature, those who seek comfort in their clothing, and those who seek comfort in food. Miss Heliotrope, Maria, and Wiggins were perfect representatives of their respective types. Maria was undoubtedly the first to be depicted, as she was the protagonist of this story. In this fine 1842, she was thirteen years old, with a pair of strange, silvery-gray eyes that made people a little uneasy, as if they could look straight into one’s heart. Her hair was straight and slightly reddish, and her thin, pale face was dotted with some annoying freckles—so people thought she was an ordinary-looking child. However, she had a delicate, fairy-like body, with a straight little waist like a poker, exuding a noble dignity. She also had incredibly beautiful little feet, which she was very proud of! She knew that her beauty lay in these feet. Therefore, compared to her gloves, clothes, and skirts, she paid extra attention to her boots, almost with passion. The boots she wore today were particularly exquisite, capable of lifting her spirits. They were made of soft gray leather, with a row of crystal beads sewn around the top and a circle of snow-white lambskin on top. In fact, the crystal beads were invisible because Maria’s gray silk dress and warm gray woolen cloak—also trimmed with snow-white lambskin—reached her ankles. But she knew very well that the beads were there, and thinking about them gave her a surge of strength, though it couldn’t be overestimated. She thought of the beads, leaning on them for support. She also thought of the purple ribbon tied around her slender waist under the woolen cloak, and the small bunch of violets hidden almost invisibly in the creases of her gray velvet dress, as well as the pair of gray silk fingerless gloves covered by her white mittens. You must know, Maria was a true noble: she believed in striving for perfection even in places unseen, which was more important than outward beauty. This didn’t mean she didn’t like to show off her beauty. In fact, she paid great attention to her appearance. She was a little girl who loved to show off, though she was now dressed in mourning gray and purple. You see, Maria was an orphan. Her mother died when she was still an infant, and two months ago, her father also passed away. Her father left behind a large amount of debt, and as a result, all his property had to be sold to pay off the debts, including the beautiful house in London. The doors of that house had spacious windows, and through the high windows, one could see the quiet gardens of London Square outside. Maria had spent these short thirteen years in that house. When the lawyer finally settled everything and satisfied the creditors, they found that there was very little money left, just enough to send Maria, Miss Heliotrope, and Wiggins to the West in a carriage. There, they would live with Maria’s closest living relative, her cousin Sir Benjamin Merrivale, at Moon Hill Manor in Silverstream Village. They had never been to that place or met Sir Benjamin himself. However, Maria wasn’t upset because she had become an orphan; she sought comfort by thinking of her boots. She had no memory of her mother; her father was a soldier who was stationed abroad for years and had always disliked children, so Maria had never been close to him. Maria was very close to Miss Heliotrope. Miss Heliotrope came to take care of her when she was only a few months old, first as her nurse and later as her governess. Miss Heliotrope poured all her love into the little girl without hesitation. Yes, Maria was upset now because the journey was so unpleasant, and she foresaw that the rural life ahead would certainly be unsatisfactory. Maria knew nothing about the countryside. She had grown up as a Londoner, and she loved luxury. In that beautiful house that could see London Square, she had indeed lived a luxurious life. It wasn’t until her father died that they realized he shouldn’t have been so extravagant, because he didn’t have that much money to spend.
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