The next morning, Sara Crewe walked into the schoolroom. All the students looked at her with big eyes. Every girl knew about Sara Crewe. Lavinia Herbert was thirteen years old and felt very grown up. Lottie Legh was only four years old and was the baby of the school.
The students knew that Sara Crewe was Miss Minchin’s favorite student. Some girls saw Sara Crewe’s French maid (a person who is paid to help someone). The maid’s name was Mariette. Lavinia Herbert saw Mariette opening a big box of clothes for Sara Crewe.
"The box was full of petticoats (skirts worn under a dress) with lace," Lavinia Herbert whispered to her friend Jessie. "My mother says children should wear simple clothes. Sara Crewe’s clothes are too grand. It is silly for a child."
"She has silk stockings on!" Jessie whispered. "And her feet are so small. I never saw such small feet."
"That is because of her shoes," Lavinia Herbert said in a mean way. "A good shoemaker can make any feet look small. I do not think she is pretty. Her eyes are a strange color."
"She is not like other pretty people," Jessie said. "But you want to look at her. She has very long eyelashes. Her eyes are almost green."
Sara Crewe sat quietly in her seat. She was near Miss Minchin’s desk. Sara Crewe was not shy when the girls looked at her. She looked back at them quietly. She wondered if they liked Miss Minchin. She wondered if they had a father like Captain Crewe.
That morning, Sara Crewe talked to her doll, Emily. "Papa is on the sea now, Emily," she said. "We must be very good friends." Sara Crewe liked to pretend that Emily was real. She pretended that Emily could hear and understand her.
Mariette helped Sara Crewe get dressed. Sara Crewe wore a dark blue dress and a blue ribbon in her hair. Then Sara Crewe gave a book to Emily. Emily sat in her own small chair.
"You can read this while I am away," Sara Crewe said to the doll. Mariette looked at her. Sara Crewe spoke to Mariette. "I believe dolls have a secret," Sara Crewe said. "Perhaps Emily can read and talk. But dolls only do it when people leave the room. If we stay, they just sit and stare."
"She is a strange child!" Mariette thought. But Mariette liked Sara Crewe. Sara Crewe had very good manners. She always said "if you please" and "thank you" to Mariette. Mariette told the other servants that Sara Crewe was like a princess (the daughter of a king).
In the schoolroom, Miss Minchin hit her desk. "Young ladies," Miss Minchin said. "This is your new friend, Sara Crewe. She came from India. You must be kind to her." The girls bowed to Sara Crewe. Sara Crewe made a curtsy (a way for girls to show respect by bending their knees).
"Sara Crewe," Miss Minchin said. "Come here." Miss Minchin took a book from her desk. Sara Crewe walked to her. "Your father hired a French maid for you. I think he wants you to learn French."
Sara Crewe felt a little strange. "I think he hired her because he thought I liked her, Miss Minchin," Sara Crewe said.
"You are a spoiled little girl," Miss Minchin said with a mean smile. "You think everything happens because you like it. I think your father wants you to learn French."
Sara Crewe wanted to be polite. She did not want to be rude to Miss Minchin. But Sara Crewe already knew French. Her father spoke it to her when she was a baby. Her mother was a French woman. Sara Crewe heard French her whole life.
"I never really learned French, but—" Sara Crewe started to say. Miss Minchin did not speak French. She did not want people to know this.
"That is enough," Miss Minchin said. "If you do not know it, you must begin now. The French teacher will arrive soon. Look at this book until he comes."
Sara Crewe’s face felt warm. She went back to her seat and opened the book. It was a very easy book. It said that "le pere" means "the father." Sara Crewe did not want to smile because that was rude.
"You look angry, Sara Crewe," Miss Minchin said. "I am sorry you do not like French."
"I like it very much," Sara Crewe said. "But—"
"Do not say 'but' to me," Miss Minchin said. "Look at your book."
A few minutes later, the French teacher arrived. His name was Monsieur Dufarge. He was a kind, middle-aged man. He looked at Sara Crewe.
"Is this a new student?" Monsieur Dufarge asked Miss Minchin.
"Yes," Miss Minchin said. "Her father wants her to learn French. But she does not want to study."
"I am sorry," Monsieur Dufarge said to Sara Crewe. "French is a very beautiful language."
Sara Crewe stood up. She looked at Monsieur Dufarge with her big eyes. She spoke to him in perfect French. She explained that she did not learn French from books. She said her father and mother always spoke it to her. She said she already knew the words in the book.
Miss Minchin was very surprised. She stared at Sara Crewe. Monsieur Dufarge began to smile. He was very happy to hear his own language in London.
"Ah, Madame," Monsieur Dufarge said to Miss Minchin. "I cannot teach her much. she is French! Her accent (the way a person sounds when they speak) is perfect."
Miss Minchin was very embarrassed. She looked at Sara Crewe. "You should tell me that you know French!" Miss Minchin said.
"I tried to tell you," Sara Crewe said.
Miss Minchin saw the other girls laughing. Lavinia Herbert and Jessie were laughing behind their books. Miss Minchin was very angry.
"Silence!" Miss Minchin said. She hit her desk again. From that moment, Miss Minchin did not like Sara Crewe.