` Do not be afraid , ' said the lady , stroking Dotterine 's head . ' I am your godmother , and have come to pay you a visit . Your red eyes tell me that you are unhappy . I know that your stepmother is very unkind to you , but be brave and patient , and better days will come . She will have no power over you when you are grown up , and no one else can hurt you either , if only you are careful never to part from your basket , or to lose the eggshells that are in it . Make a silken case for the little basket , and hide it away in your dress night and day and you will be safe from your stepmother and anyone that tries to harm you . But if you should happen to find yourself in any difficulty , and can not tell what to do , take the goose 's wing from the basket , and throw it out of the window , and in a moment I will come to help you . Now come into the garden , that I may talk to you under the lime trees , where no one can hear us . ' They had so much to say to each other , that the sun was already setting when the godmother had ended all the good advice she wished to give the child , and saw it was time for her to be going . ` Hand me the basket , ' said she , ` for you must have some supper . I can not let you go hungry to bed . ' Then , bending over the basket , she whispered some magic words , and instantly a table covered with fruits and cakes stood on the ground before them . When they had finished eating , the godmother led the child back , and on the way taught her the words she must say to the basket when she wanted it to give her something . In a few years more , Dotterine was a grown-up young lady , and those who saw her thought that the world did not contain so lovely a girl . About this time a terrible war broke out , and the king and his army were beaten back and back , till at length they had to retire into the town , and make ready for a siege . It lasted so long that food began to fail , and even in the palace there was not enough to eat . So one morning Dotterine , who had had neither supper nor breakfast , and was feeling very hungry , let her wing fly away . She was so weak and miserable , that directly her godmother appeared she burst into tears , and could not speak for some time . ` Do not cry so , dear child , ' said the godmother . ' I will carry you away from all this , but the others I must leave to take their chance . '
Then , bidding XXXXX follow her , she passed through the gates of the town , and through the army outside , and nobody stopped them , or seemed to see them .
Dotterine day days eggshells girl godmother goose night war years