,
with the sky all out in full-blown stars--not one missing. But the
princess could not see much of them, for she went to bed early. The
winter drew on, and she found things growing dreary. When it was too
stormy to go out, and she had got tired of her toys, Lootie would take
her about the house, sometimes to the housekeeper's room, where the
housekeeper, who was a good, kind old woman, made much of
her--sometimes to the servants' hall or the kitchen, where she was not
princess merely, but absolute queen, and ran a great risk of being
spoiled. Sometimes she would run off herself to the room where the
men-at-arms whom the king had left sat, and they showed her their arms
and accoutrements and did what they could to amuse her. Still at times
she found it very dreary, and often and often wished that her huge
great grandmother had not been a dream.

One morning the nurse left her with the housekeeper for a while. To
amuse her she turned out the contents of an old cabinet upon the table.
The little princess found her treasures, queer ancient ornaments, and
many things the use of which she could not imagine, far more
interesting than her own toys, and sat playing with them for two hours
or more. But, at length, in handling a curious old-fashioned brooch,
she ran the pin of it into her thumb, and gave a little scream with the
sharpness of the pain, but would have thought little more of it had not
the pain increased and her thumb begun to swell. This alarmed the
housekeeper greatly. The nurse was fetched; the doctor was sent for;
her hand was poulticed, and long before her usual time she was put to
bed. The pain still continued, and although she fell asleep and
dreamed a good many dreams, there was the pain always in every dream.
At last it woke her UP.

The moon was shining brightly into the room. The poultice had fallen
off her hand and it was burning hot. She fancied if she could hold it
into the moonlight that would cool it. So she got out of bed, without
waking the nurse who lay at the other end of the room, and went to the
window. When she looked out she saw one of the men-at-arms walking in
the garden with the moonlight glancing on his armour. She was just
going to tap on the window and call him, for she wanted to tell him all
about it, when she bethought herself that that might wake Lootie, and
she would put her into her bed again. So she resolved to go to the
window of another room, and call him from th