George MacDonald

The Light Princess George MacDonald

Meantime, notwithstanding awkward occurrences, and griefs that she brought upon her parents, thelittle princess laughed and grew-not fat, but plump and tall. She reached the age of seventeen, without having fallen into any worse scrape than a chimney; by rescuing her from which, a littlebird-nesting urchin got fame and a black face. Nor, thoughtless as she was, had she committedanything worse than laughter at everybody and everything that came in her way. When she was told, for the sake of experiment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with all his troops, shelaughed; when she heard that the enemy was on his way to besiege her papa's capital, she laughedhugely; but when she was told that the city would certainly be abandoned to the mercy of theenemy's soldiery-why, then she laughed immoderately. She never could be brought to see theserious side of anything. When her mother cried, she said, -"What queer faces mamma makes! And she squeezes water out of her cheeks? Funny mamma!"And when her papa stormed at her, she laughed, and danced round and round him, clapping herhands, and crying-"Do it again, papa. Do it again! It's SUCH fun! Dear, funny papa!"And if he tried to catch her, she glided from him in an instant, not in the least afraid of him, butthinking it part of the game not to be caught. With one push of her foot, she would be floating inthe air above his head; or she would go dancing backwards and forwards and sideways, like a greatbutterfly. It happened several times, when her father and mother were holding a consultation abouther in private, that they were interrupted by vainly repressed outbursts of laughter over their heads;and looking up with indignation, saw her floating at full length in the air above them, whence sheregarded them with the most comical appreciation of the positi