r down and all
over her back. That is not much like an old lady--is it? Ah! but it
was white almost as snow. And although her face was so smooth, her
eyes looked so wise that you could not have helped seeing she must be
old. The princess, though she could not have told you why, did think
her very old indeed--quite fifty, she said to herself. But she was
rather older than that, as you shall hear.

While the princess stared bewildered, with her head just inside the
door, the old lady lifted hers, and said, in a sweet, but old and
rather shaky voice, which mingled very pleasantly with the continued
hum of her wheel:

'Come in, my dear; come in. I am glad to see you.'

That the princess was a real princess you might see now quite plainly;
for she didn't hang on to the handle of the door, and stare without
moving, as I have known some do who ought to have been princesses but
were only rather vulgar little girls. She did as she was told, stepped
inside the door at once, and shut it gently behind her.

'Come to me, my dear,' said the old lady.

And again the princess did as she was told. She approached the old
lady--rather slowly, I confess--but did not stop until she stood by her
side, and looked up in her face with her blue eyes and the two melted
stars in them.

'Why, what have you been doing with your eyes, child?' asked the old
lady.

'Crying,' answered the princess.

'Why, child?'

'Because I couldn't find my way down again.'

'But you could find your way up.'

'Not at first--not for a long time.'

'But your face is streaked like the back of a zebra. Hadn't you a
handkerchief to wipe your eyes with?'

'No.'

'Then why didn't you come to me to wipe them for you?'

'Please, I didn't know you were here. I will next time.'

'There's a good child!' said the old lady.

Then she stopped her wheel, and rose, and, going out of the room,
returned with a little silver basin and a soft white towel, with which
she washed and wiped the bright little face. And the princess thought
her hands were so smooth and nice!

When she carried away the basin and towel, the little princess wondered
to see how straight and tall she was, for, although she was so old, she
didn't stoop a bit. She was dressed in black velvet with thick white
heavy-looking lace about it; and on the black dress her hair shone like
silver. There was hardly any more furniture in the room than there
might have been in that of the poores