In the afternoon, Sara Crewe entered the schoolroom. The room was decorated with green leaves for her birthday. Miss Minchin wore her best silk dress and led Sara Crewe by the hand. A man followed them with a big box. This box held the Last Doll.
A maid carried a second box. Becky followed them with a third box. Becky wore a clean apron and a new cap. Sara Crewe felt very shy. The big girls stared at her. The little girls moved excitedly in their seats.
"Silence!" Miss Minchin said. She told the servants to put the boxes on the table. Becky was very excited to see the presents. She smiled at Lottie. Miss Minchin saw this and became angry.
"Becky!" Miss Minchin shouted. "Do not look at the students. Put your box down and leave." Becky was frightened. She started to walk toward the door.
"Wait," Sara Crewe said suddenly. "Can Becky stay? I want her to see my presents. She is a little girl too." Miss Minchin was surprised. She thought servants were not like other children.
"Becky is a scullery maid (a servant who does the hardest kitchen work)," Miss Minchin said. "But it is your birthday. She can stay in the corner. Do not go near the other girls, Becky."
Miss Minchin stood in front of the students. "I have a speech," she said. Sara Crewe felt uncomfortable. Miss Minchin talked about Sara Crewe's father and his money.
"Sara Crewe is eleven years old today," Miss Minchin said. "She will be an heiress (a girl who will get a lot of money when she is older). She has much money from diamond mines. She is my best student."
Miss Minchin told the girls to say thank you to Sara Crewe. "Thank you, Sara!" the girls shouted. Lottie jumped up and down. Sara Crewe made a nice curtsy to everyone.
Miss Minchin left the room. All the girls ran to the boxes. Sara Crewe opened the biggest box. The Last Doll was very beautiful. She was almost as big as Lottie.
The doll wore a coat with ermine (expensive white fur). She had a small opera-glass in her hand. The girls looked at the doll’s trunk. It was full of silk stockings, lace collars, and many dresses.
"Suppose the doll understands us," Sara Crewe said. "Suppose she is proud of her clothes." Lavinia Herbert laughed at Sara Crewe. She said Sara Crewe was always "supposing" things.
"Could you pretend if you were a beggar?" Lavinia Herbert asked. Sara Crewe looked thoughtful. "I think I could," Sara Crewe said. "But it would be very hard."
Suddenly, Miss Amelia entered the room. She looked worried. She said a solicitor (a lawyer who handles money and business) was there to see Miss Minchin. His name was Mr. Barrow.
The girls went to another room to eat birthday cake. Becky stayed in the schoolroom for a moment. She wanted to look at the doll's clothes. She heard Miss Minchin coming and hid under a table.
Miss Minchin and Mr. Barrow entered the room. Mr. Barrow looked at the expensive doll. He thought the doll was a waste of money. He looked very serious.
"Captain Crewe spent too much money," Mr. Barrow said. Miss Minchin was offended. She said Captain Crewe was very rich because of the diamond mines.
"There are no diamond mines!" Mr. Barrow shouted. "The business failed. Captain Crewe lost all his money. His friend took the money and ran away."
Miss Minchin was shocked. "What do you mean?" she asked. Mr. Barrow told her the terrible news. Captain Crewe was dead. He died of a fever in India.
"He died with no money," Mr. Barrow said. "Sara Crewe is now a pauper (a person who is very poor). She has no family. She has nothing."
Miss Minchin was very angry. She spent a lot of money on Sara Crewe’s birthday. Now, no one could pay the bills. She wanted to put Sara Crewe on the street.
Mr. Barrow told her that was a bad idea. People would think Miss Minchin was cruel. "Keep the child," Mr. Barrow said. "She is clever. You can make her work for you."
Miss Minchin stood alone in the room. She was furious. She heard the children laughing in the next room. She saw Miss Amelia and asked for Sara Crewe.
"Does Sara Crewe have a black dress?" Miss Minchin asked. Miss Amelia said Sara Crewe had an old black dress. But the dress was too small for her.
"Tell her to put it on," Miss Minchin said. "She will not wear silk anymore. Her father is dead. She has no money. She is a beggar on my hands."
Miss Amelia began to cry. She went to find Sara Crewe. Miss Minchin walked across the room. She heard a noise under the table. She pulled the cloth and found Becky.
Becky was crying. She heard everything. "I am so sorry for poor Miss Sara!" Becky sobbed. Miss Minchin was very angry at Becky.
"Sara Crewe will wait on herself now," Miss Minchin said. "Go to the kitchen!" Becky ran away. She sat with her pots and pans and cried for Sara Crewe.
Later, Sara Crewe came to see Miss Minchin. Sara Crewe wore the old black dress. It was very short. Her face was very white. She carried her doll, Emily.
"Put that doll down," Miss Minchin said. Sara Crewe refused. "No," Sara Crewe said. "My father gave her to me. She is all I have now."
Miss Minchin told Sara Crewe the truth. "You have no home and no money," she said. "I will keep you here because I am kind. But you must work."
Sara Crewe did not cry. She looked at Miss Minchin with big eyes. "Can I work?" Sara Crewe asked. She wanted to be useful.
"You will teach the younger children French," Miss Minchin said. "You will also work in the kitchen. You will run errands in the rain. You are like Becky now."
Miss Minchin told Sara Crewe to say thank you. Sara Crewe stood tall. "You are not kind," Sara Crewe said. "And this is not a home." She ran out of the room.
Sara Crewe went to her old bedroom. But Miss Amelia stopped her. "This is not your room now," Miss Amelia said. She felt ashamed.
"Where is my room?" Sara Crewe asked. Miss Amelia told her to go to the attic (a small, uncomfortable room at the top of a house). Sara Crewe walked up many stairs.
The attic was cold and dirty. It had a small bed and an old chair. Sara Crewe sat on a footstool. she put her head on her doll and stayed very quiet.
There was a knock on the door. Becky entered the room. Becky’s face was red from crying. She looked at Sara Crewe with love.
"Oh, Becky," Sara Crewe said. "I am not a princess anymore. We are the same now. We are just two little girls."
Becky knelt on the floor. She took Sara Crewe’s hand. "You are still a princess to me," Becky cried. "Nothing can change that."