Princess Bridget was a very quiet girl. She rarely spoke. The King and the Queen wanted her to become more friendly. “How will she run the kingdom later if she is so reserved?” asked the King.
“I think it will be good if she has company. Let’s send her to a school,” suggested the Queen.
Miss Hazel’s Academy for Young Ladies was considered appropriate and Princess Bridget was sent there.
The girls at the Academy looked in wonder at the number of trunks and boxes that arrived with the new girl. And when they saw that a maid too was attending her, some of them giggled.
Miss Hazel said she must stick to the uniform of the school, which was a blue pinafore over a white blouse. So, Bridget came for breakfast looking like all the others.
She sat down between Nora and Georgie. Nora was a gentle, helpful girl, but Georgie was a madcap. They were the best of friends and soon took Bridget into their circle.
Gradually, Bridget began to enjoy the friendship of the two girls. They learnt that Bridget spoke excellent French because her governess had been a French lady. She helped them with their French homework and they taught her how to play games and enjoy herself with her classmates.
But the biggest surprise was yet to come. The annual day of the Academy was to be held. It was customary for the students to perform something or to put up some painting or craft work for their parents to see what they had learnt, apart from their studies.
When the teacher asked Bridget what she would like to do, she was very hesitant. Nora and Georgie encouraged her to speak something.
“Could I sing, please?” she finally asked.
“You can sing,” said the girls, surprised.
Miss Hazel said they would try out her voice along with others who were going to sing too. She did not believe that Bridget, who barely lifted her voice to speak, could sing.
But when Bridget’s clear voice rose confidently in song, there was stunned silence! Then the girls began to cheer and Miss Hazel knew who was going to be the star of that fabulous evening.
The King and the Queen were invited and they too stared in amazement at their daughter as the opening notes of the song began. The little sparrow had turned out to be a nightingale!
