Fool... or dummy!

　　The prince looked at his daughter's frightened face and snorted.

　　"Fool... or dummy!" he muttered.

　　"And the other one is not here. They've been telling tales," hethought- referring to the little princess who was not in the diningroom.

　　"Where is the princess?" he asked. "Hiding?"

　　"She is not very well," answered Mademoiselle Bourienne with abright smile, "so she won't come down. It is natural in her state."

　　"Hm! Hm!" muttered the prince, sitting down.

　　His plate seemed to him not quite clean, and pointing to a spot heflung it away. Tikhon caught it and handed it to a footman. The littleprincess was not unwell, but had such an overpowering fear of theprince that, hearing he was in a bad humor, she had decided not toappear.

　　"I am afraid for the baby," she said to Mademoiselle Bourienne:"Heaven knows what a fright might do."

　　In general at Bald Hills the little princess lived in constant fear,and with a sense of antipathy to the old prince which she did notrealize because the fear was so much the stronger feeling. Theprince reciprocated this antipathy, but it was overpowered by hiscontempt for her. When the little princess had grown accustomed tolife at Bald Hills, she took a special fancy to MademoiselleBourienne, spent whole days with her, asked her to sleep in herroom, and often talked with her about the old prince and criticizedhim.

　　"So we are to have visitors, mon prince?" remarked MademoiselleBourienne, unfolding her white napkin with her rosy fingers. "HisExcellency Prince Vasili Kuragin and his son, I understand?" shesaid inquiringly.

　　"Hm!- his excellency is a puppy.... I got him his appointment in theservice," said the prince disdainfully. "Why his son is coming I don'tunderstand. Perhaps Princess Elizabeth and Princess Mary know. I don'twant him." (He looked at his blushing daughter.) "Are you unwelltoday? Eh? Afraid of the 'minister' as that idiot Alpatych calledhim this morning?"