CANONETW1V021 CAQ0001 TLCS-90 šnVS160 Book1b TXT1993 39-58 Q°nˆGnŠ LST ŃŅÓŌ**ÕÖ LBL ×Ų'ŁŚŪ€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJKserious look on Tessy's face, to be disappointment. "Oh come on, let's go see the clown," she finally agreed, but then said softly, "and get that over with." € Tessy heard the last comment but pretended she didn't, trying to act excited. She pulled the princess by the hand out of the room, and down the first corridor, to the second corridor and finally reached the top of the magnificent, circular, staircase.‚š šN¶†īV ƒ€The two girls came down the stairs, hand in hand, while the crowd stopped to watch. The princess and her best friend, Tessy, were indeed a sight to behold, both dressed in similar dresses, but the princess wore violet and Tessy's dress was yellow. Tessy felt embarrassed, but the princess was truly having BCherBC day. She loved the attention. When they reached the bottom, children were running up to the princess, shouting happy birthday and one, precious little boy, whom Tessy had never seen said, "Come see the clown with us! He is an acrobat and a juggler!" The little boy's charm was the miracle Tessy needed to move the princess in the direction of the clown. When the clown saw the princess, he started really showing off, being silly, trying to make the children laugh. It worked. Then he turned several flips and landed on his knees before the princess. The clown appeared to be communicating through mime, and pantomimed that he was giving her something. Then he reached around his back and pulled out the package, handing it to the princess.€"King! Guards! This is the package, this is the man!" Tessy blurted out, screaming louder and louder. €The king took one look at the man, then ordered the guards to take him and the package away. The king left with them, as the crowd stood horrified and confused. Tessy fanned the princess, because she had become faint, and children began crying, "Where did the clown go?" looking to Tessy for an answer.€ Tessy was shocked at what she had done and wondered if it had been the truth after all. If it was not true, she was sure she would be in too much trouble, to attend the rest of the party, or maybe anything ever again, at the palace. In the meantime, the king had opened the clown's package, discovering that it was a toy bear. He ordered the clown to be scrubbed for identification, and the talkative servant was again helpful, in agreeing that he was the same man who came the week before, dressed as a merchant. The king had special dogs that he used to detect poisonous substances. When the dogs began barking, the dining hall and front foyer heard them. Although the guests still seemed alarmed by all the noise and turmoil, Tessy's heart was relieved, for she knew what the loud barking of the dogs meant. Soon, the king entered and declared that he had an announcement to make. The crowd of guests gathered before him to listen.€"I want to congratulate a young lady, for her splendid work today. Without boring you with details, I feel you are entitled to somewhat of an explanation," the king paused and cleared his throat. "This young lady, of whom I speak, took a great risk to bring to our attention a dangerous intruder. Please have no fear, he will not be dangerous any longer, thanks to our young friend, Tessica Maria!"  For lack of anything better to do, the people clapped and the king motioned for Tessy to curtsy, which she did. Then he thanked her again, removing a medallion from his chest to place upon her.€€Then the king said, "I have one more announcement to make, or rather it is a command...Everyone have a good time and to my precious, very beautiful princess, Happy Birthday!" The princess walked up to the king and hugged him, as the crowd cheered. The music began to play, and people began dancing. Soon all was forgotten about the clown and the commotion Tessy made. Tessy had alot to celebrate, and celebrate she did! €After all of the gaiety, laughter, opening packages, eating and dancing, the girls were almost too tired to walk to their rooms. Several servants were helping them, as they chatted about all that had happened. When Tessy walked into her room, the silhouette of a woman stood by the window. "Nurse,"Tessy called, "Is that you?" The only light was coming from the moon outside, and she could not tell who was slowly walking towards her, except that it looked like the figure of a woman.‚š šN¶†īV ƒ€When she got very close,Tessy gasped, "Oh, thank goodness, it is you, nurse. You almost scared me!"€"For that and many other things, I am sorry. I"m afraid that I treated you unkindly about the story you had told me. When the king heard about my trying to stop you from telling him, he became very angry with me. He told me that no child needed a nurse, who had better judgement than she did. So, Tessy, what I am trying to tell you, is that he dismissed me."€"No, he can't, I forgive you a thousand times," Tessy replied.€"No one regrets this more than I, but before I left, I wanted to tell you myself. The king will employ a new nurse soon, I am sure, but he also plans on obtaining a fine tutor for your education. I hope you will find someone more intelligent than myself, "the nurse said with quite some remorse. She said no more, but somehow, Tessy knew she would never see the nurse again. €"May life bless you!" Tessy called out as the nurse disappeared down the corridor, as she had hundreds of times before. „Chapter 4€Tessy spent the next few days with the princess, helping find a place to put all of her new bears, and going through all the other presents she had received. Her collection of bears had now grown larger than her room, and the king had ordered a special room to be made for the extras. The princess also received a tremendous array of exquisite jewlery, and the girls spent hours modeling the necklaces and bracelets. Tessy thought that it was surely a good thing that her best friend was a princess, because she did, indeed, have the taste for diamonds, rubies, and pearls. As for Tessy, she had fun playing with everything but became somewhat bored before the princess did. €€Since the birthday party, she had become quite a heroine. She was just glad the ordeal was over and wanted mostly to be able to read. Her favorite place was the king's library, and this is where she spent many quiet afternoons, while the princess napped. €One afternoon, she began thinking about something she had never really given much thought. She began wondering whatever had happened to her real mother and really couldn't get it off her mind. For if she were dead, like the princess's mother, she felt that she could eventually accept that, but just not knowing, tormented her. If her mother were still alive, she felt surely, that she would want to see her and know she was doing so well. But then, again, if she had died, what difference did it really make? Tessy was grateful for her new tutor, who would usually interrupt these periods of what Tessy called, "silly notions". €Her new tutor was from abroad and spoke several languages fluently. She explained that Tessy must learn other languages also, because that would open up a whole new world in books. She spent alot of time discussing her lessons, but was also very demanding of her, at least Tessy thought. She dreaded mostly the discipline of having to read and learn exactly what her tutor wanted her to learn, thereby not leaving her with enough time, for daydreaming and thinking about her books she loved. Her tutor had a stern manner that Tessy did not challenge frequently. Actually, Tessy was working much harder than any other student the tutor had ever taught. The tutor was quite impressed with Tessy's sharp mind and excellent memory. One day when Tessy was doing especially well with her lessons, and the two seemed to be getting along splendidly, Tessy asked her out of the clear blue, "How would I possibly find out who my mother might have been?"€The tutor answered in a way, that surprised Tessy, "Spend your time, Tessy, thinking about ways to help yourself, not thinking about things that hurt you. I suggest that we begin reading poetry now."€The tutor surely did not understand at all or even want to understand Tessy's feelings. Tessy felt that she would never be able to talk with her again about such matters. Evidently, her tutor wanted to be strictly business-like with her.€One day, she grew especially weary of her lessons and decided she would ask the king for permission to ride into town. She knew her way quite well and preferred not to be chaperoned; however, the king also sent one of his dependable guards to ride with her. Tessy knew enough about horses, that she was able to saddle up, still, servants from the stables did this for her also.€ Tessy had become independent and felt so much of the pampering she had received when she was younger, was unnecessary now that she was growing up and indeed capable of doing for herself. During the ride to the village, Tessy kept thinking about the lady in the shawl. She wanted so, to thank her for giving her the information that saved the princess on her birthday. Could someone like her possibly have any knowledge about her mother? Could all those books she had maybe have given her some special gift of enlightenment? Tessy hoped that somehow the lady might possibly help her. Would she still be selling flowers in the village?€ Even though it had been years since Tessy had seen the lady in the shawl, Tessy remembered her promise to the woman the day she wrote her the letter: that she would BCneverBC return to her house behind the orchards. Hoping against hope to find her, Tessy rode with such fury, that even the guard had difficulty keeping up with her.€ Slowing down, as they approached the village, Tessy called to the guard, "I do not wish for you to accompany me any further."€The guard kept riding beside her, "I have orders to accompany you at all times my lady," the guard replied. Of course, Tessy knew about the orders, but he would definitely be in the way and perhaps would even scare the lady away. €"No," demanded Tessy, "I will be walking from this point on, you must stay and attend my horse." € Tessy slid down from the horse, handing the guard the reins and just kept on walking, hoping he would get the message. He didn't. He just kept following her. This is an obstinate fellow indeed, she thought. How could she convince him to leave her alone? She decided to try again. "Look,sir, I wish for you to stay in one location, so that I may do some shopping. Just let me know where I can find you, if I should need you."€The guard answered reluctantly, "If you insist, I will wait for you, over by the watering trough for the horses." Tessy looked at him, as if to thank him, but he was looking and walking away. She waited for him to go on ahead, and turned the direction towards where she had remembered seeing the flower stand. She saw the spot, but in its place stood a bread maker and his cart. The aroma of freshly baked bread drew her closer, and she realized that she was quite hungry. "I would like to purchase some of your fine bread," she said to the bread maker.€"Certainly," the bread maker answered proudly. In an exchange for several coins, the bread maker gave her a loaf of his fine bread. She broke off a small corner to sample it and told him that he made the best bread she had ever eaten. The bread maker grinned from ear to ear, as Tessy continued complimenting him.€"You know, this is such fine bread, you ought to make it for the king one day," Tessy continued, not intentionally trying to butter him up. "I must purchase another loaf for the king to sample, before I return to the palace today." € This really pleased the bread maker and without realizing it, he began talking all about his recipe and all the finest of fresh ingredients that went into making the bread. € "Well," Tessy finally said, "If I ever want to learn to make delicious bread, I know whom to ask. Thank you." Then she decided since he was being so friendly, that perhaps he might help her find the lady in the shawl. "Oh," Tessy continued, "I almost forgot to ask you; I would like to purchase some roses, and I had thought I had seen a woman with a flower stand very close to this same spot we are standing. Would you happen to know of whom I speak?"€"I might," he answered, but obviously hesitating for some reason. Tessy thought he might want some more coins for the information, reached in her change purse, and presented the bread maker with two large silver coins. "I've heard some mums saying they have seen a woman who looked like the flower lady fishing in the river, where it forks and runs into the lake. That is probably where you would find her on a day like today."€"Why on a day like today?" Tessy thought, but just answered, "Oh, well, thank you very much, sir." Tessy looked over in the middle of the town square and spotted her guard with the horses. She hated to ask him to take her to the river but knew she might not be able to find it without his help. As she approached him, she motioned for him to come.€The guard's stately manner in escorting the horses towards her, began to irritate Tessy, for she was in a hurry. So she ran towards him. "Pray tell, Tessy, is something wrong?" he asked.€"Yes, no,..." Tessy stammered for words, "I mean, not really anything wrong. Do you know of a place in the river where the river forks into the lake?"€"Yes, I believe, that I know of such a place. Why do you ask?" he replied.€"I just want to go there," Tessy answered, still not wanting to mention anything about the lady in the shawl. Then she continued, "I heard that there is excellent fishing at the fork in the river."€Now this definitely threw the guard off track, so he decided to just not bother asking her any more questions, but just to go along with her apparent need for some adventure. Tessy wanted to fly. When her horse started trotting, the guard warned her to slow down, lest her horse trip on the many rocks along the path. Tessy decided she had aggravated the guard enough probably, for one day, so she slowed down to a nice lope. €€Soon, the guard called out to her, "We will turn here." He pointed to a thicket of bushes and trees with a thin one-person- narrow path. "This is the quickest way," he added. Tessy and the guard got down from their horses to walk them, with the guard taking the lead. €"Surely, this lady in the shawl goes to a lot of trouble to lead such a secluded life," Tessy thought, as they walked down the narrow path, to what she hoped would be the river. Several moments later, she asked the guard, "How much futher, do you think?"€"Not far," the guard answered rather impatiently.€Tessy was certain the guard was just about tired of this little adventure, which took him quite a way out of the village and much farther than he expected. The guard broke the silence, by asking, "What do you plan to use for your fishing, Tessy?"€Tessy giggled and answered, "Oh no, I am not going fishing," but still not giving him enough information to satisfy him.€"Well, what then?" he sounded annoyed, perhaps thinking Tessy was just teasing him a little too much.€"I want to find someone who is supposed to be here fishing on a day like today," she answered quickly. "I"m not really sure she will be here, I am just hoping, and then, I am hoping if she is here that she won't see you and be frightened away."€This time the guard did not answer. They were approaching a clearing, which was landscaped by huge rocks covered with moss and dainty, wild flowers. Directly below the rocks was the river, as the fork flowed into the lake. From the rocks, she could see all the area below quite well, but no one was anywhere in sight.€Tessy's heart sank with disappointment. Nevertheless, with one last bit of hope, she called out, "Is anyone down there? It's me, Tessica Maria. I need to talk to you."€"Maybe there are some birds and animals down there, but that is about all the life I see," smarted off the guard.€"Yes," Tessy sighed, and just about the time they were getting ready to leave, she heard a faint voice calling out.€"Tessy, is that you? Climb on down here, I'm right below you, child," the voice called out, echoing off the rocks on the other side of the river. €"It is I, Tessy, I've come to see you," she answered and grabbed some small trees, to support her as she climbed down the rocks to the ledge below her. Small rocks were sliding beneath her, so keeping her balance with a bulky dress was dangerous and difficult. She reached for another tree to grab when her feet slipped, and she tumbled the rest of the way to the ledge, which was fortunately only a few feet below. The lady in the shawl, helped her stand, and greeted her kindly.€"I'm glad to see you again, Tessy," the lady said. "You have gone to great trouble again, to find me. What might I do for you today?"€Tessy brushed the dirt off of her skirt and straightened herself to answer the lady, "I have come to inquire about my real mother. You see, I have tried to find out information about her, only for most people to cut me off, because they don't understand how very important this is to me. You seem to be the wisest person that I have met. My only hope is that maybe, just maybe, you might have sometime heard something about who my mother might have been."€"I really do not want credit for wisdom, dear child. I am not the wise one. What appears to be wisdom, perhaps, is concern over others welfare. I can not tell you about your mother, but I do know very much about the princess, and I can lead to a man who knows the princess's important destiny. I think it is time that you should meet this man, and perhaps, he can enlighten you about your mother also."€Tessy asked her to repeat most of what she said, so she could be sure she clearly understood. Since seeing this man involved finding information about the princess's life also, thinking about her best friend, she felt certain that she would have to meet this man, of whom the lady in the shawl spoke. Then perhaps, the man would also be able to shed some light on the questions she had about her own life. So Tessy asked, "Where then, would I find this wise man of whom you speak."€"Precious child, I never said he was wise, for having knowledge and having wisdom are two separate things. I do hope you will understand that one day. The man of whom I speak can be found a hundred miles away, perhaps, a four day ride from here. He is in the dungeon at Agama."€"You mean he is a prisoner, a criminal?" Tessy asked.€"Ah yes, indeed, he is at that, and one you helped to be put away. I hope he is still alive," the lady in the shawl answered.€"The man you need to talk with is the man who came to the palace, dressed as a clown on the tenth birthday of the king's daughter. He knows all about the destiny of the young princess and perhaps can help you."€Tessy did not answer the lady in the shawl this time. She stood silent, thinking only about how far the trip to Agama would be, and wondering if the king would even allow her to travel that far. But perhaps, he would grant her permission, since the man might have important information about the princess. After thinking for quite awhile, the guard above leaned over and called to her.€"Tessy, we must be going now, so we can have plenty of daylight left for travel."€For some strange reason, this time Tessy wanted to hug the lady in the shawl goodbye. She turned to her and asked, "It is difficult to find you. Is there perhaps an easier place that we could meet, madam, for I would like to see you again?"€The lady answered, "You can find me in the balcony of the church, most Sundays, and I would like to see you again, also."€"Thank you, thank you!" Tessy exclaimed as she turned around and began climbing up the steep rocks, The guard was holding his hand to her at the top, which made the trip up, easier than the trip down had been. When she reached the top, she called out, "Good-bye, see you soon, I hope!"€The guard said practically nothing the whole trip back to the palace. Instead, the only noise was the galloping of the horses and the birds singing. Tessy was hungry for something more than bread, and longed for her bath and a long night's sleep. When Tessy crawled into her bed, she thought about the long journey for only a few seconds, before she fell fast asleep.„Chapter 5€Because she had forgotten to close her drapes, the sunlight woke her up bright and early the next morning. She heard some singing and was startled, by the princess, who was in her room, moving some books and papers, trying to find a place to sit. €"Well, good morning, sleepy head!" the princess greeted Tessy, as she barely opened her eyes.€"Good morning," Tessy answered, "What are you doing in here so early? Is something going on?"€"No," the princess answered. "I just missed you yesterday, and I waited for you long past dinner time, finally going ahead and eating alone. Then when I woke up this morning, I wasn't sure you had even gotten home, so I came quickly to see! I am just glad that you are here! Tell me what you did yesterday."€Tessy, still being a little tired from the trip, answered sleepily, "Why don't we have breakfast together, then I will tell you all about it?"€The princess cheerfully agreed and called a servant to inquire about breakfast. She left Tessy to get dressed, as was the custom, always to be dressed properly for meals. When she came back, the girls sat down to a delicious breakfast, eating more than talking. The princess chatted about her previous day, complaining about the colors of material that had been brought to her and describing her dance lessons in detail. Finally, she asked Tessy again about her day in the village.€ Tessy described the lady in the shawl, as a friend she had gone to see, then told her a little about the man, the woman had suggested she go visit in Agama..€"Agama?"the princess gasped, "That is where my father'sworst prisoners are taken. He will never allow you to travel there!" €"If I tell him it is to find out about you, he might," Tessy contended. "I think he will allow me to do about anything, if he thinks I might be able to help you." The princess agreed, and they finished their breakfast. Tessy did not wait another day, thinking about asking the king's permission. She sent word by a servant, that she desired to speak with the king as soon as possible.€Shortly, the king called for Tessy to come to his chambers. He was fond of Tessy, and always greeted her warmly. She was asked to sit down, but started talking immediately, getting right to the point. She described the trip to the village and discussed the conversation with the lady, explaining that this was the same person who had informed them about the clown. She then asked permission to seek the man, who was in the dungeon at Agama. When she had finished speaking, she stood silent for what seemed five or ten minutes, before the king finally spoke.€"I see no harm in your taking this trip," the king said, as he began pacing the floor, and stroking and scratching his beard. "I will have three servants accompany you. You will need food and supplies for both the trip coming and going. Also, you will need a donkey, perhaps two, to help lighten the load for our horses. I will discuss this with my minister at once, and see if he agrees, then put him in charge of the details. €Tessy thanked the king and excused herself. She wondered how long it would take before she could leave, but she wouldn't have dared to ask. Then she remembered that her tutor was probably waiting for her. Tessy wondered if she would be traveling with her. She surely wouldn't be the one to tell her about the trip. When Tessy got back to her room, she was right. Her tutor, Madam Ramona was pacing the floor, holding her walking stick, and began almost shouting at her.€"Tessy, this is not excusable! You missed your entire lessons yesterday, and today, you are nearly an hour late. I have been here waiting for you, wasting my valuable time!" Madam Ramona ranted furiously. €Tessy would love to have given Madam Ramona the entire truth, so that she might not be so displeased with her, but she just answered softly, so as to not upset her any more. "Please forgive me for being late today, but I had a short meeting with the king, and really, my lessons slipped my mind, until I was walking back to the room. I am truly sorry to have inconvenienced you, and I will not be late again."€ Tessy thought as she spoke that she hoped she could keep this promise. She wished she had not quite gone that far with the tutor. However, her soft answer calmed her down, so that she said no more about it. Madam Ramona simply began speaking in one of her many dialects, discussing one of the books that Tessy had been assigned. Tessy wished she wouldn't show off, and would just speak English, but began concentrating deeply on each word. Tessy saved herself, because she had prepared and spoke back to the tutor almost fluently, so that the tutor was quite pleased and forgot her anger. The session went by quickly, so that when one of the servants knocked on the door, to bring lunch. even Tessy herself, was amazed where the time had gone.  €Tessy and her tutor ate lunch together, as they usually did, with little discussion. Tessy usually used this time to think about the things she wanted to think about. Her thoughts turned to the trip, and she wondered if she would hear any more about it that day. € Madam Ramona finished her meal quickly, and excused herself. "I will leave you now to finish your assignments but will return shortly, so please do not dawdle with your eating." She left Tessy's room, and Tessy wondered if she would have time to find a servant to inquire about the trip. She decided to visit the princess a few minutes, and get her to check about it instead.€"I'll be delighted to check for you, Tessy, but I just don't understand how you can tolerate that tutor of yours. I know she is extremely capable, but she is just so bossy and dull. I bet she has never done anything fun or exciting in her life. You ought to ask her sometime," the princess teased. €Tessy giggled with the princess a few minutes, and then stopped to say,"I think some people have fun working all the time, though, and I think my tutor is one of those kind. Well, anyway, I had better get back now, because I do not think it would be very wise of me to get her upset twice in one day." She held her skirt up a few inches and darted back to her room and studies, barely having time to finish before Madam Ramona returned. €€Tessy's afternoon went by slowly, and she heard nothing about the trip. When afternoon tea time came, the tutor finally left, and Tessy felt as though she was escaping from prison when she got to leave her room. She called on the princess, but she was not in her room, and Tessy was told by one of the servants, that she would be back shortly. So Tessy just waited for her best friend's return, sitting in front of the big picture window that overlooked the mountains. Those beautiful mountains, Tessy thought, as she imagined what it would be like traveling across them. 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