crossed the clearing in bounding strides, with Jennifer just a step behind.
"Aren't we going to knock?" she started as Alexander put his hand to the door. But by the time she had finished, he was already inside.
Jennifer followed reluctantly.
The Cottage in the Woods
I T TOOK SEVERAL SECONDS for Jennifer's eyes to become accustomed to the dark. By then she had already guessed from the stillness that the house was empty.
"Anybody home?" Alexander called softly.
In the silence, Jennifer heard herself swallow.
Suddenly Alexander was standing behind her. "What's that?" he whispered, pointing over her shoulder with a trembling finger to a gleaming object on the wall facing them.
Jennifer tried to remind herself that this w as nothing more than a dark house and took another step closer. She gave a sigh of relief. "It's only a mirror."
Alexander exhaled loudly. "That's what I thought."
The cottage was one rather large room divided in two by a fireplace that sat in the middle of the floor and was apparently used for both cooking and heating. The furniture, though there were only a few pieces, was surprisingly elegant, made of dark, heavy wood and ornately carved.
Jennifer and Alexander waited a long time for the owner of the cottage to return so they could ask for directions out of the forest. But as the time passed they began to worry that whoever it was might be on a long vacation and therefore would not be coming back at all that evening. So they made themselves at home, lit a tire, and cooked dinner.
Or rather, Alexander made himself at
home while Jennifer lit a fire and cooked dinner because—as he told her—at home his father, the king, always had somebody around to do that sort of thing for him, and he didn't know how.
So he spent a good deal of time admiring himself in the mirror while she chopped the wood (he held the door for her), cooked a soup from vegetables she found in the cupboard (he complained that it took too long), and cleaned up (he had gone to lie down on the bed—just to rest his eyes for a second while they waited for the dishwater to heat over the fire—and had fallen asleep).
Finally finished, she tiptoed to the side of the bed and smiled down at him. In sleep, quiet for once, his face relaxed and handsome, Alexander looked incredibly helpless and lovable, and his faults were easier to ignore.
Jennifer took two blankets from the chest at the foot of the bed and gently draped one over the prince's slender form.
Then she wrapped the other blanket around her shoulders and went to a chair. With her toes tucked under the cushion for warmth, she was so tired that she fell asleep before she realized how uncomfortable her position was.
The Magic Mirror
J ENNIFER WAS IN A ROTTEN MOOD.
Normally her disposition was a model of pleasantness, but for the moment she was sweeping the floor with a fury that accomplished little more than sending clouds of dust skittering from one corner to the next.
Alexander, not aware that anything was wrong, sat on the corner of the table practicing disarming smiles in the large ornamental mirror that had startled them the night before. He tapped his foot to the vague melody he was humming.
"You don't need any help, do you?" he asked without turning to her.
Jennifer swept a pile of dust over the offending foot. Her bad mood had been caused by Alexander's insistence that they leave the house as soon as possible. Some time during the night it had occurred to him that the owner of the little cottage might be angry with them for taking over the place. The best way to avoid the owner's possible anger, Alexander had reasoned, was to avoid the owner.
But for her part, Jennifer had agreed to stay in the house only after she had decided that there was nothing wrong with doing so. She didn't like the idea of slinking away into the woods as if they were guilty of something.
Besides, there were two advantages that she could name in waiting for the owner's return:
1.
"Aren't we going to knock?" she started as Alexander put his hand to the door. But by the time she had finished, he was already inside.
Jennifer followed reluctantly.
The Cottage in the Woods
I T TOOK SEVERAL SECONDS for Jennifer's eyes to become accustomed to the dark. By then she had already guessed from the stillness that the house was empty.
"Anybody home?" Alexander called softly.
In the silence, Jennifer heard herself swallow.
Suddenly Alexander was standing behind her. "What's that?" he whispered, pointing over her shoulder with a trembling finger to a gleaming object on the wall facing them.
Jennifer tried to remind herself that this w as nothing more than a dark house and took another step closer. She gave a sigh of relief. "It's only a mirror."
Alexander exhaled loudly. "That's what I thought."
The cottage was one rather large room divided in two by a fireplace that sat in the middle of the floor and was apparently used for both cooking and heating. The furniture, though there were only a few pieces, was surprisingly elegant, made of dark, heavy wood and ornately carved.
Jennifer and Alexander waited a long time for the owner of the cottage to return so they could ask for directions out of the forest. But as the time passed they began to worry that whoever it was might be on a long vacation and therefore would not be coming back at all that evening. So they made themselves at home, lit a tire, and cooked dinner.
Or rather, Alexander made himself at
home while Jennifer lit a fire and cooked dinner because—as he told her—at home his father, the king, always had somebody around to do that sort of thing for him, and he didn't know how.
So he spent a good deal of time admiring himself in the mirror while she chopped the wood (he held the door for her), cooked a soup from vegetables she found in the cupboard (he complained that it took too long), and cleaned up (he had gone to lie down on the bed—just to rest his eyes for a second while they waited for the dishwater to heat over the fire—and had fallen asleep).
Finally finished, she tiptoed to the side of the bed and smiled down at him. In sleep, quiet for once, his face relaxed and handsome, Alexander looked incredibly helpless and lovable, and his faults were easier to ignore.
Jennifer took two blankets from the chest at the foot of the bed and gently draped one over the prince's slender form.
Then she wrapped the other blanket around her shoulders and went to a chair. With her toes tucked under the cushion for warmth, she was so tired that she fell asleep before she realized how uncomfortable her position was.
The Magic Mirror
J ENNIFER WAS IN A ROTTEN MOOD.
Normally her disposition was a model of pleasantness, but for the moment she was sweeping the floor with a fury that accomplished little more than sending clouds of dust skittering from one corner to the next.
Alexander, not aware that anything was wrong, sat on the corner of the table practicing disarming smiles in the large ornamental mirror that had startled them the night before. He tapped his foot to the vague melody he was humming.
"You don't need any help, do you?" he asked without turning to her.
Jennifer swept a pile of dust over the offending foot. Her bad mood had been caused by Alexander's insistence that they leave the house as soon as possible. Some time during the night it had occurred to him that the owner of the little cottage might be angry with them for taking over the place. The best way to avoid the owner's possible anger, Alexander had reasoned, was to avoid the owner.
But for her part, Jennifer had agreed to stay in the house only after she had decided that there was nothing wrong with doing so. She didn't like the idea of slinking away into the woods as if they were guilty of something.
Besides, there were two advantages that she could name in waiting for the owner's return:
1.
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