She really could not imagine where all the nice things came from . At last one day when the basket was finished , the Queen was looking out of the window to see how long a cord she must make to lower it to the bottom of the tower , when she noticed a little old woman who was leaning upon her stick and looking up at her . Presently she said : ' I know your trouble , madam . If you like I will help you . ' ` Oh ! my dear friend , ' said the Queen . ` If you really wish to be of use to me you will come at the time that I will appoint , and I will let down my poor little baby in a basket . If you will take her , and bring her up for me , when I am rich I will reward you splendidly . ' ' I do n't care about the reward , ' said the old woman , ` but there is one thing I should like . You must know that I am very particular about what I eat , and if there is one thing that I fancy above all others , it is a plump , tender little mouse . If there is such a thing in your garret just throw it down to me , and in return I will promise that your little daughter shall be well taken care of . ' The Queen when she heard this began to cry , but made no answer , and the old woman after waiting a few minutes asked her what was the matter . ` Why , ' said the Queen , ` there is only one mouse in this garret , and that is such a dear , pretty little thing that I can not bear to think of its being killed . ' ` What ! ' cried the old woman , in a rage . ` Do you care more for a miserable mouse than for your own baby ? Good-bye , madam ! I leave you to enjoy its company , and for my own part I thank my stars that I can get plenty of mice without troubling you to give them to me . ' And she hobbled off grumbling and growling . As to the Queen , she was so disappointed that , in spite of finding a better dinner than usual , and seeing the little mouse dancing in its merriest mood , she could do nothing but cry .
That night when her baby was fast asleep she packed it into the basket , and wrote on a slip XXXXX paper , ` This unhappy little girl is called Delicia ! '
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