en, "she is plainly lost, and so is
our Rosamond."

"It may be only a pretence, to get into the palace," said the king.

"Take her to the head scullion, soldier," said the queen, "and tell her
to make her useful. If she should find out she has been pretending to
be lost, she must let me know."

The soldier was so anxious to get rid of her, that he caught her up in
his arms, hurried her from the room, found his way to the scullery, and
gave her, trembling with fear, in charge to the head maid, with the
queen's message.

As it was evident that the queen had no favor for her, the servants did
as they pleased with her, and often treated her harshly. Not one
amongst them liked her, nor was it any wonder, seeing that, with every
step she took from the wise woman's house, she had grown more
contemptible, for she had grown more conceited. Every civil answer
given her, she attributed to the impression she made, not to the desire
to get rid of her; and every kindness, to approbation of her looks and
speech, instead of friendliness to a lonely child. Hence by this time
she was twice as odious as before; for whoever has had such severe
treatment as the wise woman gave her, and is not the better for it,
always grows worse than before. They drove her about, boxed her ears on
the smallest provocation, laid every thing to her charge, called her
all manner of contemptuous names, jeered and scoffed at her
awkwardnesses, and made her life so miserable that she was in a fair
way to forget every thing she had learned, and know nothing but how to
clean saucepans and kettles.

They would not have been so hard upon her, however, but for her
irritating behavior. She dared not refuse to do as she was told, but
she obeyed now with a pursed-up mouth, and now with a contemptuous
smile. The only thing that sustained her was her constant contriving
how to get out of the painful position in which she found herself.
There is but one true way, however, of getting out of any position we
may be in, and that is, to do the work of it so well that we grow fit
for a better: I need not say this was not the plan upon which Agnes was
cunning enough to fix.

She had soon learned from the talk around her the reason of the
proclamation which had brought her hither.

"Was the lost princess so very beautiful?" she said one day to the
youngest of her fellow-servants.

"Beautiful!" screamed the maid; "she was just the ugliest little toad
you ever set eyes up