"Highness, I am always singing."
"La-la—la!" sang the princess capriciously.
"La-la—la!" sang Gretchen smiling. Her voice was not purer or sweeter; it was merely stronger, having been accustomed to the open air.
"Brava!" cried the princess, dropping book and whip and folding the note inside the book. "Who taught you to sing?"
"Nobody, highness."
"What do you do?"
"I am a goose-girl; in the fall and winter I work at odd times in the Black Eagle."
"The Black Eagle? A tavern?"
"Yes, Highness."
"Tell me all about yourself."