CANONETW1V021 CAQ0001 TLCS-90 hVS160 Book1a TXT93 Tessypp22-38 QĮgˆXgŠ LST ŃŅÓŌ**ÕÖ LBL ×ŲŁŚŪ€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJK‚š šN¶†īV ƒstand unattended. Tessy asked several other people about the lady, trying to find her before she returned to the palace, but no one knew of whom she spoke.€Even though Tessy had the princess's birthday present, she didn't feel very excited any more. Every word the lady in the shawl had spoken kept going through her brain over and over again. She kept thinking about the lady saying that she would know on the princess's birthday that she was telling the truth, and that she was very brave and would know the right thing to do.€Tessy had difficulty eating her dinner that evening, which was very unusual for her. She also had so much on her mind, that she barely said a word, which was also very unusual for her. Normally,she would be talking about everything that had happened that day, especially the new people she had met. The nurse questioned her after looking at her plate, "Are you too excited or perhaps tired to eat, Tessy? " Tessy just shrugged her shoulders. Well, this was indeed new and so the nurse asked her, "Then what is wrong, Tessy, for you never have been at a loss for words. I have never seen you so quiet."€"Oh, please help me,"Tessy had to talk to her. "I am very concerned about the little princess."€"Is that it, child?" asked the nurse looking rather surprised. "Well, everything is ready for the party, and I don't think she could possibly be any happier."€"No, that is not it," Tessy shook her head and gazed directly into the nurse's eyes. "I can not tell you how I know what I know, but I found out something today from someone in the village, that is troubling me. I do not know what to do and am wondering if I should tell the king?"€"What are you talking about, Tessy?" the nurse asked almost as if she was scolding her.€"A man, disguised as a rich merchant from another country came to the palace several days ago with a package for the princess," Tessy began before the nurse interupted her.€"Yes, I know all about that, so, what?" the nurse asked.€"Well, it has been told that the merchant is very evil, and the package contains a poisonous toy bear, which supposedly will grant the princess three wishes when she kisses it, one wish for each kiss. I guess the three wishes and kisses are to make sure that her lips touch enough of the poison to kill her...I don't know how to stop her! Do you think I should tell the king?" asked Tessy, sounding quite upset.€The nurse just stood there staring at Tessy with her eyes and her mouth opened wide. Suddenly, her look turned hard and stern as she spoke in a way Tessy had never heard before,"Why, why, I can not believe this is you talking! Tessy. Why, you have never been jealous of the princess before. You must be trying to ruin her birthday party with a tale such as this!"€Tessy tried to explain and defend herself, but the nurse interupted her again, "Never mind, why. Why isn't even important. I guess even you can be naughty. Well, I know the princess will be sad to hear you will not be at her party, so we will not tell her, but you will not be allowed to go and spoil it for her and the king. After it is all over, BCIBC, personally, will tell the king of your insane notion, trying to cause the festivities to go sour."€Tessy decided that it would not be wise at all to say anything more to the nurse. So she just told her good night and that she was sorry and understood that she must not go to the party.€Tessy went to bed that night feeling hurt by how the nurse had reacted to what she had confided to her. But as she thought about it some more, she understood how the nurse must have thought, with such strange sounding news. She was sure that the nurse must be very disappointed in her to have gotten so angry at her. Never had she felt so alone, and even though the woman in the shawl had told her that she would know what to do, she was completely baffled. Should she tell the princess, or would BCsheBC react just like the nurse? Surely not, but Tessy didn't believe Carma would believe her either. Maybe, she should tell the king anyway, but if the lady in the shawl wasn't telling the truth and she disobeyed the nurse, the king would punish her much more severely than not getting to go to the party. He might even banish her from the palace. Surely, there was someone she could trust who would help her. She tossed and turned all night long, until finally the idea came to her of what to do. Yes, she would have to be brave, indeed, for this would be the first time she had ever disobeyed the nurse.„Chapter 3€The next morning, very early, even before sunrise, Tessy got dressed as fast as she possibly could. She opened her door quietly and looked down the corridor to see if anyone else was awake. She tiptoed down the long hallway, as quickly and quietly as a little mouse. She walked through the palace to the giant front doorway, where the guards were always awake. When one of the guards saw her, he frowned and asked her what she thought she was doing. Tessy forgot about his being a guard, forgot about his having a gun, and grabbed him by the hand, hoping for dear life that he might believe her. She told him about the story the lady in the shawl had told her the previous day. Then she explained how the nurse reacted when she told her about the conversation. "You must help me get to the town. You must help me, because no one else can. I must go find the person who told me this story and ask her what to do!" Tessy almost begged.€The guard looked somewhat astonished, but being the very same guard who had found Tessy as an infant, many years before, he always felt kindly towards Tessy. "Do you not fear the consequences of leaving here under such circumstances? We both could be severely punished, perhaps my own life might be at stake," he responded.€"Yes, truly, I understand, but what choice do we really have if the person who told me this was telling the truth. Isn't the danger to the princess worth the risk? We must hurry, before others awake," Tessy spoke with determination.€The guard said nothing but took Tessy and put her on his horse, and off they went towards the village. When they arrived, Tessy barely waited for the horse to stop, before she slid down its backside. "Wait here for me," she told the guard.€She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to where she remembered seeing the lady's flower stand. Now even the flower stand was gone, and Tessy looked around for any signs of life at all,for still it was very early morning. She returned to the guard, saying," The person I spoke of is gone. Now I am trying to think who in the village might be able to tell me where to find her. Perhaps, you know of someone who has knowledge of the different townspeople."€The guard thought for a minute, then said, "Yes, I do know of one old gentleman, who would know anyone who lives around here. Climb up, I will take you to him."€Tessy wasted no time, and the black stallion's enormous speed got them to the small cottage, where the old gentleman who would probably know where to find the mysterious lady. Again, Tessy quickly slid down from the horse, running up to the door, knocking loudly, forgetting that the old gentleman might be asleep. What seemed an eternity went by before the door to the cottage opened and an elderly gentleman with a walking stick peered out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I don't believe I was expecting any company so early," he greeted Tessy.€"Oh, please forgive me for calling on you so early, sir, but I am Tessica Maria..."€"I know who you are," he interupted her.€"Well, oh, good, then you must know most of the people who live in the village. I've got to ask your help in finding a woman I met yesterday, selling flowers in the middle of town. No one else seems to know of whom I am speaking," Tessy continued.€"I know of no such person," the old gentleman grumbled, seeming still a bit asleep.€"Oh, please, sir, you must know. Please try to think," Tessy pleaded, ignoring the man's apparent irritation.€"Well, rather persistent, aren't you, young maiden from the palace?" the old gentleman said not expecting an answer, "I guess I must try to help you think of the person of whom you speak to get rid of you and finish out my night's sleep." He hesitated for several minutes appearing to be thinking. "Well, the only one that I can think of that it might be, would be the woman who lives alone down aways from town, behind the peach orchard, close to the river. But no one knows anything of this woman, because her words are very few, and she has no friends. I would be very careful going to her house. I'm sure she will mind visitors, this early in the morning, even more so than myself. Now, be off with you," he said as he slammed the door behind him. €Tessy didn't have time to worry about the old gentleman's rudeness. In fact, dawn was approaching, so she had not a second to spare. She told the guard what the man said and again, the black stallion's lightning speed took them to the peach orchard the old gentleman had described. "I think it would be wise for me to stay here. The branches are too low for my horse to walk through," the guard said.€"Yes, that is true. Well, I will be back as soon as I can," Tessy answered, dreading the long, dark walk into the thick batch of trees. She couldn't run, because she could barely see where she was walking so she plodded carefully through the best path she could find. Suddenly, a tiny ray of sunlight seeped through the trees, illuminating a path down the middle of the orchard. Tessy was thankful this time for the break of dawn. Hopefully, if this was the lady in a shawl who lived back there, she would not be angry with her for trying to find her.  Finally, Tessy viewed what looked possibly like a small cottage. There was the flower cart! Rose bushes encircled the cottage, giving it a look of celebration, despite the fact that it was very old and run-down. Tessy knew this had to be the place where the lady in the shawl lived. She ran to the front door and knocked quietly at first, and then louder and louder, until the door opened. There stood the lady, still wrapped in a shawl - the lady who had caused her so many problems.€"How did you find me?" asked the lady, still hiding her face and not bothering to greet her properly.€Tessy explained how she had asked the old gentleman who knew everyone in and around the town, and that he had finally suggested to her that maybe it was her of whom she spoke. Then she told the woman about her conversation with the nurse and about the whole dilemma she had caused. "That is why I have risked everything to try and find you, to ask you now, what can I possibly do, if indeed, all that you told me was true?"‚š šN¶†īV ƒ "You must think that it is true, or you would not have gone to all this trouble...I will help you, but you must promise to never, ever come back to this place!"€"I've kept my promises so far, and never did I speak of the one who told me the secret of the evil merchant's package, so as I trust you, you must also trust me," Tessy responded.€"Alright, then," she agreed to help. "I will go inside and write a letter that you must give to the king, yourself, before the birthday party begins. Then you must find the package quickly and give it to the king. If the merchant is there dressed as a clown, you must point him out to the guards. Now, that is a considerable amount to do, but you must do your very best, if you want to help the princess."  The woman's eyes looked at her so intensely that Tessy had to look away. At that moment, the woman disappeared again, but hopefully, to go inside to write the letter. More than anything in the world, Tessy wanted to crack the door open only an inch, to take one tiny peek inside the spooky-looking place. Not really thinking about that being an impolite thing to do, she cracked the door open sticking only her nose and one eye inside to see. € There far in the corner, sat the woman at a desk, lit only by a faint candle, writing with a feather pen and dipping it in a bottle of ink, over and over. Evidently the woman was concentrating too deeply on her writing to notice Tessy behind her staring inside. Her shawl had dropped down to her shoulder, and Tessy could see her long, dark curls flowing about her head. The woman fascinated Tessy and for some reason, she was drawn to her. Then Tessy gazed around the dark room and saw what appeared to be hundreds of books. "What was a poor peasant woman doing with so many books?" she thought, for books long ago were rare and very expensive, not to mention hard to obtain. Books were not printed like today, they had to all be hand written, which took a great deal of labor. Well, she certainly wasn't going to ask the lady about the books, at least not today. She edged the door back shut, just in the nick of time. For, seconds later, the woman peered out once more, not speaking, just handing her the letter, sealed tightly with wax. "Good luck, dear child, and remember your promise," the lady said.€Tessy thanked her and ran away, for there was plenty of light now to see her way back through the orchard, to the guard who was still waiting. €"What happened?" he asked.€"I have a letter, which hopefully will convince the king, or at least prove to him, that someone did actually warn me about the package," she answered as the guard helped her onto the horse. The guard knew a quicker way back to the palace, and they arrived back to the gate much sooner than the trip down the hill to the village. The guard dismounted and spoke to another guard. Tessy wasn't sure what he had told him, but the other guard had the gate opened for them, so it did not matter.€ Once inside, they both felt much safer from being found out, and departed from one another without a word. Tessy went straight to her room, to see if anyone had noticed that she had been away. A tray of slightly warm breakfast lay in front of her door. "Good," she thought, "they must have thought I was still asleep, or just too upset to come to the door." So she took the tray and went inside. After such an adventurous journey, she was extremely hungry. She devoured the food, only stopping to drink her juice. Then she crawled back into bed and went to sleep.€Several hours later, Tessy was awakened by loud knocking at the door. She knew how the old gentleman must have felt, earlier that morning. She called out, "I'm coming!" as she stumbled sleepily to the door.€It was the princess, and she didn't look happy. "The nurse just told me you were not well. She said that you might even not be well enough to come to my birthday party tomorrow!"€Tessy knew better than to upset the princess anymore by telling her that the nurse was lying and telling her the real reason, she would not be at the party. So she just answered, clearing her throat from being a bit hoarse, after being out in the early,morning air, "I'm so sorry, Carma." The princess, though she loved Tessy dearly, was quite used to having her own way. "Well, sick or not sick, you will be at my party or I just won't be there either."€"Now listen, Carma, you must not tell the nurse, but you can trust me, I will be there. Now, I know you must have alot to do, so let me just rest today, and probably tomorrow, I'll be just fine," Tessy assured her, hoping that she would just leave, before she ended up telling her the whole story.€"If you say you will be fine tomorrow, then I will let you rest today. Oh," she said pausing a few seconds and looking somewhat sheepish, " I am sorry that you aren't well."€Tessy wanted so much to tell her that she had nothing to be sorry for, but she knew she dared not say a word. Only one more day to wait, anyway, and then she would know the truth. So she just answered, "Well, thank you, I'm going back to bed," as she closed the door and climbed inside her covers, hoping to be able to sleep.€Fortunately, Tessy was extremely tired and was able to sleep most of the day, waking up only to eat her meals, and read one of her favorite books. When evening came, she read until her eyes could not stay open any longer. She shut her eyes and went fast asleep, clutching the doll that now had a face. €€ When the next morning finally came, the nurse came down to see her. She greeted Tessy with unexpected cheerfulness, "Tessy, I have changed my mind. I am going to let you attend the celebration today and participate in the festivity, but you must not spoil it by that silly story of yours. It would be a shame for the princess and for you, if you were to miss the party, now, wouldn't it?"€Tessy didn't want to make any promise she couldn't keep, so she tried to answer in a different way, "I never wanted to spoil the party for the princess; certainly, that is the last thing I would ever want to do."€"Well, then, let's hurry up and eat your breakfast, so you can get dressed. As soon as you finish, I think you should go wish the princess a happy birthday." The nurse was good at giving instructions. €Tessy answered that she would not delay and would be ready soon to go see the princess. The party would begin at high noon, and visitors would be arriving shortly. As she was lacing up her shoes, she thought to her herself, "This will either be the best day of my life or the worst day." Then she vaguely remembered what the lady in the shawl had said, that she would BCknow BCon Tessy's birthday that she was telling the truth. She had almost forgotten about the rose bushes, that the lady had given to her, so she rushed to pull back the long drapes, where she had hid them, two days before. There was her answer; three perfect roses had bloomed on each of the three bushes. "This must be what the lady in the shawl was talking about," she thought as she carefully scooted them out from behind the heavy drapes. She decided to take them to the princess bright and early, before she opened any of her other gifts. She sighed deeply, praying for courage, hoping also that the princess liked her gift.€When she was completely dressed, she took the letter from under her pillow and slipped it behind her velvet vest, securing the bottom inside the satiny ribbon that laced around her waist. She called for some servants to help her carry the bushes to the princess's room. She wanted to hurry but had difficulty walking down the corridor in such a fluffy dress, with extra layers of petticoats and pantilooms, that felt scratchy and terribly awkward. When she got to Carma's room, she wanted to take the whole outfit off, However, when the princess greeted her at the door, she was able to get her mind off herself. "You look simply gorgeous!" Tessy exclaimed, meaning it, but also knowing that was what the princess wanted to hear.€"Well, thank you," the princess curtseyed politely, "and you look very nice yourself! I just must have the name of your dress maker," she giggled, for of course, she had been the one to help design Tessy's dress. €"Happy Birthday! I brought your present from me," Tessy said and slid the rose bushes inside the room. "Here!"€"They are just wonderful and an original idea," the princess said smiling from ear to ear. "I was just afraid you were going to give me a book!" The girls laughed. Then the princess bent over to smell the tallest of the roses and accidentally pricked her finger on one of the thorns. "Ouch! I forgot roses have such dreadful thorns," she exclaimed as she held her finger in pain. The thorn reminded Tessy about the letter and the job that she had to do. €"I think you had better let the nurse check your finger," Tessy said, trying to think of a way to excuse herself. "I will go and get her."€The princess didn't have time to answer before Tessy darted out the door. She told a servant to get the nurse, but she, herself, had to find the king. Visitors were beginning to arrive.€The only thing that slowed Tessy down was her tremendous skirt running into practically everything in sight. The prayer of her heart was that the king would be in his royal chambers, but servants told her they had seen him in the central foyer. By the time she got to him, he was surrounded by several members of his staff and advisors, so making her way to him was going to be difficult. € "Excuse me, excuse me," she said as she waved for people to move out of her way. One of the king's especially overbearing ministers asked her why she was in such a hurry. Tessy didn't trust this particular man at all, so she did her best to act as though she did not even hear his question. So, he asked her again, this time much louder. So much louder, in fact, that he got the king's attention, who looked up and saw Tessy was trying to come towards him. With his enormous size, it was easy for him, to clear enough room for Tessy to approach him. €"Where is my princess?" the king asked, expecting the girls to be side-by-side as they usually were.€"Your majesty, I must speak to you in private immediately. It concerns the princess, and I am sure it is something you must find out about right now!" Tessy said strongly. "Can we possibly find a place to talk?"€Anything that concerned the princess, concerned the king, but he hesistated saying, "Well, I just spoke with the nurse only a few moments earlier, and she informed me the princess couldn't be any healthier or happier than she is today."€"Well, all that just might change, if you don't read this letter right now," Tessy warned, as she practically forced the letter into his hand.€"My goodness, child, but you are a persistent one, aren't you? Now, that can be good trait, if one, has a good cause. Let us go over to the window, so I can have more light," the king said as he humored her and walked over to the window, with her trailing right behind. At least he seemed to be in a good mood thought Tessy, hoping that he wouldn't become enraged after reading the letter. Then he took such a long time reading the letter, that she almost asked him if she could read it to him. When he finally finished, he looked at her sternly, "I do not believe in people who tell the future, sorcerers or witches. Though, I am quite concerned about the contents of this letter, I can hardly believe anyone would know about this, unless he or she was in on it, themselves. Perhaps this person who wrote this, originated the idea and then changed their mind. Where is this package described in the letter?" the king asked Tessy.€"Right over there," Tessy said pointing to a wall stacked with hundreds of packages and boxes. €"Go find it," ordered the king, looking disgusted. "When you find it, bring it to me at once."€Tessy made way to the presents and began searching where she thought the first presents to arrive had been placed. When she moved a stack of boxes, another stack fell. Turning around to see if the commotion had disturbed anyone, she saw him. € Thank goodness, she thought feeling both relieved and terrified, as she stood watching the clown. "Is another clown coming to the party today?" she quietly asked one of the servants. €"Not that I know of," the servant answered.€Then Tessy remembered the talkative servant, who had received the package a week earlier from the merchant. Hopefully, she could help her find it more quickly. She asked the servant to fetch her, because the king wanted her to help find a particular present. The talkative servant was in the kitchen and not appropriately dressed to be attending the main celebration. However, because she thought the king wanted her, she came promptly, even with flour and chocolate smeared on her white clothes. Tessy grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down below a table to whisper about the present. €"Oh, that present, yes, I know exactly where it is," the talkative servant answered proudly, hoping that Tessy would tell her more, so she could get a little more gossip to spread. €"Well, where is it?" Tessy asked, feeling somewhat annoyed with the woman.€"Why, the clown, over there, came to me this morning, when he arrived, and said that he personally wanted to give the princess the gift himself. He has it," she answered.€At the moment, the clown was juggling, entertaining a group of children. No package was around him. Then she thought about the princess, and that she was probably waiting for her to come back, before she came down to greet the guests. On her walk to the room, she had an idea. She just hoped that her best friend would cooperate.€Sure enough, the princess was waiting for her and greeted her by saying,"What took you so long, Tessy? I just about started to cry, thinking maybe you'd forgotten to come back!"€Tessy was glad that she wasn't crying and tried to change the subject quickly, "Guess what! There is a clown downstairs, who can juggle ten balls all at the same time. One of the servants told me he had a present for you, that he wanted to give you, especially himself. I can't wait for you to see him and find out what present he has that is so special, he wants to give it to you himself!" Tessy hoped she sounded excited enough for the princess to just go along with her story, but the princess just yawned.€"Clowns are just babyish, Tessy, really, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm surprised that you're fascinated with something as boring as a clown. What about the delicious pastry? What about the interesting guests? What are they wearing?" 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