And so they went away, hand in hand, the Princess between her father and the Prince, and they went over the blue hills to the most beautiful country you can imagine. And then, before long, the Princess built stables and kennels for the old horses and poor dogs, and almshouses for the old men and old women, and houses for the homeless babies; and she was never so happy as when doing good to others, and everybody loved her, for, truly, she was the ministering angel of the land.
THE THREE SNOWFLAKES
Once upon a time there were three snowflakes, and they were called Faith, Hope, and Charity. When I say three snowflakes, I don’t quite mean that, but three little girls dressed in white, and looking like snow Princesses as they trudged along across the white covered country.
They were the Earl’s daughters, and, as I have just said, their names were Faith, Hope, and Charity. I wonder what the Earl would have called a fourth daughter, supposing he had had one.
The three snowflakes lived at the Castle, which was on a hillside, surrounded by a beautiful park, and overlooking the valley.
In the summer it was a lovely valley, with a river running through it, and beautiful green woods coming down to the edges of the water.
Now the winter had come it was all white, except the river, which looked grey in the distance. In one corner of the valley lay the village, and in the last cottage of the village there lived a little girl called Ruth.
Ruth was very poor, indeed, she was so poor that she possessed nothing. The tiny cottage she stood in had been rented by her grandmother, and now her grandmother was dead; the only relation she had left in the world had been taken from her.
