hearth, dusting the table and chairs, and watering the bed to keep it
fresh and alive--for she never had more than one guest at a time, and
never would allow that guest to go to sleep upon any thing that had no
life in it All the time she was thus busied, she spoke not a word to
the princess, which, with the princess, went to confirm her notion of
her purposes. But whatever she might have said would have been only
perverted by the princess into yet stronger proof of her evil designs,
for a fancy in her own head would outweigh any multitude of facts in
another's. She kept staring at the fire, and never looked round to see
what the wise woman might be doing.

By and by she came close up to the back of her chair, and said,

"Rosamond!"

But the princess had fallen into one of her sulky moods, and shut
herself up with her own ugly Somebody; so she never looked round or
even answered the wise woman.

"Rosamond," she repeated, "I am going out. If you are a good girl, that
is, if you do as I tell you, I will carry you back to your father and
mother the moment I return."

The princess did not take the least notice.

"Look at me, Rosamond," said the wise woman.

But Rosamond never moved--never even shrugged her shoulders--perhaps
because they were already up to her ears, and could go no farther.

"I want to help you to do what I tell you," said the wise woman. "Look
at me."

Still Rosamond was motionless and silent, saying only to herself,

"I know what she's after! She wants to show me her horrid teeth. But I
won't look. I'm not going to be frightened out of my senses to please
her."

"You had better look, Rosamond. Have you forgotten how you kissed me
this morning?"

But Rosamond now regarded that little throb of affection as a momentary
weakness into which the deceitful ogress had betrayed her, and almost
despised herself for it. She was one of those who the more they are
coaxed are the more disagreeable. For such, the wise woman had an awful
punishment, but she remembered that the princess had been very ill
brought up, and therefore wished to try her with all gentleness first.

She stood silent for a moment, to see what effect her words might have.
But Rosamond only said to herself,--

"She wants to fatten and eat me."

And it was such a little while since she had looked into the wise
woman's loving eyes, thrown her arms round her neck, and kissed her!

"Well," said the wise woman gently, after pausing a