Page 6 - Princess Belle-Etoile and Prince Cherie

circumstances more keenly; she therefore
took the resolution to sell what little property
she had left, and to go and settle with her
three daughters in some country house a long
way off, where they might manage to live
within their slender income. In passing
through a forest infested with thieves, she was
robbed, and left all but destitute. The poor

Princess, more afflicted by this last misfortune
than by all that she had before experienced,
saw plainly that she must either work for her
bread, or perish with hunger. She had
formerly taken pleasure in keeping a good
table, and knew how to make excellent sauces.
She never went anywhere without her little

golden spice-box, which people came to see
from a great distance. That which used to be
her amusement now furnished her with the
means of subsistence. She settled herself in a
very pretty house near a large city, and made
wonderful ragouts. The people in those parts
were fond of good living, so everybody
flocked to her establishment. Nothing was
talked of but the excellent cook: they scarcely

allowed her time to breathe. In the meanwhile
her three daughters grew up, and their beauty

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