this way and that, brought her to the top of the first stair, and
thence to the bottom of the second, and did not leave her till she
saw her half-way down the third. When she heard the cry of her
nurse's pleasure at finding her, she turned and walked up the
stairs again, very fast indeed for such a very great grandmother,
and sat down to her spinning with another strange smile on her
sweet old face.

About this spinning of hers I will tell you more another time.

Guess what she was spinning.



CHAPTER 4
What the Nurse Thought of It

'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking
her in her arms. 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
I began to be afraid -' Here she checked herself.

'What were you afraid of, nursie?' asked the princess.

'Never mind,' she answered. 'Perhaps I will tell you another day.
Now tell me where you have been.'

'I've been up a long way to see my very great, huge, old
grandmother,' said the princess.

'What do you mean by that?' asked the nurse, who thought she was