"In
the little house you will find a treasure." And then, as suddenly as
she had come, the fairy-godmother was gone, wearing one of her
surprise smiles on her lips.
Every one wondered about the house, and some of the guests went to the
end of the garden to look at it. All they saw, though, was a tiny
thatched cottage, very neat, but not at all fine. So they turned up
their noses and went back to the castle.
"A very poor present indeed!" they said.
The little Princess put the key in the silk bag that hung at her side
and then forgot all about it. Not until late in the afternoon did she
go to the end of the garden.
The little house made her curious, because it was so different from
the castle. The castle had great, coloured windows, but the little
house had tiny ones with crimson geraniums on the ledges and plain
white curtains.
She opened the door and went inside. The castle had many rooms, large
and lonely, but the little house had one room, small and very cozy.
There was a chimney and a fireplace where a bright little fire
sparkled and danced and chuckled to itself. A tea kettle hung over the
hob and it was singing, as the water bubbled, the merriest song that
the little Princess had ever heard. The table was set for tea. It was
a very plain tea, only white bread and butter, and honey, and milk;
but it made the Princess hungry to look at it.
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