The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry Page A

he outlawed hangings. Get the gown, Tess."
    Tess carefully picked up the elaborate gown and lowered it over the princess, taking care not to muss the elegantly upswept hair. With her voice muffled by the heavy folds of the skirt, the princess continued, "He holds celebrations, and parades, and invites traveling circuses. Last year he built a hhssspp— "
    "What's that, miss?" The chambermaid eased the gown down so that the head of the princess emerged.
    "Hospital. He had a hospital built because he learned that the villagers had none. Do you remember when Cook chopped her hand, Tess, when she was aiming for a turkey? It was the hospital stitched her up so nicely."
    "So they did, miss. Hardly a scar." The chambermaid began to button, one by one, the long line of pearl buttons on the back of the gown.
    "He's a good king," the princess said again.
    "Yes, he is, miss. Hold still."
    "He loves me dearly."
    "Don't squirm. I can't button when you squirm, miss."
    "He only wants the best for me."
    The chambermaid stopped buttoning and stood back indignantly with her hands on her hips. "Well then, miss," she said in a loud voice, "all I got to say is he has an odd way of showin' it iffen he wants you to have a air when you're still nothin' but a girl. I know he don't beat you like my pa did, or throw you out, but iffen he was a really good king he would change the Law of the Domain, and that's all I got to say, miss!"
    A small golden clock on the dressing table chimed.
    "Button, Tess. It's almost time."
    "And as for them suitors, miss—well, we haven't talked about them suitors. But I seen them, miss, when they arrived. One is the ugliest man in the world, miss, with teeth that stick out and a huge snarl of dirty hair all ratted up. And the next one, miss, well, the next one don't do nuthin' but strut and look at hisself every minute, and his hair is sleeked back with foul-smelling oil. And the last one, miss, blimey, the last one is two stuck together, slapping at each other and spitting and using the coarsest language—"
    "Tess, don't talk about them—I can't bear it!"
    "But miss, they say you have to choose tonight! They say below-stairs that at the ball you have to choose, and I don't see how you can, when the choice be so horrible!"
    The princess took a deep breath and drew up her shoulders. "Tess, be still, and button my gown! That is a command!"
    The chambermaid sniffed. Her freckled face was pink with outrage. "Yes, miss," she said, and curtsied.

16. The Banquet

    The banquet tables had been set with the finest of the castle's engraved silver flatware and handpainted china. Masses of flowers had been arranged in crystal vases placed at intervals along the length of each table. Footmen in full uniform stood at attention around the walls, waiting to attend the guests, and serving maids in freshly starched aprons scurried in and out, carrying plates of butter and celery and baskets of fresh-baked breads of all sorts. In the kitchen far below, massive tables held the plates of food, all of it waiting to be lifted up by pulley and served to the guests. The pigeons were creamed, the pistachios shelled, and two hundred artichokes had been stuffed with goose liver and arranged on plates.
    In the corridor, the three singing serving girls, exempted from serving duties, were rehearsing their song. They had spent the entire previous night perfecting the rhymes and practicing the harmonies.
    " Tonight's the night of the Birthday Ball, " they sang.
    " Dinner first in the banquet hall, " they sang next.
    " Banquet hall Banquet hall Banquet hall! " Here their voices divided into a complex harmony and formed a chorus.
    " Gifts and fun for one and all... "
    " Birthday Ball Birthday ball Birthday Ball! "
    The elderly serving boy hobbled past them, carrying a fresh case of sardines. "That blasted cat's gone and had kittens. More mouths to feed," he muttered irritably. "Why don't you make up a song about that? " He glared at the serving girls in