本集演播：槑贰 

后期：米粒儿

英文对照文本在最底下，请往下拉到底。

第5节

“您真是太好了！”公主说着又坐了下来。

“这样我很高兴，”老妇人说。

“可是，”艾琳还是满腹狐疑，“如果线的一头系在我的戒指上，另一头放在您的柜子里，那它不会挡住别人的去路，然后被扯断吗？”

“你会发现一切自有安排。恐怕这会儿你得走了。”

“今天晚上我不能留下来和您一起睡吗，奶奶？”

“不，今天晚上不行。如果今晚我打算让你留下来的话，我会给你洗个澡的；不过你知道每个屋子里的人都在为你担惊受怕呢，要是让他们整整一个晚上都这样，可就太残忍了。你得下楼去了。”

“奶奶，我真高兴您没有说‘回家’，因为这儿就是我的家。我能这么叫它吗？”

“当然能，好孩子。而且我相信，你会一直把这儿当成自己的家的。来吧，我得神不知鬼不觉地把你送回去。”

“那个，我想再问您一个问题，”艾琳说，“是不是因为戴了皇冠的缘故，所以您看上去那么年轻？”

“不是的，孩子，”奶奶回答道，“正因为我今天晚上觉得那么年轻，所以才戴上了皇冠。而且我想，你希望能看到祖奶奶最最好看的样子。”

“您为什么说自己老呢？您一点儿都不老，奶奶。”

“我真的有一大把年纪了。人们总以为上了年纪就会弯腰驼背、生气全无、颤颤巍巍，要柱拐杖、戴眼镜、得关节炎，还健忘！他们——我并不是说你，你这样的小不点儿只知道那么多——可他们这么想真是太傻了！真的太傻了！那些和上了年纪毫无关系。真正上了年纪的人会充满活力、美丽快乐，他们勇气满满、眼神清澈，四肢强壮、全无病痛。我比你能想到的还要老，而且——”

“看看您，奶奶！”艾琳跳起来喊道，她用双臂搂住老妇人的脖子。“我答应您，不会再犯傻了。我挺怕许诺的——可我至少能答应您，要是我再犯傻的话，我会为此道歉的——我一定会！真希望我能和您一样老，奶奶。我觉得您从来都没为什么事情害怕过。”

“还没那么久，好孩子。也许到两千岁的时候，我就真正什么都不怕了。不过我得承认，有时候我会为自己的孩子担心——有时候为你担心，艾琳。”

“哦，对不起，奶奶！我想，您指的是今天晚上吧。”

“是的——今天晚上有点担心；不过当你下定决心，把我当作一场梦，而不是真正的祖祖祖奶奶，我可就担心得多了。你千万不要以为我是为此责怪你，我相信你是身不由己。”

“我也不知道，奶奶，”公主说着哭了起来，“我总是没法按照自己想的去做，而且我总是连试都不试。总之，我真的非常抱歉。”

老妇人弯下腰，把公主举起来紧紧抱在怀里，和她一起坐在椅子上。公主哭着哭着，不一会儿就睡着了。我不知道她到底睡了多久。醒来的时候，她就坐在玩具桌旁自己那把高高的椅子上，娃娃屋就在跟前.

PART V

'How kind of you!' said the princess, and sat down again.

'It makes me happy,' said the lady.

'But,' said Irene, still puzzled, 'won't the thread get in somebody's way and be broken, if the one end is fast to my ring, and the other laid in your cabinet?'

'You will find all that arrange itself. I am afraid it is time for you to go.'

'Mightn't I stay and sleep with you tonight, grandmother?'

'No, not tonight. If I had meant you to stay tonight, I should have given you a bath; but you know everybody in the house is miserable about you, and it would be cruel to keep them so all night. You must go downstairs.'

'I'm so glad, grandmother, you didn't say "Go home," for this is my home. Mayn't I call this my home?'

'You may, my child. And I trust you will always think it your home. Now come. I must take you back without anyone seeing you.'

'Please, I want to ask you one question more,' said Irene. 'Is it because you have your crown on | that you look so young?'

'No, child,' answered her grandmother; 'it is because I felt so young this evening that I put my crown on. And I thought you would like to see your old grandmother in her best.'

'Why do you call yourself old? You're not old, grandmother.'

'I am very old indeed. It is so silly of people—I don't mean you, for you are such a tiny, and couldn't know better—but it is so silly of people to fancy that old age means crookedness and witheredness and feebleness and sticks and spectacles and rheumatism and forgetfulness! It is so silly! Old age has nothing whatever to do with all that. The right old age means strength and beauty and mirth and courage and clear eyes and strong painless limbs. I am older than you are able to think, and—'

'And look at you, grandmother!' cried Irene, jumping up and flinging her arms about her neck. 'I won't be so silly again, I promise you. At least—I'm rather afraid to promise—but if I am, I promise to be sorry for it—I do. I wish I were as old as you, grandmother. I don't think you are ever afraid of anything.'

'Not for long, at least, my child. Perhaps by the time I am two thousand years of age, I shall, indeed, never be afraid of anything. But I confess I have sometimes been afraid about my children—sometimes about you, Irene.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry, grandmother! Tonight, I suppose, you mean.'

'Yes—a little tonight; but a good deal when you had all but made up your mind that I was a dream, and no real great-great-grandmother. You must not suppose I am blaming you for that. I dare say you could not help it.'

'I don't know, grandmother,' said the princess, beginning to cry. 'I can't always do myself as I should like. And I don't always try. I'm very sorry anyhow.'

The lady stooped, lifted her in her arms, and sat down with her in her chair, holding her close to her bosom. In a few minutes the princess had sobbed herself to sleep. How long she slept I do not know. When she came to herself she was sitting in her own high chair at the nursery table, with her doll's house before her.