Маленькая принцесса

УДК 
372.8
ББК 
81.2 Англ-93
 
Б51

ISBN 978-5-9925-1123-9

 
Бёрнетт, Фрэнсис Ходжсон.
Б51 
Маленькая принцесса : книга для чтения на 
английском языке. — Санкт-Петербург : КАРО, 
2016. — 256 с. — (Classical Literature). 

ISBN 978-5-9925-1123-9.

«Маленькая принцесса» — роман английской писательницы Френсис Бёрнетт, написанный в 1905 году, в наше время входит в топ-100 детских книг, рекомендованных Национальной Ассоциацией Образования 
Америки для детского чтения. Главная героиня романа, Сара Кру, переживет множество невзгод, но, благодаря пытливому уму и любознательности, останется настоящей принцессой в любой жизненной ситуации 
и в конце концов станет счастливой. Книга позволит юным читателям 
задуматься о том, что такое дружба и честность. 
Неадаптированный текст на языке оригинала снабжен постраничными комментариями и словарем.
УДК 372.8
ББК 81.2 Англ-93

© КАРО, 2016

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1
Sara

Once on a dark winter’s day, when the yellow fog hung 
so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps 
were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they 
do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab1 with 
her father and was driven rather slowly through the big 
thoroughfares2.
She sat with her feet tucked under her, and leaned 
against her father, who held her in his arm, as she stared 
out of the window at the passing people with a queer oldfashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes3.
She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see 
such a look on her small face. It would have been an old 
look for a child of twelve4, and Sara Crewe was only seven. 
Th e fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and 
thinking odd things and could not herself remember any 
time when she had not been thinking things about grownup people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she 
had lived a long, long time.

1 cab — наемный экипаж 
2  thoroughfares — оживленные улицы 
3  with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big 
eyes — со странной, старомодной задумчивостью в глазах
4  It would have been an old look for a child of twelve — Такой взгляд был бы странным даже для двенадцатилетнего 
ребенка

At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had 
just made from Bombay1 with her father, Captain  Crewe. 
She was thinking of the big ship, of the Lascars2 pas sing 
silent ly to and fro on it, of the children playing about on the 
hot deck, and of some young offi  cers’ wives who used to try 
to make her talk to them and laugh at the things she said.
Principally, she was thinking of what a queer thing it 
was that at one time one was in India in the blazing sun, 
and then in the middle of the ocean, and then driving in a 
strange vehicle through strange streets where the day was 
as dark as the night. She found this so puzzling that she 
moved closer to her father.
“Papa,” she said in a low, mysterious little voice which 
was almost a whisper, “papa.”
“What is it, darling?” Captain Crewe answered, holding 
her closer and looking down into her face. “What is Sara 
thinking of?”
“Is this the place?” Sara whispered, cuddling still closer 
to him. “Is it, papa?”
“Yes, little Sara, it is. We have reached it at last.” And 
though she was only seven years old, she knew that he felt 
sad when he said it.
It seemed to her many years since he had begun to 
prepare her mind for “the place,” as she always called it. 
Her mother had died when she was born, so she had never 
known or missed her. Her young, handsome, rich, petting 
father seemed to be the only relation she had in the world. 
Th ey had always played together and been fond of each 
other. She only knew he was rich because she had heard 

1  Bombay — Бомбей. Такое название до 1995 года носил 
индийский город Мумбаи
2  Lascars — (вост.-инд.) моряки

people say so when they thought she was not listening, 
and she had also heard them say that when she grew up 
she would be rich, too. She did not know all that being rich 
meant. She had always lived in a beautiful bungalow, and 
had been used to seeing many servants who made salaams1 
to her and called her “Missee Sahib2,” and gave her her own 
way3 in everything. She had had toys and pets and an ayah4 
who worshipped her, and she had gradually learned that 
people who were rich had these things. Th at, however, was 
all she knew about it.
During her short life only one thing had troubled her, 
and that thing was “the place” she was to be taken to some 
day. Th e climate of India was very bad for children, and as 
soon as possible they were sent away from it — generally 
to England and to school. She had seen other children go 
away, and had heard their fathers and mothers talk about 
the letters they received from them. She had known that 
she would be obliged5 to go also, and though sometimes 
her father’s stories of the voyage and the new country had 
attracted her, she had been troubled by the thought that he 
could not stay with her.
“Couldn’t you go to that place with me, papa?” she had 
asked when she was fi ve years old. “Couldn’t you go to 
school, too? I would help you with your lessons.”
“But you will not have to stay for a very long time, little 
Sara,” he had always said. “You will go to a nice house where 

1  to make salaams — кланяться (обычно является актом 
выражения почтения и подчинения в исламских культурах) 
2  Sahib — господин, госпожа (обращение в Индии)
3  to give someone his / her own way — позволять вести 
себя как хочется 
4  ayah — няня, служанка в Индии 
5  to be obliged — быть обязанной 

there will be a lot of little girls, and you will play together, 
and I will send you plenty of books, and you will grow so 
fast that it will seem scarcely a year1 before you are big 
enough and clever enough to come back and take care of 
papa.”
She had liked to think of that. To keep the house for 
her father; to ride with him, and sit at the head of his table 
when he had dinner parties; to talk to him and read his 
books — that would be what she would like most in the 
world, and if one must go away to “the place” in England 
to attain it, she must make up her mind2 to go. She did not 
care very much for other little girls, but if she had plenty of 
books she could console herself. She liked books more than 
anything else, and was, in fact, always inventing stories of 
beautiful things and telling them to herself. Sometimes 
she had told them to her father, and he had liked them as 
much as she did.
“Well, papa,” she said soft ly, “if we are here I suppose 
we must be resigned3.”
He laughed at her old-fashioned speech and kissed her. 
He was really not at all resigned himself, though he knew he 
must keep that a secret. His quaint little Sara had been a great 
companion to him, and he felt he should be a lonely fellow 
when, on his return to India, he went into his bungalow 
knowing he need not expect to see the small fi gure in its 
white frock come forward to meet him. So he held her very 
closely in his arms as the cab rolled into the big, dull square 
in which stood the house which was their destination.

1  it will seem scarcely a year — покажется, что и года 
не прошло 
2  to make up someone’s mind — решать 
3  to be resigned — быть готовым 

It was a big, dull, brick house, exactly like all the others 
in its row, but that on the front door there shone a brass 
plate on which was engraved in black letters:

MISS MINCHIN, 
Select Seminary for Young Ladies.

“Here we are, Sara,” said Captain Crewe, making his 
voice sound as cheerful as possible. Th en he lift ed her out 
of the cab and they mounted the steps1 and rang the bell. 
Sara oft en thought aft erward that the house was somehow 
exactly like Miss Minchin. It was respectable and well 
furnished, but everything in it was ugly; and the very 
armchairs2 seemed to have hard bones in them. In the hall 
everything was hard and polished — even the red cheeks of 
the moon face on the tall clock in the corner had a severe 
varnished look. Th e drawing room3 into which they were 
ushered was covered by a carpet with a square pattern upon 
it, the chairs were square, and a heavy marble timepiece 
stood upon the heavy marble mantel4.
As she sat down in one of the stiff  mahogany chairs, 
Sara cast one of her quick looks5 about her.
“I don’t like it, papa,” she said. “But then I dare say6 
soldiers — even brave ones — don’t really LIKE going into 
battle.”

1  to mount the steps — взобраться по ступенькам 
2  the very armchairs — даже кресла
3  drawing room — гостиная
4  a heavy marble timepiece stood upon the heavy marble 
mantel — тяжелые мраморные часы стояли на массивной 
мраморной каминной полке
5  to cast a look — бросить взгляд
6  I dare say — осмелюсь сказать 

Captain Crewe laughed outright at this. He was young 
and full of fun, and he never tired of hearing Sara’s queer 
speeches.
“Oh, little Sara,” he said. “What shall I do when I have 
no one to say solemn things to me? No one else is as solemn 
as you are.”
“But why do solemn things make you laugh so?” inquired Sara.
“Because you are such fun when you say them,” he 
answered, laughing still more. And then suddenly he 
swept her into his arms and kissed her very hard, stopping 
laughing all at once and looking almost as if tears had come 
into his eyes.
It was just then that Miss Minchin entered the room. 
She was very like her house, Sara felt: tall and dull, and 
respectable and ugly. She had large, cold, fi shy eyes, and 
a large, cold, fi shy smile. It spread itself into a very large 
smile1 when she saw Sara and Captain Crewe. She had 
heard a great many desirable things of the young soldier 
from the lady who had recommended her school to him. 
Among other things, she had heard that he was a rich 
father who was willing to spend a great deal of money2 on 
his little daughter.
“It will be a great privilege to have charge3 of such a 
beautiful and promising child, Captain Crewe,” she said, 
taking Sara’s hand and stroking it. “Lady Meredith has 
told me of her unusual cleverness. A clever child is a great 
treasure in an establishment like mine.”

1  It spread itself into a very large smile — Губы растянулись в очень широкой улыбке 
2  a great deal of money — изрядное количество денег
3  to have charge — присматривать 

Sara stood quietly, with her eyes fixed upon Miss 
Minchin’s face. She was thinking something odd, as 
usual.
“Why does she say I am a beautiful child?” she was 
thinking. “I am not beautiful at all. Colonel Grange’s little 
girl, Isobel, is beautiful. She has dimples and rose-colored 
cheeks, and long hair the color of gold. I have short black 
hair and green eyes; besides which, I am a thin child and 
not fair in the least1. I am one of the ugliest children I ever 
saw. She is beginning by telling a story.2”
She was mistaken, however, in thinking she was an 
ugly child. She was not in the least like Isobel Grange, who 
had been the beauty of the regiment3, but she had an odd 
charm of her own. She was a slim, supple creature, rather 
tall for her age, and had an intense, attractive little face. 
Her hair was heavy and quite black and only curled at the 
tips; her eyes were greenish gray4, it is true, but they were 
big, wonderful eyes with long, black lashes, and though she 
herself did not like the color of them, many other people 
did. Still she was very fi rm in her belief that she was an ugly 
little girl, and she was not at all elated by Miss Minchin’s 
fl attery.
“I should be telling a story if I said she was beautiful,” 
she thought; “and I should know I was telling a story. I 
believe I am as ugly as she is — in my way. What did she 
say that for?”

1  not fair at the least — кожа у меня не такая уж светлая 
2  She is beginning by telling a story. — Она начинает с того, 
что говорит неправду.
3  who had been a beauty of regiment — красота которой 
была признана всем полком 
4  her eyes were greenish gray — ее глаза были зеленоватосерыми 

Aft er she had known Miss Minchin longer she learned 
why she had said it. She discovered that she said the same 
thing to each papa and mamma who brought a child to 
her school.
Sara stood near her father and listened while he 
and Miss Minchin talked. She had been brought to the 
seminary because Lady Meredith’s two little girls had been 
educated there, and Captain Crewe had a great respect 
for Lady Meredith’s experience. Sara was to be what was 
known as “a parlor boarder”1, and she was to enjoy even 
greater privileges than parlor boarders usually did. She was 
to have a pretty bedroom and sitting room of her own; she 
was to have a pony and a carriage, and a maid to take the 
place of the ayah who had been her nurse in India.
“I am not in the least anxious about her education2,” 
Captain Crewe said, with his gay laugh, as he held Sara’s 
hand and patted it. “Th e diffi  culty will be to keep her from 
learning too fast and too much. She is always sitting with 
her little nose burrowing into books. She doesn’t read them, 
Miss Minchin; she gobbles them up as if she were a little 
wolf instead of a little girl. She is always starving for new 
books to gobble, and she wants grown-up books — great, 
big, fat ones — French and German as well as English — 
history and biography and poets, and all sorts of things. 
Drag her away from her books when she reads too much. 
Make her ride her pony in the Row or go out and buy a new 
doll. She ought to play more with dolls.”

1  a parlor boarder — школьник-пансионер (обычно ребенок богатых родителей, отданный под личный присмотр директора школы и пользующийся такими привилегиями, как 
собственная комната, возможность иметь прислугу и т. д.)
2  I am not in the least anxious about her education — Я совершенно не беспокоюсь из-за ее образования